March
March in Jane Austen's Emma is a month of deceptive calm and gathering emotional storms, a hinge between the winter's failed matchmaking and the spring's revelations. It is the month in which Emma Woodhouse, recovering from the mortification of Mr. Elton's proposal, begins to confront the limits of her own judgment, while the social world of Highbury stirs with new arrivals and hidden attachments that will test her perceptions to their breaking point.
Seasonal and Social Context
March belongs to the early spring of the novel's second volume, a time when the weather in Highbury remains unsettled and the social calendar is still constrained by the lingering cold. Emma, after the debacle of Mr. Elton's rejection and her own humiliating misreading of his intentions, finds herself confined indoors by the weather, a physical imprisonment that mirrors her mental chastening. The month is not yet the season of open-air parties and strawberry-picking at Donwell Abbey; it is a period of drawing-room visits, letter-writing, and the slow accumulation of new acquaintances. It is in March that Jane Fairfax, the elegant and reserved orphan who has been living with the Campbells, arrives in Highbury for an extended stay, bringing with her a mystery that will occupy Emma's suspicions for months. The month also sees the first, long-anticipated visit of Frank Churchill, the son of Mr. Weston by his first marriage, whose charm and attentions immediately captivate the neighborhood and set Emma's imagination racing.
Emma's Inner Turmoil and Self-Deception
March is the month in which Emma's carefully constructed self-image begins to crack. The shock of Mr. Elton's declaration—his revelation that he never cared for Harriet Smith and had been pursuing Emma herself—forces her to acknowledge her own blindness. She reflects bitterly on her "blunders" and the "blindness of her own head and heart," recognizing that she has been "imposed on by others in a most mortifying degree" and, worse, "imposing on herself in a degree yet more mortifying." This period of self-reproach is not, however, a complete cure. As March progresses, Emma's vanity reasserts itself, and she begins to construct a new romantic narrative around Frank Churchill, whose gallant manners and apparent preference for her company offer a flattering distraction from her recent humiliation. She persuades herself that she is falling in love with him, though the feeling is more a product of her own imagination and the social pressure of being the object of a handsome young man's attentions than any genuine passion. The month thus becomes a rehearsal for the larger self-deceptions that will culminate in the summer.
The Arrival of Frank Churchill and the Stirring of Highbury
Frank Churchill's arrival in Highbury, which occurs in late February or early March, transforms the social landscape. He is the son of Mr. Weston, raised by the wealthy and capricious Churchills of Enscombe, and his presence is a novelty that the village has long anticipated. Emma is immediately struck by his good looks, his easy manners, and his evident desire to please. He pays her marked attention, walking with her, dancing with her at the Coles' party, and engaging in flirtatious banter that the whole neighborhood observes. March is the month of their first sustained acquaintance, and Emma, still smarting from Mr. Elton's treachery, finds in Frank a welcome antidote. She begins to imagine a future with him, though she simultaneously insists that she will never marry. The month also sees the first hints of a deeper, more troubling connection: Frank's visit to the Bateses, where he meets Jane Fairfax, and the mysterious arrival of a pianoforte for Jane, which Emma immediately suspects is a gift from a secret admirer—perhaps Mr. Dixon, or perhaps Frank himself. These suspicions, which Emma shares with Frank in whispered conversations, are the seeds of the novel's central intrigue.
Jane Fairfax's Arrival and Emma's Resentment
March also brings Jane Fairfax to Highbury, and Emma's reaction to her is a study in ambivalence. Jane is beautiful, accomplished, and universally admired, and Emma feels a mixture of grudging respect and sharp resentment. She finds Jane "cold" and "reserved," and is irritated by the praise heaped upon her by the Bateses and the rest of the neighborhood. Emma's dislike is partly a defense against her own insecurity: Jane is the kind of truly accomplished young woman Emma wishes she were, and Mr. Knightley has already hinted that Emma's hostility stems from jealousy. In March, Emma's feelings toward Jane oscillate between pity and suspicion. She is moved by Jane's precarious situation—an orphan destined to become a governess—but she also indulges in fantasies about Jane's secret attachment to Mr. Dixon, a married man. These suspicions, which she confides to Frank Churchill, are entirely unfounded, but they serve to pass the time and to give Emma a sense of superior insight. The month thus establishes the dynamic of rivalry and concealed truth that will define Emma's relationship with Jane until the novel's climax.
Thematic Significance: The Month of Misreading
March in Emma is the month of misreading—of signs misinterpreted, motives mistaken, and hearts misjudged. Emma misreads Mr. Elton's intentions, misreads her own feelings for Frank Churchill, and misreads Jane Fairfax's character and situation. The month is a prelude to the greater errors of spring and summer, but it also contains the seeds of correction. Mr. Knightley's quiet disapproval of Frank Churchill, his pointed observations about Emma's behavior, and his growing concern for Jane Fairfax's welfare all foreshadow the moral reckoning that will come at Box Hill. March is a time of waiting and watching, of letters exchanged and secrets kept, and it is in this month that the novel's central question—whether Emma will learn to see clearly—begins to be posed in earnest. The month's damp, unsettled weather mirrors the turbulence beneath the surface of Highbury's polite society, and the slow, inexorable approach of spring promises both renewal and exposure.
