Mr. Cole
Mr. Cole is a prosperous tradesman of Highbury whose rising wealth and social ambition make him a representative figure of the mercantile class seeking gentility. Though of low origin and in trade, his growing fortune, new dining-room, and increasingly frequent dinner-parties position him as second only to the Woodhouses in local consequence, and his character serves as a touchstone for Emma Woodhouse's snobbery and for the novel's exploration of class mobility.
Identity and Social Position
Mr. Cole and his wife had been settled in Highbury for some years, described as "very good sort of people—friendly, liberal, and unpretending" but, on the other hand, "of low origin, in trade, and only moderately genteel" . On their first coming into the country, they lived quietly, keeping little company and that little unexpensively. However, the last year or two had brought them a considerable increase of means—the house in town yielded greater profits, and fortune in general smiled on them. With their wealth, their views increased; they added to their house, to their number of servants, to their expenses of every sort, and by this time were, in fortune and style of living, second only to the family at Hartfield . Their love of society and their new dining-room prepared everybody for their keeping dinner-company, and a few parties, chiefly among the single men, had already taken place. The regular and best families—Donwell, Hartfield, and Randalls—Emma could hardly suppose they would presume to invite, and she regretted that her father's known habits would be giving her refusal less meaning than she could wish .
Social Climbing and the Dinner-Party
The Coles' social ascent reaches a critical point when they decide to host a formal dinner-party. Emma had made up her mind how to meet this presumption many weeks before it appeared, but when the insult came at last, it found her very differently affected. Donwell and Randalls had received their invitation, and none had come for her father and herself; Mrs. Weston's accounting for it with "I suppose they will not take the liberty with you; they know you do not dine out" was not quite sufficient. Emma felt that she should like to have had the power of refusal . The invitation itself was couched in terms of great attention and consideration for Mr. Woodhouse: "They would have solicited the honour earlier, but had been waiting the arrival of a folding-screen from London, which they hoped might keep Mr. Woodhouse from any draught of air, and therefore induce him the more readily to give them the honour of his company" . Emma was very persuadable, and it was briefly settled among themselves that she would go, with Mrs. Goddard or Mrs. Bates bearing Mr. Woodhouse company .
The Dinner-Party and Its Significance
The party at the Coles' is a major social event, bringing together the key characters of Highbury. The party was rather large, as it included one other family, a proper unobjectionable country family, and the male part of Mr. Cox's family, the lawyer of Highbury . The less worthy females were to come in the evening, with Miss Bates, Miss Fairfax, and Miss Smith . At dinner, Emma found Frank Churchill seated by her, and she could fairly surrender all her attention to the pleasantness of her neighbour . The first remote sound to which she felt herself obliged to attend was the name of Jane Fairfax; Mrs. Cole seemed to be relating something of her that was expected to be very interesting . Mrs. Cole was telling that she had been calling on Miss Bates, and as soon as she entered the room had been struck by the sight of a pianoforte—a very elegant looking instrument—not a grand, but a large-sized square pianoforte . The substance of the story was that this pianoforte had arrived from Broadwood's the day before, to the great astonishment of both aunt and niece—entirely unexpected . Mrs. Cole had many to agree with her; everybody who spoke on the subject was equally convinced that it must come from Colonel Campbell, and equally rejoiced that such a present had been made . Emma, however, suspected otherwise, and her conversation with Frank Churchill about the pianoforte's origin—whether from Colonel Campbell, Mrs. Dixon, or Mr. Dixon—forms a key part of the evening's intrigue (E01194-E01210).
Narrative Role and Thematic Significance
Mr. Cole functions as a barometer of social change in Highbury. His rise from trade to a position where he can host the gentry reflects the novel's preoccupation with class mobility and the blurring of traditional social boundaries. Emma's initial disdain for the Coles' presumption—her belief that "they ought to be taught that it was not for them to arrange the terms on which the superior families would visit them" —is a clear expression of her own snobbery and her investment in a fixed social hierarchy. Yet her eventual willingness to attend the party, and her enjoyment of it, marks a subtle shift in her attitudes. Mr. Cole himself is a minor character, but his household is the setting for several crucial scenes: the revelation of the mysterious pianoforte, the first sustained conversation between Emma and Frank Churchill, and the dance that sparks the plan for the ball at the Crown Inn. He is also a conduit for news, as when he shows Mr. Knightley Mr. Elton's letter announcing his engagement to Miss Hawkins . Mr. Knightley, in a moment of dry humor, later tells Emma that Mr. Cole gave him a hint about his supposed attachment to Jane Fairfax six weeks before, but that he "told him he was mistaken; he asked my pardon and said no more. Cole does not want to be wiser or wittier than his neighbours" . This remark underscores Mr. Cole's essential good nature and his acceptance of his place in the social order, in contrast to the pretensions of Mrs. Elton.
