Moreover,
at the end of Emma’s “penitence” of
visiting Miss Bates, her betraying reflections of her “unfair
conjectures” towards Jane, “[were] so little pleasing that she soon
allowed herself to believe her visit had been long
enough.” (331,332). This is the conclusion of the chapter. The pain attributed to her
ailing conscience of nighttime are over and Emma can wake
to a refreshingly clean conscience of the dawning day! Finally, it is love that Austen wants the reader to
believe that Emma has discovered.
This pseudo-discovery above all the others
may be the hardest to fathom. It is
the unprecedented, as well as conceivable competition of Harriet Smith
that seduces Emma into the idea of being in love with
George Knightley.
Additionally, it is the idea that someone in Emma’s
superior family could be dragged down into the lower class
by Harriet. For all intensive purposes, Mr. George Knightley
is Emma’s relation.
