The Box Hill Essay

The Box Hill picnic and the events preceding are indubitably of utmost importance in Emma, for present are members of the lower middle class, the comfortable gentry, and the upper crust of Georgian society. Jane Austen, of course, was acutely aware of the predicament of the impoverished gentlewoman and comments on their position in Georgian society by showcasing the gauche meretriciousness of Mrs. Elton, the dependency of the Bates, and the unfortunate future as a governess for Jane Fairfax. In contrast to their more affluent acquaintances, their social interactions reveal the struggle of the lower classes in Georgian society and the upper classes’ perception of them. Mrs. Elton’s “airs of pert pretension and under-bred finery” and veiled denouncement of the poorer statuses of the Bates and Jane at the Highbury parties, Miss Bates’ incessant gratitude to charity, and Jane’s perceived “indifference” but what is really …show more content…
Elton’s superfluous attempts for an image of gentility, yet her position prevents her from empathizing with Miss Bates, who is dependent on her friends for charity and must constantly express her gratitude, and Jane Fairfax, who as a governess cannot react with the freedom of a wealthy proprietress. Her transgressions culminate at the Box Hill expedition, where Emma belittles Mrs. Elton’s class and flaunts her leadership over the group. Emma then proceeds to make Jane Fairfax as miserable as possible by soliciting Frank Churchill's sycophantic attentions, something she can do because of her rank and position in this micro world of Highbury. However immature and insensitive her actions towards Mrs. Elton and Jane Fairfax, none are comparable to Emma's cruel remark to the loquacious Miss Bates: “you will be limited as to a number—only three at once” Emma mocks, alluding to her propensity for verboseness (475). As Mr. Knightley says, "How could you be insolent in your wit to a woman of her character, age, and situation?”