Emma: One Spoiled, if Not Refined, Rich Girl

 Jane Austen is perhaps most well-known for her work Pride and Prejudice. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this classic tale of a quite spoiled English girl and her many fancies and "woes." From timid Mr. Woodhouse, to gallant Frank Churchill, to fast-talking Miss Bates, to demure Jane Fairfax, the many characters within this book add to the irony and amusement shaped throughout this tale. The true irony is packed in the classic case of best friend turned lover -- a lover not fully realized until it is almost too late. Readers follow Miss Emma Woodhouse through her (quite disastrous) attempts to matchmake in the idle town of Hartfield. Her flirtations with a certain Mr. Churchill and eventual realization of the ultimate match that has been standing in front of her all of the while only build upon the sense of amusement that Emma's saucy countenance brings. All in all, this novel was very entertaining and I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. Jane Austen is truly a master of subtle comedy, prose, and romance; Emma is no exception. 

Some of my favorite quotes from Emma:

"I may have lost my heart, but not my self-control."

"I always deserve the best treatment, because I never put up with any other."

"If things are going untowardly one month, they are sure to mend the next." (I really like this one because it reminds me that our lives are broken up into seasons, and that some seasons are more turbulent than others, but that the sun is always bound to shine again at some point or another.)

"A woman is not to marry a man merely because she is asked, or because he is attached to her, and can write a tolerable letter."

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