MANIPULATION OF HARRIET SMITH 

The duplicitous side of Emma Woodhouse is on full display from the very beginning of Jane Austen’s novel.  After claiming success in the completion of her scheme to unite Miss Taylor with Mr. Weston, Emma is in search of a new project, and she finds the perfect specimen in the young, naïve, and lower class Harriet Smith.  Emma judges Harriet, deeming her life unsuitable, and takes it upon herself to make a change, “She would notice [Harriet]; she would improve her; she would detach her from her bad acquaintance, and introduce her into good society; she would form her opinions and her manners” (Austen 24).   Pompous and perhaps ignorant, Emma seeks to control the life of Harriet Smith, and this control displays Emma’s duplicity.  On the one hand, Emma is seeking to improve Harriet’s life by raising her social status to a higher, more luxurious station.  This is very insulting to Harriet, but the intentions, although ignorant, are not malicious.  On the other hand however, Emma is clearly taking control of Harriet’s life without regard for Harriet’s wellbeing.  Emma has determined that her elite lifestyle is ideal, and all those who fall beneath her must aspire to reach her level.  This control continues, as the “superior” Emma Woodhouse determines that Mr. Martin is not the right man for Harriet.

Gullible and sweet, young Harriet Smith is easily snared in Emma’s web.  However, her new project encounters an obstacle in the form of the low class farmer Mr. Martin.  Harriet’s love for Mr. Martin is evident, but Emma cannot allow her new found friend to marry such a low class man.  Displaying both her wit and malevolence, Emma carefully manipulates Harriet, easing her out of the plan to woo Mr. Martin, and filling Harriet with her own sense of superiority.  Emma states, “The misfortune of your birth ought to make you particularly careful as to your associates” (Austen 30). By knocking Harriet down with this sharp comment, Emma can now rebuild Harriet to her satisfaction.  Emma continues, “There can be no doubt of your being a gentleman’s daughter, and you must support your claim to that station by everything within your own power” (Austen 30).  Emma, beginning to rebuild, instills in Harriet a false sense of superiority, raising Harriet to a higher class than she belongs.  Emma concludes, “Or there will be plenty of people who would take pleasure in degrading you” (Austen 30).  Emma’s manipulation fills this sentence as she tries to place herself in the role of protector, but as we can see Emma is the only one dishing out degradation.  A bit later Harriet’s attention is captured by a letter of proposal from Mr. Martin.  Emma, in belief that she had rid of Mr. Martin for good, quickly decides to put a stop to this flirtatious affair.  In a heinous act, Emma degrades Mr. Martin’s letter claiming, “I think one of his sisters must have helped him,” because the letter itself is too well written (Austen 50).  Emma speaks insults towards Mr. Martin so confidently that when Harriet asks if indeed she should refuse him Emma responds with shock, she replies, “Ought to refuse him!  My dear Harriet, what do you mean?  Are you in any doubt as to that?” (Austen 51).  This manipulation gives Harriet no way out, and she now must refuse Mr. Martin or suffer the ire of her “superior” friend and supposed mentor Emma Woodhouse.

Eugene Goodheart, author of “Emma:  Jane Austen’s Errant Heroine,” agrees that Emma is too egotistical to realize why she is degrading Robert Martin.  He states, “Emma’s snobbery prevents her from appreciating [Robert Martin’s] virtues.  Her intervention delays what turns out to be the right outcome, a marriage between Robert Martin and Harriet” (Goodheart 590).  Indeed Emma does nothing but delay the inevitable, Mr. Martin and Harriet wed, and in no way does Emma benefit their relationship.  Unlike Emma’s decision to raise Harriet’s social class, her denouncement of Mr. Martin is malicious.  She knows that Harriet will be hurt by her words, yet she chooses them carefully then attacks.  With Harriet in a vulnerable position, Emma is not yet finished.  She has not only relieved young Harriet of her previous crush, but she now has a replacement suitor lying in wait.

Austen writes of Emma’s plan to delete Mr. Martin from the mind of Harriet Smith, “Mr. Elton was the very person fixed on by Emma for driving the young farmer out of Harriet’s head.  She thought it would be an excellent match; and only too palpably desirable, natural, and probable, for her to have much merit in planning it” (Austen 34).  Without consulting the feelings of Harriet, Emma is looking for her own satisfaction as she tries to force a union between two people unfit for one another.  This leads to chaos, as Emma is not in full control of the situation.  The malleable Harriet falls for Mr. Elton, but it becomes clear that Harriet’s heart will be broken when Mr. Elton advances not towards her but Emma instead.  Emma states to Harriet, “You are his object-and you will soon receive the completest proof of it…I congratulate you, my dear Harriet, with all my heart.  This is an attachment which a woman may well feel pride in creating.  This is a connection which offers nothing but good” (Austen 72).  Again, Emma’s two sides are on display.  She is naively under the impression that Mr. Elton is in love with Harriet, and in fact her congratulation is sincere.  Shinobu Minma, author of “Self-Deception and Superiority Complex:  Derangement of Hierarchy in Jane Austen’s Emma,” agrees with this defense as he writes, “In her officious efforts to make a match between Harriet and Elton, Emma persuades herself into believing that she is acting for Harriet’s sake” (Minma 50).  Emma truly believes that she is assisting Harriet, but she does not fully understand the extent of her actions.  That being said, Emma is very proud of herself and, basking in the glow of her own success, she fails to recognize the reality of the situation she has created.  This allows critics to focus more on her arrogance than her good intentions, but those intentions should not be overlooked.

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