Emma Respect and Reputation Quotes Page 2
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
| Quote #4 […] she meant to shine and be very superior, but with manners which had been formed in a bad school, pert and familiar; […] that if not foolish she was ignorant, and that her society would certainly do Mr. Elton no good. (32.15) |
The narrator’s evaluation of Mrs. Elton here seems to mirror Emma’s own – a parallel that helps us to establish Emma as the central character of the novel.
| Quote #5 No, Emma, your amiable young man can be amiable only in French, not in English. He may be very 'aimable,' have very good manners, and be very agreeable; but he can have no English delicacy towards the feelings of other people: nothing really amiable about him." (18.28) |
Mr. Knightley’s allusion to French standards of manners suggests his wisdom in recognizing different codes of conduct – and implies that he’s a true English gentleman.
| Quote #6 There is always a look of consciousness or bustle when people come in a way which they know to be beneath them. (26.10) |
Emma is as critical of Knightley as she is of Frank. Any man of substance should, in her mind, carry himself as a man of substance – which includes driving to parties in a nice carriage.
