t
looking down. "Ought to release him! My dear Harriet,
what do you mean? Are you in any doubt as to that?
. . . I certainly have been misunderstanding you, if
you feel in doubt to the purport of your answer. I had
imagined you were consulting me only as to the wording
Whether Martin and Smith would be well-suited in their own eyes does not cross Emma's mind. She is preparing Harriet for society, taking it upon herself to instruct Harriet, who is easily manipulated. Emma has another suitor in mind for Harriet, and her pride will not admit to other options. When this second suitor turns his attentions to Emma, she is mortified. Her purposes are being thwarted by others' autonomy. She cannot see why Harriet and Mr. Elton are not cooperating with her. Earlier, she is quite willing to take credit for matching her former governess with a beau:
"It is impossible that Emma should not miss such a companion," said Mr. Knightley. "But she knows how much the marriage is to Miss Taylor's advantage . . .
Every friend of Miss Taylor must be glad to have her so happily married." "And you have forgotten one matter
of joy to me," said Emma, "and a very considerable one
--that I made the match myself" (Austen 5).
Yet now, she is now given embarrassing proof in the form of a comically awkward advance that she is not the matchmaker she believes herself to be. When Mr. Knightley first suggests that Mr. Elton may be interested in her, her response betrays her lack of self-awareness: "Mr. Elton in love with me!--what an idea!" (Austen 72). Yet, a short while later, Mr. Elton is "without scruple--without apology . . . professing himself her lover" (Austen 83). Her only explanation of this is, not that she was in error, but that Mr. Elton has gone out of his mind: "I can account for it only in one way; you are not yourself" (Austen 84). She is incredulous at being wrong, and this error leads to he...