Emma’s Pensive Meditations

This chapter focuses on the role of shame in Emma Woodhouse’s moral development in Jane Austen’s Emma. It shows similarities between Austen’s theory of moral virtue and Aristotle’s. Both emphasize the need for finely tuned perception as well as habits of feeling and appropriate action. Like Austen, Aristotle treats shame as a spur to moral growth. Emma learns from her mistakes; she feels shame after acting badly, and Mr. Knightley serves as Emma’s moral tutor. But it is unclear in Aristotle whether young people learn to be virtuous more through pleasure or through pain. The chapter examines where Austen’s view falls in this debate. Finally, it addresses the worry that Emma’s guidance by Mr. Knightley reflects the sexist view that women need moral guidance from their husbands. The author argues that Knightley’s remarks to Emma about her character indicate that Austen is not vulnerable to this criticism.