Emma

Emma is Jane Austen's novel about Emma Woodhouse, whose confidence in her own insight leads her to arrange other people's lives. Published in 1815, it follows misunderstandings in Highbury through visits, conversations, letters, and invitations that acquire meanings Emma does not always perceive. Her treatment of Harriet Smith and Miss Bates exposes the consequences of combining social privilege with insufficient attention to others. The narration often stays close to Emma's assumptions, allowing their errors to emerge gradually. Her eventual self-recognition makes the story a comedy of manners with a serious concern for kindness, restraint, and responsible judgment.