Emma

Social status is a touchy topic in Jane Austen's Emma. Written and set in 1816, Emma's society is full of social class divides. Even though the extremes between the classes is not as evident today asit was in the 1800's, there are still divides. The rich celebrities throw extravagant parties, the majority of the populace strive to be higher on the food chain and everyone helps the poor people inAmerica. The same can be said about Jane Austen's England; there are the upper class privileged heirs that need not do anything to support themselves, the middle class working men, and the lowerclass farmers. The Martins and Bateses represent the lower class, the Eltons are a part of the middle class, and the Woodhouses and Knightleys are the upper crust.

The two families representing thelower class in Emma are the Martins and the Bateses. However, Miss Bates and her niece, Jane Fairfax, are acknowledged as a part of society and are often invited to social engagements and balls. WhereasRobert Martin farms for a living and wishes to marry Harriet, another lower class character accepted into the high society after befriending Emma. The single contrast between the Martins and theBateses is the fact that the Woodhouses and other upper class members accept that the Bateses must be invited to all social events, no matter how poor or disliked they are. Miss Bates and Jane are alwaysin attendance for outings to Box Hill and Downwell, no matter how boring they are. Both must be invited so that the delicate balance of Highbury's social class is left undisturbed. On the other hand,Emma refuses to let Harriet marry Robert Martin, saying, "The yeomanry are precisely the order of people with whom I feel I can have nothing to do with" (IV 17). Robert Martin is a lowly farmer who'sonly influence in the novel, until the last few pages, is to provoke Emma's taking young Harriet under her wing. The lowest class structure in Jane Austen's England is represented by the farming...