This essay examines the theme of social manipulation in Jane Austen's Emma, focusing on two parallel relationships: Emma's influence over Harriet Smith and Mrs. Elton's attempts to control Jane Fairfax. The paper argues that both women use the guise of benevolence and social guidance to impose their own desires on younger, more vulnerable women. Through close reading of key scenes and quotations, the essay traces how each manipulator operates, how each is ultimately unsuccessful, and how Emma alone achieves self-awareness and reform. The analysis situates this behavior within the limited social agency available to upper-class women in Regency England.
The notion of women as social manipulators is not only common but basic to the plot of Jane Austen's Emma. An early indication of this dynamic appears with respect to Miss Taylor, when the narrator notes that she "had begun to influence his schemes" — though not tyrannically, as might occur between young women (Austen, ch. 2, 13). Both Emma and Mrs. Elton are characterized within this tradition. They are social manipulators, and manipulation is how they exert some control over their lives and gain social satisfaction.
This essay examines how Emma and Mrs. Elton manipulate others by focusing on two relationships: Emma's relationship with Harriet Smith, and Mrs. Elton's with Jane Fairfax. In both cases, the older woman becomes the powerful voice that influences the younger woman to serve the older woman's own desires.
Emma is a young high-society woman with an over-inflated sense of herself. She is rarely, if ever, criticized, and her apparent faultlessness allows her to exert social influence with impunity. She influences her father to host dinner parties, and she possesses a keen sense of social propriety — she knows how to behave in public to conceal her true feelings. When Mr. Knightley mentions the loss of her friend, the narrative notes that "Emma turned away her head, divided between tears and smiles" (ch. 1, 9). This is ironic, given that she takes credit for making the match in the first place: "If I had not promoted Mr. Weston's visits here . . . it might not have come to anything at all" (ch. 1, 11). From the outset, Emma is clearly a social manipulator.
Emma's manipulative tendencies are most clearly visible in her relationship with Harriet Smith. She controls Harriet through appeals to her unfortunate upbringing and a kind of sisterly benevolence. Emma counsels Harriet on whom to associate with, advising that "it will be advisable to have as few odd acquaintances as may be" (ch. 4, 27). She surveys Harriet's potential suitors with suspicion and judgment.
When Harriet expresses excitement about Mr. Robert Martin, Emma scolds her forcefully, dismissing him as neither well-bred nor well-educated enough. Through careful comparisons with other men, Emma succeeds in convincing Harriet that he is merely a vulgar farmer. Her motive is revealing: "Mr. Elton was the very person fixed on by Emma for driving the young farmer out of Harriet's head" (ch. 4, 31). Emma's manipulation of Harriet is driven entirely by her own desires rather than any genuine concern for Harriet's happiness.
When Mr. Martin eventually proposes to Harriet by letter, Emma reprimands her for even considering it. In a characteristically clever tactic — claiming not to influence while doing precisely that — Emma advises that "if a woman doubts as to whether she should accept a man or not, she certainly ought to refuse him" (ch. 7, 47). Emma is once again playing arrogant matchmaker, operating under the guise of protecting her friend for the sake of good society, while in reality steering Harriet according to her own vision of a suitable husband.
Emma promotes Mr. Elton to Harriet while simultaneously promoting Harriet to Mr. Elton. She arranges to draw a portrait of Harriet in Mr. Elton's presence, and since the process takes several days, it results in Mr. Elton returning repeatedly — forming the attachment Emma had intended. When Mr. Knightley challenges her judgment, she is vexed but remains "so entirely convinced that her opinions were right, her adversary's wrong" (ch. 8, 61). She seems to over-exaggerate Mr. Elton's qualities in order to preserve her own pride.
When Mr. Elton appears to demonstrate his interest in Harriet, Emma is so pleased that she congratulates herself: "This is an attachment which a woman may well feel pride in creating" (ch. 9, 68). She assures Harriet it is a good alliance that will preserve their intimacy. What is almost sorrowful is that Harriet allows herself to be so thoroughly manipulated by Emma's friendship. She comes to believe Emma is always right — perhaps out of deference to Emma's age and superior social standing. The narrative later notes that Harriet has developed "habits of dependence and imitation" (ch. 10, 82).
The emotional reward Emma receives from her scheming is made explicit when she observes Harriet and Mr. Elton together: "Emma felt the glory of having schemed successfully" (ch. 10, 84). It is this sense of validation that drives her to continue manipulating those around her. As scholars of Jane Austen have long noted, Emma's social maneuvering reflects the limited forms of agency available to women in Regency England, where direct power was rarely accessible.
"Emma confronts her delusion and vows to reform"
"Mrs. Elton imposes unwanted help on the resistant Jane"
When Jane accepts her invitations, Mr. Knightley observes that "Miss Fairfax awes Mrs. Elton by her superiority both of mind and manner . . . no degree of vanity can prevent her acknowledging her own comparative littleness in action, if not in consciousness" (ch. 33, 262). There is a structural parallel between this relationship and that of Emma and Harriet — though with a crucial difference: Jane is far less submissive than Harriet.
Mrs. Elton attempts to arrange the collection of Jane's letters from the post office on her behalf, but Jane is strong enough to refuse. When Jane mentions seeking employment, Mrs. Elton is appalled, calling such work the "slave-trade," and insisting that "it will not satisfy your friends to have you taking up with anything that may offer, any inferior commonplace situation, in a family not moving in a certain circle, or able to command the elegancies of life" (ch. 35, 276). Jane challenges her directly: "I am very serious in not wishing anything to be attempted at present for me" (ch. 35, 276) — a refusal Mrs. Elton refuses to acknowledge.
Mrs. Elton has determined to propel Jane into marriage and high society, regardless of Jane's own wishes. Her triumphalism is evident when she celebrates an appointment she has arranged: "Mrs. Elton was wild to have the offer closed with immediately" (ch. 42, 329). Jane, who is secretly engaged to Frank Churchill, resists as long as she can. Mrs. Elton uses her wealth, social connections, and force of personality to arrange outcomes — but in the end, Jane marries Frank and escapes being controlled. The parallel structure of the two manipulative relationships is a deliberate element of Austen's design, inviting readers to compare the social dynamics at work in each case.
Austen's Emma illuminates the theme of social manipulation through the contrasting characters of Emma and Mrs. Elton. Both women use their influence to scheme on behalf of younger women who fall under their sway, and both are ultimately unsuccessful in their efforts to determine those women's futures. In Emma's case, the deceptive nature of scheming is exposed and renounced — she reforms. Mrs. Elton, by contrast, remains unreformed to the end.
All of this offers a valuable insight into the ways that upper-class women in Regency England sought to assert a form of social control within the narrow boundaries available to them. They linked their own desires to the destinies of the women in their orbit, hoping to find satisfaction through those they could influence. In neither case do the manipulations produce the intended results — a conclusion that seems entirely deliberate on Austen's part.
Austen, Jane. Emma. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
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