Jane Austen's novel Emma is written in the third person. Although the narrator is omniscient, we are generally restricted to Emma's point of view, and therefore, like Emma herself, the readers often are lacking crucial pieces of information. This lack of information or understanding often causes Emma to behave in ways that eventually turn out badly or embarrass her. Austen's narrative techniques make us empathize with the process of Emma's development.

Another major characteristic of Austen's narrator is that it is an "intrusive" narrator and occasionally addresses the reader directly. The narrative voice is normative and ironic, providing a model of balanced understanding against which we judge the characters.