There is no doubt that Mr. Knightley has blamed and lectured Emma, but the reader might feel that many other women in England might have borne his strictures with more equanimity than Emma does. This is partly because the reader is able to see into Emma’s thoughts with a clarity denied to any of the other characters (though perhaps Mr. Knightley and Mrs. Weston come close). However, Emma’s reactions to Mr. Knightley’s scolding are shaped by the fact that she has enough intelligence and even, at times, enough self-knowledge to understand that his reproaches are justified. After Emma is rude to Miss Bates during the picnic at Box Hill, Mr. Knightley gives her one of his sternest lectures. Emma’s feelings are of “anger against herself, mortification, and deep concern.” She is tearful and wretched for some time at having, as she believes, forfeited Mr. Knightley’s good opinion for what she acknowledges was conduct unworthy of her position and upbringing.

Mr. Knightley is described as “one of the few people who could see faults in Emma Woodhouse, and the only one who ever told her of them.” He has used this privileged position throughout Emma’s life to blame and lecture her but, as Emma herself has to admit, he has never done so unjustly. This is why Emma is so deeply perturbed by his blame and his lectures but also why she does not protest out loud and turns her face away in shame.