same time, she insists upon the importance of the upper-classes' responsibilities towards those poorer and less socially prominent than themselves.

We see this in Emma's well-meaning, but ultimately misguided attempt to instruct Harriet Smith in the ways of Highbury society. It becomes painfully obvious that Harriet doesn't really belong among the upper echelons of society; she is hopelessly out of her depth, artificially elevated to a higher station by Emma's assistance. Thanks to Emma's ill-judged intervention, Harriet gets ideas above her station, developing unrealistic expectations about her future marriage prospects. Emma should have learned from the example of Mr. Weston. His first marriage was to a woman of a higher social class, and her inability to adjust to a lower standard of living was a major factor in their unhappiness together.

Of course, discussing the "main theme" of any novel is a task fraught with problems, as it is very difficult to decide on the "main theme" of any text, as it is a highly subjective question. However, for me, in this novel of Austen's, one cannot escape the way that the plot and characters lead towards a message about growing up and marriage. We are presented with a Miss Emma Woodhouse who at the beginning of the novel is immature. She makes many mistakes; she shows herself to be a social snob; she meddles unnecessarily and intrusively into the lives of other people with tragic consequences. However, partly because of some of these mistakes and the humiliating and painful consequences that she suffers, and partly because of the patient and loving guidance of Mr. Knightley, we see a very different Emma at the end of the tale. Emma grows up throughout the novel more and more to have a self-understanding about herself that is shown to yield maturity. It is only when she reaches this state of being self-aware, and of course part of this self-awareness is the realisation that she loves George Knightley, that she is shown to be ready for marriage.

Thus the novel has much to say about the process by which we mature, self-knowledge and how these two concepts are linked to marriage.

Jane Austen's Emma is, like most of her novels, a strongly-stated commentary on the social mores of the time. One of the strongest themes is that of integrity. Emma conducts herself with integrity most of the time, but when, in a moment of impatience, she blurts out a cruel remark to a friend, the people present are shocked and the target of the remark is humiliated.

An additional theme illustrated by this occurrence is that of the unspoken rule of polite society to behave kindly towards those in less-privileged social classes. The woman insulted by Emma is of a lower social class, and so it is seen as doubly cruel, since she cannot easily rise above her station, and Emma, as a well-bred woman, is expected to behave in a more genteel way.

Two of the key themes that Jane Austen explores in Emma are the importance of personal integrity and the harmful effects of meddling. Emma begins as an adolescent girl who is stuck in childhood but imagines herself having the wisdom of an adult. She is so careless in her search for entertainment that she gratuitously hurts her friends and so confident of the correctness of her positions that she wreaks havoc in other people’s lives with her interference. A subsidiary theme is that a person must learn from their own mistakes rather than from what others tell them.

Emma is caught up in romantic fantasies and mistakes Frank Churchill’s attention for genuine interest in her. She allows herself not only to be flattered by his attention but adopts his carelessly cruel attitude, which results in hurting Miss Bates’s feelings. She wants to be the center of attention, taking for granted her elite status, but without the responsibility of good behavior.

Emma’s matchmaking ideas for Harriet Smith similarly show her stuck in childhood, as she pushes Harriet toward what she sees as a good match for her. Disregarding Harriet’s feelings, Emma almost destroys her friend’s possibility for a loving marriage. Fortunately, as she realizes that her respect for Mr. Knightley is actually love, the pain she suffers when he chastises her opens her eyes to the consequences of her behavior, and she turns over a new leaf.