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Title
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Harriet’s portrait
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Description
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Here we see Emma drawing Harriet’s portrait. Mr. Elton sits to the side, reading out loud to entertain the women. Emma was being a matchmaker, trying to set up Harriet and Mr. Elton. He encouraged Emma to do Harriet’s portrait and was very flattering of the portrait and Harriet’s beauty. Emma took this as a sign of his romantic interest in Harriet, but in reality, he was interested in Emma. He offered to take the portrait to London to have it framed. With Emma’s encouragement, Harriet fell in love with Mr. Elton, but he proposed to Emma and she refused. This scene occurs in chapter 6 as noted underneath the title of this image. The characters are shown in the traditional regency style, with Mr. Elton wearing waistcoat, tailcoat, and knickers that stopped at the knee. Emma and Harriet wear the regency style dress with an empire waist. Their hair is worn tied up, as was tradition for women after their “coming out” before the queen, signaling her entrance into society. The regency period dated to the early nineteenth century (1811-1820) when George, Prince of Wales, later George IV (r. 1820-1830), reigned as regent for his mentally ill father, King George III (r. 1760-1820). The Prince of Wales was a fan of Austen’s work, and she dedicates the novel to him. The regency period is associated with the rise of neoclassicism in art and fashion. The same image appears as the frontispiece for the Dent 1893, 1894, 1895, 1896, and 1897 editions of Emma.
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Image Creator
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William Cubit Cooke (engraver)
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Identifier
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mta:25541
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Source Name
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Emma
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Image
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mta_25541_OBJ.png
mta_25541_OBJ.png