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Title
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Mending the spectacles
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Description
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Here we see Mr. Frank Churchill fixing the screw on the elderly Mrs. Bates’ glasses. Mr. Frank Churchill was the son of Mr. Weston, a good friend of Emma Woodhouse. He went to live with his aunt and uncle in the north of England following the death of his mother when he was a child. He came to visit his father and his stepmother, who was Emma’s governess before she married Mr. Weston. During his visit to Highbury in February, Mr. Churchill flirted with Emma. It later came out that he was secretly engaged to Mrs. Bates’ granddaughter, Miss Fairfax. In this image, Mr. Frank Churchill sits at a table holding Mrs. Bates’ glasses in his hand and turning the screw to tighten them. Mrs. Bates sits at the table next to him. Emma walked in while he was doing this, coming to visit the Bates. This scene occurs in chapter 28 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. Mrs. Bates wears 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 an insert between pages 236 and 237 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:25543
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Source Name
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Emma
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Image
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