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Title
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Emma visits Jane Fairfax
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Description
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Here we see Emma visiting with Jane Fairfax. Jane Fairfax is the granddaughter of the elderly Mrs. Bates. She came to Highbury to visit her grandmother and her aunt Miss. Bates. She was orphaned young and was taken in by a friend of her father, Colonel Campbell. Miss Fairfax was a very accomplished pianist, and quite popular with the residents of Highbury. Emma, however, did not like Miss Fairfax. It comes out that Miss Fairfax was engaged to Mr. Frank Churchill, the son of Mr. Weston, a close friend of the Woodhouse family. Frank Churchill lived with his aunt and uncle following the death of his mother in the north of England. He came to visit his father and his second wife, Emma’s governess in February. During this visit Frank Churchill flirted with Emma. In July, Emma found out that Frank Churchill had become engaged to Miss Fairfax the previous October, before either Frank Churchill or Jane Fairfax arrived in Highbury, but both kept their engagement a secret. In this image, Emma pays a visit to Jane shortly after her arrival in Highbury. This scene occurs in chapter 20 as noted underneath the title of this image. The characters are shown in the traditional regency style, with 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. Emma wears a bonnet to protect her face from the sun. Bonnets were a popular fashion in this period because a common pastime was going out for walks. 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 164 and 165 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:25542
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Source Name
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Emma
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Image
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