"Emma" by Jane Austen

by Kay Fair

Jane Austen said of Emma, "I am going to take a character no one but myself will much like."

Seriously?! Is it possible that I am all alone in my affection for dearest Emma? Or can it be I would find many fellow lovers of the most haughty and spoilt of the Jane Austen heroines; as I live not in Jane's world of England circa 1816, but rather in a society that fully worships the rich and naughty antics of Gossip Girls and Real Housewives of... wherever? Yeah, I'm guessing Emma would be a pretty popular chick these days.

My affection for Emma as a novel lies in its tightly laced plot and signature Austen imagery. My adoration of Emma, the character, lies in my lingering childhood desire to somehow make the most popular girl in school like me. (Despite the fact that such a desire is generally rooted in the secret wish that the popular girl will tumble from atop the throne, leaving a vacancy for none other than yours truly.) Emma reigns as one of my favorite characters and one of my favorite books.