August 10, 2025 • 6 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Volume one, chapter seventeen. Mister and Missus John Knightley were
not detained long at Hartfield. The weather soon improved enough
for those to move who must move, and mister Woodhouse,
having as usual tried to persuade his daughter to stay
behind with all her children, was obliged to see the
whole party set off, and returned to his lamentations over
(00:20):
the destiny of poor Isabella, which poor Isabella, passing her
life with those she doated on full of their merits,
blind to their faults, and always innocently busy, might have
been a model of right feminine happiness. The evening of
the very day on which they went brought a note
from mister Elton to mister Woodhouse, a long, civil, ceremonious
note to say, with mister Elton's best compliments, that he
(00:44):
was proposing to leave Highbury the following morning and his
way to Bath, where, in compliance with the pressing entreaties
of some friends, he had engaged to spend a few weeks,
and very much regretted the impossibility he was under from
various circumstances of weather and business, of taking a personal
leave of mister Woodhouse, of whose friendly civilities he should ever,
retain a grateful sense, and had mister Woodhouse any commands,
(01:06):
should be happy to attend to them. Emma was most
agreeably surprised mister Elton's absence just at this time was
the very thing to be desired. She admired him for
contriving it, though not able to give him much credit
for the manner in which it was announced. Resentment could
not have been more plainly spoken than in a civility
to her father from which she was so pointedly excluded.
(01:28):
She had not even a share in his opening compliments.
Her name was not mentioned, and there was so striking
a change in all this, and such an ill judged
solemnity of leave taking in his graceful acknowledgments, as she
thought at first, could not escape her father's suspicion. It did. However,
her father was quite taken up with the surprise of
so sudden a journey and his fears that mister Elton
(01:50):
might never get safely to the end of it, and
saw nothing extraordinary in his language. It was a very
useful note, for it supplied them with fresh matter for
thought and conversation during the rest of their lonely evening.
Mister Woodhouse talked over his alarms, and Emma was in
spirits to persuade them away. With all her usual promptitude.
She now resolved to keep Harriet no longer in the dark.
(02:13):
She had reason to believe her nearly recovered from her cold,
and it was desirable that she should have as much
time as possible forgetting the better of her other complaint
before the gentleman's return. She went to Missus Goddard's accordingly
the very next day to undergo the necessary penance of communication,
and a severe one. It was. She had to destroy
all the hopes which she had been so industriously feeding,
(02:36):
to appear in the ungracious character of the one preferred,
and acknowledge herself grossly mistaken and misjudging in all her
ideas on one subject, all her observations, all her convictions,
all her prophecies for the last six weeks. The confession
completely renewed her first shame, and the sight of Harriet's
tears made her think that she should never be in
(02:57):
charity with herself again. Harriet bore the intelligence very well,
blaming nobody and in everything testifying such an ingenuousness of
disposition and lowly opinion of herself as must appear with
particular advantage at that moment to her friend. Emma was
in the humor to value simplicity and modesty to the utmost,
and all that was amiable, all that ought to be attaching,
(03:20):
seemed on Harriet's side, not her own. Harriet did not
consider herself as having anything to complain of. The affection
of such a man as mister Elton would have been
too great a distinction. She never could have deserved him,
and nobody but so partial and kind a friend as
Miss Woodhouse would have thought it possible. Her tears fell abundantly,
(03:40):
but her grief was so truly artless that no dignity
could have made it more respectable in Emma's eyes, and
she listened to her and tried to console her with
all her heart and understanding. Really, for the time convinced
that Harriet was a superior creature of the two, and
that to resemble her would be more for her own
welfare and happiness than all that genius or intelligence could do.
(04:01):
It was rather too late in the day to set
about being simple minded and ignorant, but she left her
with every previous resolution confirmed of being humble and discreet
and repressing imagination all the rest of her life. Her
second duty, now inferior only to her father's claims, was
to promote Harriet's comfort, and endeavored to prove her own
affection in some better method than by match making. She
(04:23):
got her to Hartfield and showed her the most unvarying kindness,
striving to occupy and amuse her, and by books and
conversation to drive mister Elton from her thoughts. Time she
knew must be allowed for this being thoroughly done, And
she could suppose herself but an indifferent judge of such
matters in general, and very inadequate to sympathize in an
attachment to mister Elton in particular. But it seemed to
(04:46):
her reasonable that, at Harriet's age, and with the entire
extinction of all hope, such a progress might be made
towards a state of composure by the time of mister
Elton's return, as to allow them all to meet again
in the common routine of acquaintance, without any danger of
betraying sentiments or increasing them. Harriet did think him all perfection,
and maintained the non existence of anybody equal to him
(05:08):
in person or goodness, and did, in truth prove herself
more resolutely in love than Emma had foreseen. But yet
it appeared to her so natural, so inevitable to strive
against an inclination of that sort unrequited, that she could
not comprehend its continuing very long in equal force. If
mister Elton, on his return, made his own indifference as
(05:29):
evident and indubitable, as she could not doubt he would
anxiously do, she could not imagine Harriet's persisting to place
her happiness in the sight or the recollection of him.
Their being fixed, so absolutely fixed in the same place
was bad for each. For all three, not one of
them had the power of removal or of effecting any
material change of society. They must encounter each other and
(05:52):
make the best of it. Harriet was farther unfortunate in
the tone of her companions at Missus Goddard's, mister Elton
being the adoration of all the teachers and great girls
in the school. And it must be at Hartfield only
that she could have any chance of hearing him spoken
of with cooling moderation or repellent truth. Where the wound
had been given, there must the cure be found if anywhere,
(06:14):
And Emma felt that till she saw her in the
way of cure, there could be no true peace for herself.
End of Chapter seventeen.
Volume one, chapter seventeen. Mister and Missus John Knightley were
not detained long at Hartfield. The weather soon improved enough
for those to move who must move, and mister Woodhouse,
having as usual tried to persuade his daughter to stay
behind with all her children, was obliged to see the
whole party set off, and returned to his lamentations over
(00:20):
the destiny of poor Isabella, which poor Isabella, passing her
life with those she doated on full of their merits,
blind to their faults, and always innocently busy, might have
been a model of right feminine happiness. The evening of
the very day on which they went brought a note
from mister Elton to mister Woodhouse, a long, civil, ceremonious
note to say, with mister Elton's best compliments, that he
(00:44):
was proposing to leave Highbury the following morning and his
way to Bath, where, in compliance with the pressing entreaties
of some friends, he had engaged to spend a few weeks,
and very much regretted the impossibility he was under from
various circumstances of weather and business, of taking a personal
leave of mister Woodhouse, of whose friendly civilities he should ever,
retain a grateful sense, and had mister Woodhouse any commands,
(01:06):
should be happy to attend to them. Emma was most
agreeably surprised mister Elton's absence just at this time was
the very thing to be desired. She admired him for
contriving it, though not able to give him much credit
for the manner in which it was announced. Resentment could
not have been more plainly spoken than in a civility
to her father from which she was so pointedly excluded.
(01:28):
She had not even a share in his opening compliments.
Her name was not mentioned, and there was so striking
a change in all this, and such an ill judged
solemnity of leave taking in his graceful acknowledgments, as she
thought at first, could not escape her father's suspicion. It did. However,
her father was quite taken up with the surprise of
so sudden a journey and his fears that mister Elton
(01:50):
might never get safely to the end of it, and
saw nothing extraordinary in his language. It was a very
useful note, for it supplied them with fresh matter for
thought and conversation during the rest of their lonely evening.
Mister Woodhouse talked over his alarms, and Emma was in
spirits to persuade them away. With all her usual promptitude.
She now resolved to keep Harriet no longer in the dark.
(02:13):
She had reason to believe her nearly recovered from her cold,
and it was desirable that she should have as much
time as possible forgetting the better of her other complaint
before the gentleman's return. She went to Missus Goddard's accordingly
the very next day to undergo the necessary penance of communication,
and a severe one. It was. She had to destroy
all the hopes which she had been so industriously feeding,
(02:36):
to appear in the ungracious character of the one preferred,
and acknowledge herself grossly mistaken and misjudging in all her
ideas on one subject, all her observations, all her convictions,
all her prophecies for the last six weeks. The confession
completely renewed her first shame, and the sight of Harriet's
tears made her think that she should never be in
(02:57):
charity with herself again. Harriet bore the intelligence very well,
blaming nobody and in everything testifying such an ingenuousness of
disposition and lowly opinion of herself as must appear with
particular advantage at that moment to her friend. Emma was
in the humor to value simplicity and modesty to the utmost,
and all that was amiable, all that ought to be attaching,
(03:20):
seemed on Harriet's side, not her own. Harriet did not
consider herself as having anything to complain of. The affection
of such a man as mister Elton would have been
too great a distinction. She never could have deserved him,
and nobody but so partial and kind a friend as
Miss Woodhouse would have thought it possible. Her tears fell abundantly,
(03:40):
but her grief was so truly artless that no dignity
could have made it more respectable in Emma's eyes, and
she listened to her and tried to console her with
all her heart and understanding. Really, for the time convinced
that Harriet was a superior creature of the two, and
that to resemble her would be more for her own
welfare and happiness than all that genius or intelligence could do.
(04:01):
It was rather too late in the day to set
about being simple minded and ignorant, but she left her
with every previous resolution confirmed of being humble and discreet
and repressing imagination all the rest of her life. Her
second duty, now inferior only to her father's claims, was
to promote Harriet's comfort, and endeavored to prove her own
affection in some better method than by match making. She
(04:23):
got her to Hartfield and showed her the most unvarying kindness,
striving to occupy and amuse her, and by books and
conversation to drive mister Elton from her thoughts. Time she
knew must be allowed for this being thoroughly done, And
she could suppose herself but an indifferent judge of such
matters in general, and very inadequate to sympathize in an
attachment to mister Elton in particular. But it seemed to
(04:46):
her reasonable that, at Harriet's age, and with the entire
extinction of all hope, such a progress might be made
towards a state of composure by the time of mister
Elton's return, as to allow them all to meet again
in the common routine of acquaintance, without any danger of
betraying sentiments or increasing them. Harriet did think him all perfection,
and maintained the non existence of anybody equal to him
(05:08):
in person or goodness, and did, in truth prove herself
more resolutely in love than Emma had foreseen. But yet
it appeared to her so natural, so inevitable to strive
against an inclination of that sort unrequited, that she could
not comprehend its continuing very long in equal force. If
mister Elton, on his return, made his own indifference as
(05:29):
evident and indubitable, as she could not doubt he would
anxiously do, she could not imagine Harriet's persisting to place
her happiness in the sight or the recollection of him.
Their being fixed, so absolutely fixed in the same place
was bad for each. For all three, not one of
them had the power of removal or of effecting any
material change of society. They must encounter each other and
(05:52):
make the best of it. Harriet was farther unfortunate in
the tone of her companions at Missus Goddard's, mister Elton
being the adoration of all the teachers and great girls
in the school. And it must be at Hartfield only
that she could have any chance of hearing him spoken
of with cooling moderation or repellent truth. Where the wound
had been given, there must the cure be found if anywhere,
(06:14):
And Emma felt that till she saw her in the
way of cure, there could be no true peace for herself.
End of Chapter seventeen.
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