- I've noticed a trend throughout the novel thus far. This trend is food. It seems as though every ten pages or so there is a conversation regarding treats and dining. There was even almost an entire chapter solely dedicated to baked apples. I'm not completely sure why this is, or if it has any underlying meanings, but here are some examples.
- First, in the beginning of the book, Mr. Woodhouse and Emma have just arrived home from Miss Taylor's (now Mrs. Weston) wedding. Mr. Woodhouse's stomach "could bear nothing rich", so he goes on about how he can't understand how anyone ate the wedding cake, because "he could never believe other people to be different from himself."
- Also, a few pages after the wedding cake incident, food popped up again! A few ladies were giving Mrs. Bates advice on her eggs when one said, "Mrs. Bates, let me propose your venturing on one of these eggs. An egg boiled very soft is not unwholesome. Serle understands boiling an egg better than any body. I would not recommend an egg boiled by any body else." The ladies continued to go on about wine, tarts, and custard.
- My personal favorite reference to food in the novel is the baked apples section. Miss Bates was discussing the dessert with Frank Churchill, and all of a sudden the conversation escalated into apples in general and Mr. Knightley. While thanking Mr. Knightley for his apple gift, Miss Bates says, "Oh! Mr. Knightley, one moment more; something of consequence - so shocked! Jane and I are both so shocked about the apples!" There was also a few pages before this of the conversation with Frank Churchill.
- Lastly, Emma wants to send food to Jane Fairfax. She decides on giving her an amazing arrow root. Unfortunately, Jane sends it back with Miss Bates. In this case, I know for sure that the arrow root was important. It was a metaphor for poison. Emma understands this when she realizes "an airing in the Hartfield carriage would have been the rack, and arrow root from the Hartfield store-room must have been poison."
- There are countless other references to food and dining in Emma, but these were a few that I remembered and could find easily. I think it is just a coincidence that this theme was reoccurring, but I found it interesting nonetheless.
feb 23 2013 ∞
feb 24 2013 +
feb 24 2013 +