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Book 5 of 6 completed of my accidental Austen binge. I have to say that Emma is enormously entertaining. But as I was reading this book a strange realization came over me. At this point I think I'm becoming deeply acquainted with Austen's wit and tricks, and there is one quality that I find the most incredible.

Jane Austen is amazing at writing about annoying people. There are the annoying neighbors, the annoying suitors, the annoying relatives. She recreates the inane way in which these annoying people prattle on with such humor. Austen's so clever with her writing that this is not annoying for the reader and somehow becomes wickedly funny. You share in the joke with a raised eyebrow. And, Austen manages to do all this without being mean or nasty.

Emma could be called annoying at times. She's not a particularly likable heroine. She assumes much, is spoiled and a bit unaware. But Austen also shows how she learns from her mistakes and Emma is always endeavoring to improve which makes her more interesting and charming over time. I've seen so many movie versions of Emma, and various remakes, but for some reason Clueless came to my mind the most while reading this book.

For me, this book more enjoyable than the films because I found it deeply satisfying to get a much clearer picture of of the satellite characters. For example, SPOILER ALERT, the attraction between Mr. Churchill and Jane Fairfax is explained in detail. It was a side story that always rang a little false to me in the films. But here Frank emerges as less of a serious rake than some of the other Austen bad boys: he's as thoughtless and selfish, he wants to have his cake and eat it too, but he's much less offensive than Willoughby or that odious Mr. Fairfax from Mansfield Park who's downright sinister. And Frank and Emma's faux love reminded me of a pair of popular kids at high school who play a game with no real tenderness behind it.

Jane Fairfax is also very interesting. Now having read five of her books, you begin to see the Austen patterns here. Austen has a fixation with women with "low prospects." The heroine of Mansfield Park is a cousin of unimpressive birth, Anne in Persuasion is past her prime. Here Austen presents not one, but two women with tough futures ahead of them. Jane who is going to be a governess and Harriet Smith who seems to be caught in some sort of unmarried woman limbo-land.

I like how Austen balances the qualities of these two women, who are beautiful and full of noble qualities against an unpleasant future. Jane keeps her dignity while being bossed about by Mrs. Elton and sweet-tempered Harriet is pushed around by Emma. You feel Austen's sympathy for the underdog. She's rooting for these women to triumph. They are trapped in a glass jar of limitations must do their best to navigate their constraints, even if that means marrying wonky Frank Churchill. But ultimately all of Austen's characters, including Emma, are in a box of limitations.

I love Jane Austen, but sometimes I get bit tired of reading about the device of marriage as a strategic move.

***First time I've ever used the word annoying seven times in a review! But in the best sense.