《Emma》读后感10篇
《Emma》是一本由Jane Austen著作，Bantam Classics出版的Mass Market Paperback图书，本书定价：USD 4.95，页数：448，文章吧小编精心整理的一些读者的读后感，希望对大家能有帮助。
《Emma》读后感(一)：随便说说
mrs elton的表现其实和emma差不多，但emma有自我反省的意识，同样的错误虽然犯了两次但第二次程度略轻，虽然也是，五十步笑百步吧
书的主题是求偶，但也有很多写人性的，并不一定说是丑恶的人性（谁没点小心思呢，而且作为妇女，小心思要多得多）。男一号作为superior的源于生活但高于生活的人，承担了高富帅且伟光正的人设。虽然可能一开始不太讨好吧。
很多女人也是虚荣的动物，判断一个人好不好的前提要看他对自己好不好（而且不是真的好不好，是能否能言善辩flatter你的虚荣，这点emma做的还是不错的，既喜欢吹捧，又虚心knightly的批评）所以一开始讨好的最后都被证明人渣，作者这么写好像更是为了让戏剧感强烈，而不是为了证明人不可貌相和偏见的可怕。
总之还是有很多可以自省和学习的地方，我不喜欢emma因为她身上太多作的地方，我不讨厌Emma因为在她身上看到了自己（怎么会讨厌自己？！！）我们所厌恶的别人的性格，其实自己身上都有，自己想摆脱，然而却不得，这也是为什么你看着别人更加可恶，因为她就是你的镜子啊。虽然你可以假装自己高贵冷艳，把丑陋的自己藏起来或者打扮一下，恐同即深柜嘛。在物质方面，你羡慕嫉妒恨的，往往是和你同一阶层但比你稍微高级一点点的人。在精神方面也是一样，如果你真的逃离了低级趣味，又何必费尽心力去恨她呢？
别浪费时间在别人如何看待你，和你如何看待别人身上
love who who嘛，虽然没事闲的的妇女们，总难免小肚鸡肠，跳出这个思维怪圈，ok？
《Emma》读后感(二)：认清自己 认清形势
这两天没日没夜地宅起来看完了Jane Austen：<Emma>，<Persusion>, <Mansfield Park>,<Northanger Abbey>. 发现Austen同学越老越调皮越有春心，后期作品中美貌军官开始替代贵族猛烈上场了。当然老贵族就愤怒了：“I strongly object to the Navy. It brings people of obscure birth into undue distinction and it cuts up a man's youth and vigor most horribly! “
Austen同学大概一辈子和女人社会混在一起，对女人和“上流美“充满了小讥讽比较展现真实的人性，大家都好里有坏奸里有蠢，倒是浑圆可爱。但是Austen不能克制对不了解事物的浪漫幻想，男主人公都是完美之极，各个对爱都恒久远。而且Austen的女主角大都不能够碰见两个好男人，然后鉴定出一个是喜欢，一个是爱。大概这种爱与喜欢的选择是现代数学题目，Austen女主角选择题基本上都是一个超级完美，另外一个非蠢即奸。是白痴都能选择。
不过如果字里行间看，Austen有时候的老实话很可爱，关于爱情的开始。在persuasion里她写道“he had nothinng to do, and she had hardly anybody to love."于是大家就举头望明月，低头思个春。 关于女朋友之间关于择偶的蛊惑，Austen在Emma里指出女朋友们扎堆讨论男人这是一件很危险的事情，从女友的眼里，除了白马王子，别的男人都是Farmer之流不可匹配，于是在互相蛊惑下，岁月很容易蹉跎。Austen多么推崇sense,人要认清自己，找到适合自己的那个Farmer。
个人觉得Emma作为书还是很值得一读。书里充满了微言大义，在影视里就彻底琼瑶了。个人觉得没有比Mr.Knightley更令人惊恐并值得所有男人效仿的择偶方式了。啥在她还是个婴儿的时候，他就抱过她。择偶要从娃娃抓起，他的思想阴云密布在她的成长路线上，坚定不移地把她培养成他认可的类型。然后她长到18岁，他34岁，发现还是那么般配。大概伍迪艾伦走的就是这种择偶路线，把养女养成老婆。
《Emma》读后感(三)：The Perfect Gentleman
It's been several years since I last read Austen. It was an enjoyable read, although I find myself more critical of the heroine and less patient with the pettiness of village life. What stood out to me is the character of Mr. Knightley, the epitome of the English gentleman. He is regarded by all as a man of honour, upright in both speech and conduct. In Emma's own words, she is fortunately connected to a character so much superior to her own. The charm of the story lies in Mr. Knightley's ardent love for Emma, a girl so far from perfection. Who wouldn't want to be Emma Woodhouse？ Handsome, clever and rich, she seems to unite "some of the best blessings of existence." Yet Emma is not without fault. You cannot appreciate her quick-wittedness without noticing her quickness to judge, or praise her open disposition without noticing her insensitivity to those of less amiable circumstances. Still her greatest fault lies in her vanity, which renders her vulnerable to Frank Churchill's flattery. Emma is comparable to a typical 21-year-old girl in the 21st century. She is confident, albeit overly so. Moreover, she is independent and strong-willed. At the outset of the novel - at the age of one and twenty - she already declares her intention to remain single, purportedly to care for her aging father. The whole world must be married off, but not Emma Woodhouse. Surely the butterflies would pass her by. I venture to say many girls more or less share this disinclination towards marriage. I'm not referring to those who are certain of their calling to singleness; I'm talking about those who think love extraneous and not-for-them. If you've ever heard people preach self love, you would agree with me. Let's face it, there is no Mr. Knightley; the search is doomed to failure. Being single and self-sufficient is simply easier. What Austen said two hundred years ago about "a single woman of good fortune is always respectable" holds true to this day. You can count on wealth, beauty and social status to provide that false sense of security, whereas relationships necessarily entail vulnerability. The denial of the need for love actually betrays the fear of love, for which pride is a most convenient disguise. But there is someone who can break the grip of that fear. When I reached the end of the novel, I had a revelation about the parallel between the character of Mr. Knightley and Jesus. You might find it a peculiar comparison, but allow me to explain why this beloved romance is so revealing of Jesus' love for us. Mr. Knightley once said that Emma is "faultless in spite all her faults." He lectures and rebukes her with the sincere intention of helping her mature, while she takes his reproof with openness and humility. In the same way, Jesus loves us as we are, but refuses to leave us where we are at. Out of his infinite wisdom, love, and mercy, He corrects us in order for us to grow "in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people." Although we are imperfect, even sinful, Jesus thinks the world of us and LOVES us to the end. So long as we are willing to repent of our sins and embrace God's ways (just as Emma transforms and matures by the end of the story), Jesus will see us as "sinless despite all of our sins." In Revelations 3:20 Jesus says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." As Maker of the universe, He has every right and authority to come in, yet He knocks ever so tenderly, patiently awaiting us - His beloved ones - to open the door of our heart. Now this, my friend, is your Perfect Gentleman!
《Emma》读后感(四)：Women and Marriage
Emma, featuring its rich domestic realism of the late eighteenth century, has been long considered as one of the most representative works of Jane Austen. Under the guidance of my former reading experience, I have mainly explored this love story from a feminist perspective.
It is universally acknowledged that marriage is an eternal theme in Jane Austen’s novels. However, unlike her contemporary writers who glorified love and romance, Austen indicated that romantic stories can only create absurd misconceptions and it is money and social position that play the dominant role in a decent marriage. Most women of her times were confronted with monetary pressure to marry as she pointed out in an ironic tone that “Single women had a dreadful propensity of being poor.” In Emma, for example, Miss Bates, as a spinster, “stood in the very worst predicament” and “ had never boasted either beauty or cleverness.” And her niece Jane Fairfax, if she cannot engage herself to a wealthy husband, is bound to be a governess for the rest of her life. As a matter of fact, patriarchal control of women depends greatly on their being denied the right to earn or even inherit their money and therefore, marriage becomes the only form of social recognition for women.
As for married women, who are dependent on their husbands in all aspects, they still have to acquiesce in their own vulnerability and confinement. In the feminist tome The Mad Woman in the Attic, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar wrote “Women accommodate themselves to men and the space they provide...... The man’s house is where the heroine can retreat from both her parents’ inadequacies and the perils of the outside world.” The case is true in Austen’s works. She portrayed in detail the spacious and beautiful Donwell Abbey in Emma as well as Pemberley in Pride and Prejudice , both symbolizing the masculine power and arousing the heroine’s sense of attachment to the hosts. Furthermore, as is evidently shown in the novel, women,with no vocations, have to endure the banality of their domestic life. As Emma once complains: “This sensation of listlessness, weariness, stupidity, this disinclination to sit down and employ myself, this feeling of everything's being dull and insipid about the house!” Women are always expected to comply with the elaborate rules of etiquette. Meanwhile, confined in a tight place, they spend most of their time tittle-tattling and observing those trivial and meaningless things around them. As a result, modern readers like me sometimes find it boring and stifling to follow those long conversations in the book.
y portraying scenes of daily life in a limited social circle, the novel lends us deep insight into women’s inner world. For example, the ignorant and self-important Mrs. Elton, from my perspective, is the epitome of the so called “narcissist” depicted by Simone de Beauvoir in The Second Sex. Fully convinced of her superiority while simultaneously aware of her nothingness, the woman, through self-deception, identifies herself with an imaginary double. As Beauvoir described: “ She looks at herself too much to see anything; she understands in others only what she recognizes as like herself in them.” “Despite her superficial arrogance, the narcissist realizes her precarious positions; and this explains why she is uneasy, oversensitive, irritable and constantly on the watch.” In the novel, Mrs. Elton are deeply absorbed in self-worship and envisages herself as the leader of her society. Clothes and conversations can satisfy much of her desire for display, as she constantly boasts of her own dressings and interferes with her neighbors’ private affairs.
The two leading female roles of the novel, Emma Woodhouse and Jane Fairfax seem antithetical as far as their disposition is concerned. But as some critics point out, the two can still be viewed as doubles to some extend. Emma, intelligent, imaginative and high-spirited, always tries to transforms the dull reality into a imaginative stories where all the characters are under her own manipulation. On the contrary, Jane is quiet and passive, even when she is humiliated by her lover. However, despite the long-standing hostility, Emma reconciles herself with Jane, when she, filled with shame, ultimately realizes all her misinterpretations and recognizes her strong self-delusion. As the author’s deｓｃｒｉｐｔion goes “What had she to wish for？ Nothing, but to grow more worthy of him, whose intentions and judgment had been ever so superior to her own. Nothing, but that the lessons of her past folly might teach her humility and circumspection in future.” By abandoning her imagination, Emma becomes more compassionate and mature, yet in this process, she might also unconsciously give up her individuality and subjectivity. The implication here is clear: Young women are often caught in the dilemma between speech and silence, independence and dependence as well as personal identity and social role. As Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar mocked: “The girl can hardly find a way out of this contradiction without the aid of a benevolent author .”
It is noted that the duality in Emma may also convey Jane Austen’s own sense of anxiety over her irony and sensibility, which were regarded as “unfeminine” in her times. However, with all her remarkable works, Austen has already achieved an act of transcendence and called into question the traditional understanding of women.
《Emma》读后感(五)：Virginia Woolf's remark of Austen
quot;Here was a woman about the year 1800 writing without hate, without bitterness, without fear, without protest, without preaching. That was how Shakespeare wrote, I thought … and when people compare Shakespeare and Jane Austen, they may mean that the minds of both had consumed all impediments; and for that reason we do not know Jane Austen and we do not know Shakespeare, and for that reason Jane Austen pervades every word that she wrote, and so does Shakespeare."
《Emma》读后感(六)：深度解读emma
读懂自己后，在去看别人的故事。否则，容易拿和想象中的比较贴近的人，其实就是别人的方法处理自己的问题。模仿乔布斯的必然失败，就是这个道理。每个独一无二的生命都无法复制。
神奇也恰好在于此，每个生命都有自己的confine，芸芸众生中恰好有另一个生命去refine他的confine！
爱情有道理吗？可能没有。如果把两个个体能否产生爱情，比作常说的两个人能否起化学反应。从系统变量有多少来着手。不幸的是变量多到无法穷尽，地位、才学、财富、出身、品味、外表、家庭教育、童年的心灵创伤父母感情示范作用，父母性格等很多。更令人沮丧的是每个人心里每个变量的权重排列又不同！
结论是怎么可以靠发现一个公式，输入上述变量逻辑推导出来化学反应呢？
于是聪明的化学家发明了触媒，帮助两个不会产生或比较慢产生反应的个体，发生反应。 看到这，你不得不感叹，都有一个媒字。物质世界和精神世界两个个体起化学反应，需要一个媒。
那无比复杂的精神世界会是什么样呢？看看奥斯汀笔下的emma就是一个很妙的例子。
聪明的emma看起来具备了所有的优势，地位、才学、财富、出身、品味等，尤其难得是emma同时具备对穷人的恩慈，怜悯和爱。似乎接近完美，但从她时而流露出对简的嫉妒，可以看出她内心有一种confine，但她不察觉，但谁能帮她refine呢？结尾有答案。
如果说有什么不足，比如：浅尝则止的学校弹琴、读书和画画技艺使得她很难触及美的本质纯粹，pure就是一种自然而然。而这恰好是emma内心的confine投射在外在的表现。
但这不妨碍她信心十足的认为自己可以了解镇上所有女孩应该找什么样的男人！ So 这个外表看起来像极了当下社会所说的白富美小姐emma，无可救药的喜欢上了做媒mathmaker。
为什么呢？在她看来每一对男女产生爱情，都需要一种“催化剂”，化学反应中讲叫“触媒”（catalysis）而她恰好是一个聪明的旁观者，通过她的视角分析，发现身边的伴女smith的条件变量，她甚至有种感觉能够让她和镇上所有的男人发生化学反应！ridiculous！
但微妙的是emma身边的一位绝对标准的英伦绅士Jeremy Northam 饰演的奈特利先生，每次都中肯而又到位地指出emma这样做是不对的。
比如说 电影中一段来自豆瓣的影评 ----“ 正好这个时候她新认识了一个朋友——美丽温柔的史密斯小姐。史密斯小姐是个私生女，连自己的亲生父母是谁都不知道。在当时的社会，这样的女子是没有什么地位的。史密斯小姐其实和农夫马丁已彼此倾心。但爱玛却因为自己对史密斯小姐的喜爱，认定史密斯小姐一定是位绅士的女儿，并一个劲的给史密斯小姐灌输这种思想，让史密斯小姐也认为作为农夫的马丁配不上自己，自己应该嫁给一个绅士，于是拒绝了马丁的求婚。看到这里或许多数人会有点讨厌爱玛——怎么那么自以为是呢，看不起农夫，还拆散人家的婚姻。不过仔细想想，一方面，爱玛作为一个有钱人家的小姐，从小养尊处优，看不起农夫也是正常的，我相信在我们当中，也有不少女孩子或多或少有同样的想法。另一个方面，虽然她拆散了史密斯小姐和马丁，但她并没有恶意，她的出发点和愿望其实是好的——希望她的朋友得到更好的归宿。所以我一直是喜欢爱玛的，她本性善良，因为娇纵也有不少缺点，是个很真实的人物，而且当她知道自己错了的时候会努力去改正去弥补，在她身上我相信不少女孩子都会看到自己的影子。再回过头来说这段情节——当奈特利先生得知因为爱玛的影响史密斯小姐拒绝了马丁的求婚，非常生气，认为爱玛使史密斯小姐失去了得到幸福的一次绝好机会，于是与爱玛争执起来。我很喜欢这段场景里的奈特利先生，冷静，理智，分析问题一针见血——虽然我认为他也有点过于贬低史密斯小姐，但又不得不承认他说的都是事实。很喜欢奈特利先生不苟言笑的神情，在看到这样的神情之后，再去回想他和蔼的时候，才发现那个时候的他其实也同样迷人。也很喜欢这段中爱玛的打扮，似乎是全剧中最漂亮最可爱的时候了。而我也不得不承认，在视觉效果，如人物装束、周围环境等场景上，96版似乎比97版更耐看一点。同样有一个细节很有意思：爱玛告诉奈特利先生说史密斯小姐拒绝了马丁，起初奈特利先生有点不相信，于是爱玛说她看见了史密斯小姐给马丁的回信；听到这里，奈特利先生目光如炬的盯着爱玛说到：“爱玛——”于是爱玛立刻像谎言便揭穿的小孩，不敢直视奈特利先生的眼睛。看到这两个镜头，我不禁笑起来，奈特利先生实在太了解爱玛了，一听就知道是爱玛干的好事——回信肯定是她帮史密斯小姐写的；而在奈特利先生面前，爱玛就像个没长大的孩子。 ”
更精彩的在于，名著果然是名著，在看似自然的再自然不过的剧情下，暗藏了许多refine emma的努力！真的为作者的良苦用心却似看似并不着力叫好！好的作品真的就是一个完整丰富的人，怀疑奥斯汀完美演绎了她自己内心的confine，否则不可能如此天衣无缝地写出别人的故事。 冰山下的部分才是关键，而不是水面上的东西！
emma这个聪明的姑娘当然明白，她需要什么样的男人。这个人就在身边，但比起来emma童年的无拘无束造就了可爱的顽皮，包括在matchmaker的过程看似理性十足地分析，但结果全部落空。自己都喃喃自语，每次matchmaker以后，好像要失去什么! 还好，她的mr right 奈特利洞察emma的心思，每次都指出她在做一件荒唐的事情。
每次失败的machmaker恰好成为emma与奈特利产生化学反应的过程，这个过程自然而然，两人的爱表露在每个细节上。讽刺的是，这个过程没有触媒。
真爱会发生，但不需要触媒的道理在于此。hint一个有趣的东西，每个个体都有confine，直到遇到她生命中的MR.RIGHT帮助她refine。读懂自己的内心的怎么可能是别人，但帮助自己的完美的恰好必须是灵魂的另一半。emma的影迷了，有很多人读出的只是独身女人必须有钱，钱是媒吧，但是比起soul mate来，钱真的一钱不值~
《Emma》读后感(七)：爱情侦探推理小说
看了足足有好几个月。当初知道这个作品是在很久以前读到一篇美国作家Truman Capote的一篇短篇小说A lamp in the window，其中提到那个荒原小木屋的女主人——一个老妇人，非常喜欢爱玛，这也是卡波特自己很喜欢的一部小说。卡波特是我很喜欢的一个作家，于是暗暗记在心中，以后有机会一定要读《爱玛》，这种既冷门又经典的书颇受我的喜爱。
及至开始阅读才发现并不那么容易，首先是语言上的，奥斯丁——或许很多英国作家都这样——写作用的句子很复杂，好好的一个肯定句非要否定个好几次，一句话还有无数逗号，补充的内容一大堆，一看快就云里雾里了。不过英国味儿非常浓，里面的对话拿出来读一读，颇有绅士的风范。
其次情节也不是那么有趣，下面是百度来的一段情节介绍：
热心的爱玛关心哈丽埃特的婚姻，她认为这姑娘是大户人家出身，因此要她拒绝农夫马丁的求婚，并一味鼓励她去爱牧师埃尔顿。爱玛姐夫的哥哥奈特利比爱玛大十六岁，他始终爱着爱玛，可是又经常批评她的缺点，包括她如此主观地干预别人的恋爱和婚姻。在哈丽埃尔顿同霍金斯小姐结婚后，爱玛又要哈丽埃特去爱弗兰克•邱吉尔，但哈丽埃特却爱上了奈特利，这时候爱玛才大吃一惊发觉自己心里一直爱着奈特利。最后，他们两人、弗兰克•邱吉尔和简•菲尔费克斯，以及马丁和哈丽埃特三对有情人终成眷属。
相信一个头脑清晰的人看完这段话后也会晕头转向，这哪儿是哪儿啊？总之就是一个家境颇富的小姑娘爱玛及其周围人的爱情故事，谁喜欢上谁啊谁又不喜欢上谁，几段三角几段猜疑，过程千丝万缕，危机四伏，好在结局是皆大欢喜，小说中的人物各有所得，真让我感叹奥斯丁也安排得也太巧了一个不多一个不少，大家都有了伴儿！
辛辛苦苦翻字典看了将近五百面原文，一直在琢磨卡波特为什么会喜欢这部作品？直到结尾也没想大明白。
在我看来，《爱玛》如同一部以17世纪初英国乡村为背景的 “爱情侦探小说”，我们随着奥斯丁的语言游走于舞会、壁炉边的谈话、乡间小路的散步以及17世纪初人们所能做到的消遣娱乐活动。而线索就隐藏在这些看似平淡的对话中，我们也随着作者的有意误导相信原来谁和谁是一对，但是悬念在结局才揭开，原来他和她才是一对，他和她竟然重归于好了……哇，太诧异了！这就是阅读这部作品给我的最直接感受。
既然爱情故事是这部小说中的主题，就不得不谈谈爱玛的爱情观。爽快地承认，对爱玛的爱情观我是难以接受的。
爱玛天真，聪明，喜欢做媒。但是她自己却对爱情保持一种冷静的疏离感，或许是自己太聪明了，对于有很多自己的观点。但她对完美婚姻的定义，也永远离不开一个拥有华美宅第、高尚道德、体面修养的男主人公。她不厌其烦地宣扬中产阶级道德，把体面、教养与财产作为一个男人最大的美德，她把“嫁一个有钱的好男人”作为女性最幸福的事情，同时憎恨任何对阶级的僭越。在她看来，爱情如同一桩生意，男女双方得具有一定的社会地位和财产才有资格来做这桩生意。
但是也有人在评价简奥斯丁的时候说过，她在马克思出生前就已经是马克思主义者了。这个当然是指她对于资产阶级婚姻精辟的见解，把财产金钱提到一个主要的位置上，完全没有受到浪漫主义思想的影响，只有英国女人才会这般冷静与实际，这就是为什么英国哲学具有实用和经验主义的特征，而不是深受浪漫主义思潮影响的大陆思想那样激进。
浪漫和冷静，也许本来就没有哪个更好哪个更优秀。但是，在我看来，爱情毕竟还是个浪漫的事儿，如果把爱情弄的像做生意一般实际和功利，那么爱情还有什么意义。起码目前我就是这样想的。
《Emma》读后感(八)：《Emma》的读书笔记
E. M. Forster称述自己阅读Jane Austen小说的感受，说那是“with my mouth open and my mind closed（咧嘴大笑，不作深思）”，我以为这是一句极高的赞誉。Austen的小说读起来轻松有趣，没有深重的苦难和极致的悲喜，有的是片刻之间产生和消化的矛盾冲突，好像沙龙中的妙语，完全是一时智慧的迸发，过后虽则便忘却了，但那份兴冲冲的劲头和幽微难说的韵味却萦绕于唇间胸臆，久而不去。说起来，现在可再没有人会像Jane Austen那样写小说了呢。有时候我们会说某篇小说的描写让人有身临其境之感，或者说故事情节极为生动好像一切就发生在自己身边一般，我想，这其中有很大一部分原因其实是因为这篇小说让我们忘了叙述者的存在。读Jane Austen的小说却不会这样，你永远都会感觉到除开书中人物的那个独立出来的叙述者的存在，甚至是18世纪那些动不动就来一句“读者们应该明白”、“各位看官”的小说，也不会有像Austen小说那样强烈的叙述者存在感。这个叙述者仿佛同我们一样在观看着整个故事的发展变化，然而她又比我们要高明了一层。她并不只是在叙述，她一直都在评判，或者说是在把早经确定的判断以叙述的形式不动声色地表达出来。这种评判与叙述交织的程度是如此之高，以至于所有的“曲终奏雅”和归纳提炼的结构都显得生硬冗余，故事原来可以这么说，而寓意就像金线般交杂于其中。
《Emma》这本小说初版于1815年年末，距离Jane Austen离世不过一年半光景，正如Austen其他的小说一样，它并不是率尔成章的，据信早在1803年前后，Austen就已经在构思和试写类似的故事。书中的主人公Emma是个美丽而富有的年轻姑娘，由于母亲早逝、姐姐出嫁，早早地当家成了女主人，同体质衰弱的父亲Woodhouse先生生活在一起。Emma聪敏机灵，却自负聪明而以为能够揣测旁人的心思，洞悉世事的真相，而事实证明，那不过是她的一厢情愿，更多时候，她只是蒙蔽了自己又蒙蔽了他人，致使好事多磨，尴尬连连。
可以看到，在《Emma》这本书中，除了需要制造点悬念的Elton先生和Frank Churchill之外，几乎所有人物甫一登场，我们就已经对此人的性格了然于心，作者会用对话和相关的情节描写，甚至是直接的判断语，将这个人的性格明明白白地告诉我们。而小说后来整个的故事发展不仅与人物的性格存在重要的联系，而且常常是由主要人物的性格来推动的，因此对于性格的完整描绘本身就是小说的渐次深入，写故事也即是在写人物。比方说，小说刚开头几段话就把Emma本人的性格给交代清楚了。
Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her. （全书第一段，Chapter 1）
艾玛·伍德豪斯，聪明，漂亮，又富有，生活舒适，性情快活，生而为人能够指望的所有好事似乎让她给占全了，来到这世上快二十一年了，还没有什么能教她忧心或是烦恼的呢。
The real evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself: these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. （第四段，Chapter 1）
艾玛的境况，如果真要说有什么不足之处的话，那就是她实在是太过不受检束而处处自行其是，而她又是那样一个自视过高的性子，因此尽管她占尽各种好事，却也还是白璧着瑕，隐患重重。
很显然，本书的主要故事情节已经隐伏在此处所说的evils之中了。
让我们来看看书中其他人物的性格特点。Emma的父亲Woodhouse先生虽然极有修养，受到邻居们的爱戴，但是就像小说第一章里所介绍的，“He was a nervous man, easily depressed; fond of everybody that he was used to, and hating to part with them; hating change of every kind. Matrimony, as the origin of change, was always disagreeable; and he was by no means yet reconciled to his own daughter’s marrying, nor could ever speak of her but with compassion, though it had been entirely a match of affection”（他是个怯懦的人，常常灰心丧气，凡是自己惯于打交道的人，他总是喜欢的，且极不愿意与他们分开，不管是什么样的改变，他都讨厌。婚姻，作为万变之源，总不那么让他舒服，即使是自己女儿的婚事，到现在他也还一点也没能接受，说起她来总是带着怜悯之情，虽说那桩婚事完全是两情相悦的结果）。可是小说刚开头，Woodhouse先生便遭受到了沉重的打击。Emma的家庭教师、在这个家中生活了16年的Taylor小姐与此地的Weston先生成婚了，她从Woodhouse一家所住的Hartfield庄园搬到了Randalls，小说因此呈现出了一个小冲突的局面。厌恶婚姻的Woodhouse先生相当沮丧，每每提起她便说“Poor Miss Taylor”，前来拜访的熟人兼姻亲Knightley先生却一针见血地指出，“Poor Mr. and Miss Woodhouse, if you please; but I cannot possibly say ‘poor Miss Taylor.’ I have a great regard for you and Emma; but when it comes to the question of dependence or independence! At any rate, it must be better to have only one to please than two”（尽可以说可怜的伍德豪斯先生和伍德豪斯小姐，我可没办法说出“可怜的泰勒小姐”这种话。我非常尊重您和艾玛的感情，可要是说到是寄人篱下还是自己当家作主这回事嘛。不管怎么说，取悦一个人总比取悦两个人要好得多啊）。这么着，我们就找到了这本书中实至名归的男主角，永远正确的Knightley先生。
Woodhouse先生因为体质衰弱，还是一个格外关注健康问题的人，甚至可以说是过分关切，英语中将这类人称为hypochondriac（疑病症患者）。秉持健康的原则，他对于饮食、运动和居所的环境都显得极为慎重，而且显得相当顽固。比方说，他认为稀粥是非常有益于健康的，而晚餐则是对健康不利的，因此虽然他对来访的邻居Bates母女和Goddard太太极为慷慨热情，但是看到她们在自己面前享用晚餐就并不那么愉快，并且他总是不失时机地向餐桌上的所有人推荐稀粥（Chapter 3），当然，除了他的大女儿，同样过度关注健康问题的Isabella之外，很少有人采纳他的建议（Chapter 12）。
从兴办寄宿学校的Goddard太太那里，Emma认识了天真美丽的Harriet，两人成了好友。虽然Harriet是个私生女，被扔在寄宿学校里，Emma却只凭她一直能够收到数额不小的定期汇款，认定Harriet的父母是体面的上等人，而且在她看来，既然Taylor小姐和Weston先生的婚姻就是她首先发觉苗头并促成的，那么她也应当为自己的好友Harriet找一个好归宿，而那个人就是教区里的牧师， a very pretty young man and a very good young man, Elton先生。Emma一边固执地相信Elton先生是爱着Harriet的，一边诱导Harriet不知天高地厚地爱上了Elton，结果就是，在圣诞夜Weston家欢宴而回的马车上，以为Emma对他格外青睐的Elton先生趁着车里只有他们两个人，颇为热烈地向她求婚了。这一幕可以说是小说中最为戏剧化的一个场景了（因为Frank那边的真相大白是通过Weston太太的转述而得的，并非具体的场景），也是Emma偏执于自己毫无凭据的猜测所带来的第一个苦果，宣告她的match-making完全失败了。
事实证明，正如Knightley先生开始所警告她的那样，Elton绝不是那种可以不在乎财产地位，仅凭爱情的冲动去结婚的人，恰恰相反，财产是他相当在乎的东西。Emma带着对Harriet的愧疚，也在心里嘲笑家世较为低微的Elton对她的痴心妄想。然而，家世好的Emma并不是没有能够配得上自己的人，那个人就是Weston先生的儿子Frank Churchill。Weston先生曾经娶过一位富家小姐，他们的婚姻遭到女方家庭的反对，虽然他们还是结了婚，但是经济上却完全得不到帮助。富家小姐还是挥霍，Weston先生很快就囊中羞涩了，等到三年后这位小姐香消玉殒，女方哥哥提出将儿子过继给他们，他也觉得是个办法。之后的将近二十年里，Weston先生通过做生意又过上了衣食无忧的日子，而他的儿子Frank在Churchill家当然享受着更为富庶的生活。
Elton很快在Bath的度假中缔结了一段良缘，而Frank也终于在万众期盼之下来到了Highbury。一两次拜访、宴会之后，我们发现，Frank倒确实是个handsome young man，只是有些耽于玩乐，不过Elton太太却是个粗俗无礼、自以为是的人，三句话不离她自以为风头占尽的律师姐夫的家Maple Grove和四轮四座马车barouche landau，使Emma感到深为厌恶。可是，虽然永远正确的Knightley先生同样对Elton太太感到厌烦，他却并不对Frank有什么好的看法，不管是见到他之前，还是之后。在仔细观察Frank的表现之后，他甚至向屡屡受到Frank殷勤对待的Emma提出警告，认为Frank对待新近住回到Highbury姨妈家里的另一位姑娘Jane Fairfax的态度似乎不同寻常，他可能想要脚踩两条船。Emma自然不以为意，因为她知道，Frank对Jane的态度完全是因为自己向他透露了她对于Jane的感情生活的一些不好的揣想。事实证明，Knightley先生果然不负我们对他Mr. Always Right的封号，在作为择偶障碍的独断专行的舅妈Churchill太太突然过世之后，承受不住长久的隐瞒所带来的压力，Frank终于对父亲和继母坦言了自己同Jane早已私下订有婚约。而本想再度将Harriet代替自己推销给Frank的Emma也因此而了解到Harriet之前申明爱慕的并非Frank而是自己一直敬仰的Knightley先生，无端的揣测再次错误，但是这次却让Emma担心不已，因为她发现，自己其实一直爱着Knightley先生。Austen是这样写Emma那一刻的觉醒的：“Emma’s eyes were instantly withdrawn; and she sat silently meditating, in a fixed attitude, for a few minutes. A few minutes were sufficient for making her acquainted with her own heart. A mind like hers, once opening to suspicion, made rapid progress; she touched, she admitted, she acknowledged the whole truth. Why was it so much worse that Harriet should be in love with Mr. Knightley than with Frank Churchill？ Why was the evil so dreadfully increased by Harriet’s having some hope of a return？ It darted through her with the speed of an arrow the Mr. Knightley must marry no one but herself!”（艾玛随即将目光收回，她坐在那里沉思默想，有好几分钟，身子一动不动。这几分钟足以使她弄明白自己的心。像她那样的头脑，一旦产生疑问，便会快速探究答案。她叩问，她坦陈，她供认一切。为什么哈莉耶特爱上奈特利先生就要比爱上弗兰克·丘吉尔糟得多呢？为什么哈莉耶特有那么几分得到回报的希望会让事情变得格外糟糕，让人难以忍受呢？她猛然被击中了，仿佛被箭射穿了一般，奈特利先生不可以娶任何人，除了她！）（Chapter 47）
最后自然是皆大欢喜的局面。Knightley先生一直都爱着Emma（要不然为什么要这么仔细观察屡屡对Emma献殷勤的Frank呢），而事实证明，虽然两次的爱慕都落了空，但是Harriet完全是可以再次陷入爱情的（谁让她是天真稚嫩的Harriet呢），对Frank放了心而不再对Emma怀有妒意的Jane也热情地接受了Emma的来访，而Emma也对她表示了祝贺，在得知她与Frank对未来生活的安排之后，Emma说：“Thank you, thank you. This is just what I wanted to be assured of. Oh! If you knew how much I love everything that is decided and open!”（谢谢，谢谢你。我就想听你明明白白地告诉我这些。哦！你该知道的，我多愿意一切都明明白白、清清楚楚！）（Chapter 52）是啊，那样就不用揣测了不是吗？
就像书中人物每结识一位新朋友的时候就要对这个人作出自己的判断一样，Jane Austen对书中人物的个性，长处和短处，也都有自己明确的判断，并且将他们的性格作为故事发生和发展的动因，另外，她还不忘了在叙事的过程中适当地对他们来一番揶揄。Weston先生爱好交际，于是Emma本来计划好要几个人悄悄地避开讨厌的Elton太太去Box Hill游玩的，他却主动去邀请Elton太太参加，弄得Emma有气没处撒，又不能现在说不去，总不能说自己讨厌Elton太太吧。“Every feeling was offended; and the forbearance of her outward submission left a heavy arrear due of secret severity in her reflections, on the unmanagable goodwill of Mr. Weston’s temper.”（再没有比这更气人的事了，她面上虽然应承，心里却是咬牙忍着，对于好心办坏事的韦斯顿先生，往后私底下回想起来，总得狠狠地数落几遍才是。）（Chapter 42）等真的到了Box Hill，这些旅伴自然凑不到一块儿去，“but during the two whole hours that were spent on the Hill, there seemed a principle of separation between the other parties, too strong for any fine prospects, or any cold collation, or any cheerful Mr. Weston, to remove”（然而，在山上度过的整整两个小时时间里，任凭风景如何美妙，冷餐如何美味，韦斯顿先生如何兴高采烈，其他小团体似乎也总凑不到一块儿去）。（Chapter 43）
Emma从Weston家中得知Frank Churchill与Jane Fairfax订有婚约的消息后，本来大家说好要保密一段时间的，要知道Churchill太太还尸骨未寒，得要照顾Churchill先生的情绪，虽说后者已经同意了这桩婚事。可是Emma刚回到自己家里，前来拜访的Harriet就来说道这件事，原来Weston先生已经把一切都告诉她了。爱好交际的Weston先生是守不住秘密的啊。因此当Weston太太来告诉Emma，她刚刚去拜访过自己未来的儿媳时，作者也不忘点明Weston先生对此次拜访能够成行所起到的决定性作用，“he was extremely anxious to show his approbation to Miss Fairfax and her family, and did not conceive that any suspicion could be excited by it; or if it were, that it would be of any consequence; for ‘such things,’ he observed, ‘always got about’”（他迫不及待地要向费尔法克思小姐和她的家人表示自己对她们的认同，并不认为这种行为会引起什么猜疑，或者说，就算出现这种猜疑，也没什么大不了的，因为“这种事啊”，他说，“迟早都会传开的”）。在得知Emma和Knightley先生即将结婚的消息之后，Weston先生说：“it is to be a secret, I conclude… These matters are always a secret, till it is found out that everybody knows them. Only let me be told when I may speak out. I wonder whether Jane has any suspicion？”（这事得保密吧，我想……这种事情总是要保密，最后还不是所有人都知道了。希望你们都是等我可以说出去的时候再把事情告诉我的。我想知道简有没有猜到？）于是他第二天早上就去告诉了Jane这个消息，当时她过于健谈的姨妈Bates小姐也在场，所以当然，邻居的Cole太太啊，Perry太太啊，Elton太太啊，都知道了这个消息。“It was no more than the principals were prepared for; they had calculated from the time of its being known at Randalls how soon it would be over Highbury; and were thinking of themselves, as the evening wonder in many a family circle, with great sagacity.”（这完全不出两位当事人的预料，这件事情在兰道尔公布的当时，他们就估算出了它传遍整个海伯里的时间，发现它成为许多家庭的夜间新闻之后，他们更是觉得自己有先见之明。）
所有人都赞成这桩婚事，唯有Elton家似乎难以接受这个结果。Elton先生还要好些，Elton太太简直是一迭连声地“poor Knightley”，并且预言他们婚后同Woodhouse先生住在一起不会有什么好结果，“she knew a family near Maple Grove who had tried it, and been obliged to separate before the end of the first quarter”（她知道枫树林附近的一户人家曾经想要这么做来着，一个季度还没有过去，他们就不得不分家另住了）。她是最见不得别人比她好的了，因为Weston先生曾经在Box Hill之行的时候出过一个简单的谜语来赞美Emma，她就一直耿耿于怀。那谜语是说，有哪两个字母最好地诠释了完美的含义，而答案就是，M和A，即Emma。于是在Emma得知Jane Fairfax与Frank Churchill的婚约之后对她所作的拜访中，Elton太太也在场，她便说，“I say, Jane, what a perfect character you and I should make, if we could be shaken together. My liveliness and your solidity would produce perfection”（我说啊，简，如果我和你混在一块儿，那该是一种多么完美的性格啊。我的灵动与你的坚实，那就是完美。）
在《傲慢与偏见》中，Jane Austen教导我们，Don’t judge people by appearance，不过我们发现，在Jane Austen的小说中，从人物刚一出场，对他或她的judge就已经开始了（judging people from first appearance），不管这种judge是由书中其他人物作出的，还是作者自己作出的。然而这绝不是什么善恶是非的大事，Austen会饶有兴味地揶揄书中人物无伤大雅的缺点，我们也尽可以饶有兴味地观赏这些无伤大雅的缺点及其带来的后果，而这些缺点，不需要我们烦恼着急，也自会有个完满的解决方式。