This is a
big question, but in brief, through her depiction of the village of Higbury as seen
throughWoodhouse's eyes, Austen offers a sharp outline of class distinctions in Regency society
and shows the importance of marriage to a woman's situation in life.
Emma is
at the top of the social heap in her village, as her family owns property, has a good pedigree,
and is wealthy. Emma herself is possessed of 10,000 pounds, a sizable fortune at the time, and
lives with her father in a fine home with many servants and a carriage.
Her
snobbery helps us understand social class in the village. She looks down on Mrs. and Miss Bates
because, although of her same social class, they have become poor. They are poor because Mrs.
Bates is widowed and Miss Bates never married. (They have no male to support them.) Their
beautiful and accomplished niece Jane Fairfax, who Emma thinks of as "elegant," is
also poor, and Emma pities her. Having social class is important, but so, as Emma understands,
is...
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