"The exploration of different types of selfishness gives Emma considerable depth of meaning beneath its comic surface" and also contributes to this comedy. Jane Austen's characters inhabit a hyper-polite society, where admirable displays of selflessness and concern for others are often the result of the characters' self-interest, and what is good for them, they consider good for everything the world. Although many characters, such as Mr. Woodhouse, Mrs. Elton, and Mr. John Knightley, share this characteristic, it is most prominent in Emma and Mr. Knightley. Because the novel is filtered primarily through their perspectives, it depicts a comically confused world in which social virtue and selfishness are indistinguishable when helping these characters, opposed when harming them, and worthless in their own right. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayMr. Woodhouse, being Emma's father, undoubtedly influenced her view of others. He is an invalid, or at least a hypochondriac, who provides a comic foil for Emma while he imposes his opinions on everyone. Because porridge is good for him, all the guests should have it; he is shocked that his grandchildren want to play with knives; he constantly calls Emma's housekeeper, who has just married Mr. Weston, "'poor Miss Taylor'" (18), not because she had an unhappy marriage, but because by moving , she deprived him of company. Emma gently corrects him, observing that "Mr. Weston is such a... nice... man that he very much deserves a good wife" (9), but as children often do, Emma notices her father's faults without realizing that she adopted them. She approves of Miss Taylor's marriage, not least because she considers it her own doing. Emma loves nothing more than socializing with her friends, and once Miss Taylor gets married, Emma is restless and lonely. Lacking hobbies, she befriends Harriet Smith, a well-kept girl of mysterious origins, and brings her into society. Emma thinks she's doing Harriet a great good, but above all she's having fun and generously flattering her own ego. Helping Harriet, she thinks, “would be an interesting and certainly a very kind enterprise” (22). Mr. Knightley observes that “[Harriet’s] ignorance is hourly flattery” (34); Emma can take credit for all sorts of improvements in the patient and passive girl. When Mr. Elton praises Emma for "the attractions [she has] added... infinitely superior to what [Harriet] received from nature" (37), Emma accepts this hyperbolic praise with only polite modesty. His good deed not only contributes to society, but earns him the approval of society. Confident in his benevolence, Emma sets out to marry Harriet to Mr. Elton, a man she calls “good-natured, cheerful, obliging, and gentle” (30). Mr. Elton is Harriet's social superior and has no interest in her, but Emma deludes herself into thinking that is the case. She advises Harriet to reject her suitor, Mr. Martin, calling him a "rude and vulgar farmer" (30). Absorbed in the good, Emma ignores Mr. Knightley's warning that Mr. Elton cares very much about his future wife's wealth; and when she learns that Mr. Elton is truly in love with her, her apparent pity toward Harriet quickly turns into self-pity and resentment toward the previously praised Mr. Elton. She reflects: "If I had not persuaded Harriet to love this man, I might have been born anything" (112), then she finds praise for her "quick mind" (112) and reasons to not to likeMr. Elton's presumption to marry. above her class, never imagining that Harriet is as socially inferior to Mr. Elton as she is to Emma. Soon after, Mr. Elton married the daughter of a wealthy merchant and brought her to Highbury. Upon meeting Mrs. Elton, Emma only needs fifteen minutes of knowledge to compose a litany of her faults. Mrs. Elton is indeed a thoroughly disagreeable woman, but Emma nevertheless judges hastily. She rejects as impertinence Mrs. Elton's offers of friendship: an introduction to Bath and the formation of a musical society; she is appalled that “such a vulgar and upstart little creature” (229) could call Mr. Knightley a gentleman, despite the fact that she herself would agree with the sentiment. Frank Churchill's views are more moderate; the only fault he finds in Mrs. Elton is her rapidity of speech, but Emma cannot forget that "Harriet would have been a better match" (224). Because he proposed to Emma instead of Harriet, no wife of Mr. Elton could ever be virtuous in Emma Woodhouse's eyes. Emma's opinions are also influenced by the lack of relationships. She and Harriet visit a poor and sick family, donating money and understanding. Emma reflects on the evils of poverty, saying, "I feel now that I can only think of these poor creatures" (75) and then wonders how long she will actually remember them. The brevity of his memory might itself be surprising; in one page, she has decided that thinking about the poor is only “vain sympathy” (75). The social consciousness of the novel abruptly disappears and only reappears when Emma accidentally notices a few chapters later "what the poor must suffer in winter" (129) and Harriet's encounter with the gypsies in the third volume. Emma's visit to the sick family is as much for exercise and an excuse to drive Harriet to Mr. Elton as it is for genuine kindness. The second mention is only intended to distract Harriet from thoughts of Mr. Elton. The third provides a backdrop for the valiant Frank Churchill to save her from "half a dozen children" (276) so that Emma will think that Harriet is in love with him and not Mr. Knightley. None of these events focus on the plight of the truly poor; no poor person is named, and none speaks; they are not important to Emma or any other character. Everyone at Cole's party is impressed by the generosity of the anonymous donor who gives a pianoforte to Jane Fairfax, but no one finds it strange, even when we know that Frank Churchill gave the gift, that he also chased away a pack of gypsies without giving them a shilling. Frank Churchill himself exhibits a strange mix of generosity and selfishness. He marries Jane Fairfax, a girl without money, and yet he conducts his engagement at the expense of others. To hide his secret attachment to his adoptive mother, who would never allow it, he flirts with Emma. This distresses Miss Fairfax and is likely to distress Miss Woodhouse even more. Frank Churchill states: 'If I had not been convinced of [Emma's] indifference, I should not have been induced by selfish views to continue'” (359). He may be honest, but he places high stakes in his judgment of character. Emma considers it “far beyond impropriety” (327). His indignation is understandable, but in an absurd sense. She defends Frank Churchill's inability to defy his parents, even over the small matter of a visit to Highbury, and yet she would like him to confess this engagement to them. Frank Churchill risks either losing his beloved or embarrassing Emma. From Emma's perspective, he chose selfishly; therefore, he breaks "the strict rule of law" (329) to save Miss Fairfax from the fate.