to several characters in Emma: heroine herself, Harriet, Jane, even Frank. I Austen’s want to focus on how her responses to other characters also connect her to her fictional sisters in Emma. Retelling her story to Madame La Motte, Adeline admits to being in a labyrinth of about the behaviour of the men imprisoning ‘lost conjecture’ her. Later, when she is warned by her admirer Theodore La Luc about the conspiracy between her libidinous (and therefore accidentally quasi-incestuous) uncle and the La Mottes, she again admits to being from the labyrinth of unable ‘to extricate herself This suggestive phrase characterises not only to conjecture’. Adeline’s attempts explain the mysterious actions of the man she thinks of as her father; her actual but mutually unrecognised uncle; protectors and friends, but also the stories other characters tell themselves about others. For example, Madame La Motte becomes jealous of Adeline, explaining her behaviour caused, husband’s increasingly erratic – in fact, because his impending penury led him to assault and rob the Marquis de Montalt, before he realised he was squatting in the by conjecturing Marquis’s abbey – that he is secretly conducting an affair with his ward. Madame deliberately offends Adeline at dinner, leading to the and confused withdrawal and La girl’s hurt Motte’s uncomprehending exasperation at his simply feed wife’s rudeness. These reactions her behaviour of she considered as a refined piece of art; suspicions: ‘The Adeline… and the indifference of La Motte as was she twist the affected… [S]o ingenious ‘to true cause the misquotation from Henry VI Part 2, am well wrong way’. Radcliffe’s ‘I acquainted with your manner of wrenching the true cause the false way’, alongside the other labyrinths of conjecture the characters in her Romance find themselves in, speak to the nature of in novel: muddling her unusual Emma’s conjectures Austen’s insightfulness with wilful wishful thinking.
to several characters in Emma: Austen’s heroine herself, Harriet, Jane, even Frank. I want to focus on how her responses to other characters also connect her to her fictional sisters in Emma. Retelling her story to Madame La Motte, Adeline admits to being ‘lost in a labyrinth of conjecture’ about the behaviour of the men imprisoning her. Later, when she is warned by her admirer Theodore La Luc about the conspiracy between her libidinous (and therefore accidentally quasi-incestuous) uncle and the La Mottes, she again admits to being unable ‘to extricate herself from the labyrinth of conjecture’. This suggestive phrase characterises not only Adeline’s attempts to explain the mysterious actions of the man she thinks of as her father; her actual but mutually unrecognised uncle; protectors and friends, but also the stories other characters tell themselves about others. For example, Madame La Motte becomes jealous of Adeline, explaining her husband’s increasingly erratic behaviour – caused, in fact, because his impending penury led him to assault and rob the Marquis de Montalt, before he realised he was squatting in the Marquis’s abbey – by conjecturing that he is secretly conducting an affair with his ward. Madame deliberately offends Adeline at dinner, leading to the girl’s hurt and confused withdrawal and La Motte’s uncomprehending exasperation at his wife’s rudeness. These reactions simply feed her suspicions: ‘The behaviour of Adeline… she considered as a refined piece of art; and the indifference of La Motte as affected… [S]o ingenious was she ‘to twist the true cause the wrong way’. Radcliffe’s misquotation from Henry VI Part 2, ‘I am well acquainted with your manner of wrenching the true cause the false way’, alongside the other labyrinths of conjecture the characters in her Romance find themselves in, speak to the nature of Emma’s conjectures in Austen’s novel: muddling her unusual insightfulness with wilful wishful thinking.