The lovely people of Highbury

I like Emma by Jane Austen, I find myself awkwardly laughing to myself while other people just look at me funny. Emma is funny, because she’s kind of a smart ass. The only thing that is a little confusing to me is the wording which makes it a little hard to follow but then once you get it, it makes sense. I also get confused on how they explain people’s ages, for example Mr. Knightly is described as a ”sensible man about seven or eight-and –thirty” I’m pretty sure that means 37 or 38 but that is just such a weird way to express that. But I digress. It’s funny how everything is so handsome and favorable, like the letter that Frank wrote to his father was such a “handsome letter” and no one had ever seen such a handsome letter. That doesn’t make sense, is handsome a good thing or a bad thing? And if it is a good thing what could he have possibly written that would make it such a handsome letter? He probably just said congratulations on his wedding. It seems as if everyone in this town of Highbury are all just great and favorable people; Miss Taylor, The Woodhouses, Mr. Knightly, Captain Weston, and the Churchills.It is also interesting how in chapter 3 when they are describing how Mr. Woodhouse is in control of his small circle of friends and often they come over but how, in turn, he hates big events. The craziest thing about the statement of him being in control is that in the first chapter Austen describes Emma as having all the control, especially over her father who will basically do anything that she asks him to do because she is the lady of the house. All the women are natural or plain or beautiful which just makes you happy and makes you feel warm and fuzzy. All the women are great and plain and refined and beautiful and then the only person who seems to have experienced hurt and pain was Emma and that was only because Miss. Taylor when she left and got married. But there are no problems everyone is happy in Highbury. Then there is Harriet Smith who is nice to look like that, once again fair, light, and plump, but then she is also has nice manners, such as everyone else in the story so far, but she has nothing important to say. I have noticed that while people are very nice looking in the story and have really nice manners they don’t have anything important to say. It’s kind of like tea time is all the time. The tea time is where they have pleasant conversations and make small talk but there isn’t any in depth conversation, because everyone is pleasant and frothy and light. Mostly yellows and pinks without the reds and blacks. Because it is all about appearances and the better the appearance the more superior you are and in Highbury it’s all about superior and upper class and the froth.