Emma Lesson Plan

Why do you think Harriet is or is not a good friend for Emma?

Mr. Knightley is the one character who will state clearly that Harriet and Emma are bad for each other, so students might have different points of view on the matter. But there are several reasons why the two are bad for each other: first, Harriet enters the story at a convenient time, when Emma is suffering from terrible boredom, having just “lost” her governess to marriage, so the friendship is much more likely convenient than true; second, the friendship is based on one party being superior to the other – Harriet is not as clever as Emma, and is too easily persuaded to do Emma’s bidding when it comes to...