Jane Fairfax’s Piano
Instruments
Jane Fairfax’s piano is an anonymous gift, leading all her acquaintance to speculate on the giver. Frank encourages Emma to believe that Mr. Dixon gave it to Jane, evidence of an improper attachment, but Frank was her actual benefactor. The piano demonstrates the pains that Frank goes through to keep his and Jane’s engagement a secret, even to the point of hurting her feelings and reputation. The gift also revels Frank’s impulsivity and lack of foresight, because Jane does not have the resources to maintain it. Throughout the novel, Jane’s accomplishment on the piano is compared to Emma’s, which wounds Emma’s pride.
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Emma, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Harriet’s Portrait
Paintings
Emma paints a portrait of Harriet because she believes it will draw Mr. Elton’s attention to Harriet. The painting embodies the misunderstandings that take place between the three of them when Mr. Elton praises Harriet with the intent of pleasing Emma. Mr. Elton compliments the painting because of Emma’s talent, but Emma is convinced that it is because of Harriet’s beauty. When Mr. Elton take her painting to London for framing, Emma is certain he is showing Harriet’s picture to his family, but his only interest is in pleasing Emma. The painting is one of several situations that Emma completely misunderstands when she is determined to set up Harriet and Mr. Elton.
Emma (Woodhouse) Knightly
Emma, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Gruel
Food
Mr. Woodhouse eats a bowl of gruel at every opportunity and recommends it to every guest in his home. The gruel shows that he cares much more about his health than his pleasure, and he is certain that the gruel is necessary for good health. His insistence that his guests have some gruel rather than the rich food his hospitality binds him to serve shows how caring he is. His daughter Isabella’s willingness to eat the gruel shows that she is much more similar to her father than Emma.
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Emma, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Mrs. Elton’s Dress
Clothing
Mrs. Elton claims that she must wear an ornate gown with excessive trimming because she is a bride, despite her modesty. This irony permeates all of her speech and actions, as she is always trying to appear humble while boasting. Her dress symbolizes her perceived importance as a bride and drawing attention to her dress demonstrates her need for attention.
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Emma, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Harriet’s Box of Treasures
Personal Memorabilia
Harriet keeps a special wooden box with mementos from her days with Mr. Elton. She has a small piece of cloth that he discarded and the stump of a used pencil. The insignificance of the objects demonstrates the lack of real evidence of Mr. Elton’s attraction and Harriet’s own naiveté. Harriet’s choice to keep the box after she realizes Mr. Elton is not interested in her shows her continued hope, and her choice to destroy the objects signifies that she is no longer secretly longing for Mr. Elton.
Tunbridge-ware
Emma, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Fanny Price’s Writing Paper
Materials
The gift of writing paper is Edmund Bertram’s first act of kindness toward Fanny Price. When she arrives at the Bertram’s home, she is too shy to ask for paper to write to her brother, though she desperately misses her family. Edmund is the only member of the family to look past her reserve and discover why she is so solemn. The kindness he shows by offering her writing paper is only the beginning. He watches over Fanny as she grows up in his home, and she loves him for it.
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Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Silver Knife
Tools
Susan’s silver fruit knife is a gift from her late sister, Mary. Susan treasures it for its sentimental value, but her younger sister Betsy is constantly taking it for its material value. The two sisters frequently fight over the knife, illustrating the failures of propriety at the Prices’ home. For the first time, Fanny is able to materially assist her family by purchasing a new silver knife for Betsy, who has no attachment to Susan’s knife. This foreshadows Fanny’s ability to remove Susan to Mansfield Park to bring her more permanent peace.
Unknown
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Fanny Price’s Dress
Clothing
The Bertram’s give Fanny a new white dress on the occasion of her cousin Maria’s wedding. She next wears the dress to the Grant’s dinner party, the first dinner party she is invited to attend. The dress symbolizes her new status now that Maria and Julia have left Mansfield Park due to Maria’s marriage. Fanny is now “out,” and she begins to receive her due attention. Her family and acquaintances are surprised by how lovely she looks in the dress because she had faded into the background for so many years while her cousins were at home. Because the dress is a gift from Sir Bertram, it also illustrates her depended on the Bertrams for the means to be in fashionable society.
Unknown
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Theater Curtains
Decorations
In order to transform Mansfield Park into a theater, the actors were adamant about needing a curtain. Mrs. Norris slaves over the creation of the curtain, claiming she is trying to help them save money, while actually becoming implicit in the poor decision to put on the play. She is proud to be helping until Sir Bertram arrives home to condemn all the actors. Then, she tries to act as if she had not condoned the behavior in his absence, but the curtains she made, essential to the play, demonstrate her bad judgment.
Mrs. Norris
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel
Amber Cross
Accessories
Fanny’s brother William gives her an amber cross as a gift, but she is distressed about wearing it to his ball because she has no chain to wear it on. William could not afford the gold chain to wear it with, illustrating the struggle for both siblings to fit in with their more fashionable and wealthy relations. They can come close, but they are dependent on others’ generosity. Both Edmund and Henry (though Mary) offer Fanny a chain or necklace to wear with the cross, marking them as the men most likely to provide for Fanny by marrying her. It is symbolic that Harry’s fancier chain does not fit while Edmund’s is picked more carefully to suit Fanny’s needs.
Unknown
Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
Brianna Sumption
Novel