"Emma" by Jane Austen. Finale

Summary (of the whole book)

The twenty-one year old heiress Emma is the youngest of two daughters who lives with her father in Highbury. After her mother’s death, Miss Taylor is hired on as a governess for the sisters and when Emma’s older sister, Isabella, was married and moved to London, Miss Taylor and Emma became best friends. Soon, the girl is left alone with her widower father by the marriage of Miss Taylor, her friend of sixteen years, to Mr. Weston. The village of Highbury is impatiently anticipating the visit of Frank Churchill, Mr. Weston’s son from his first marriage. After the death of his wife, Mr. Weston sent the child to be raised by his wife’s family, acknowledging that he did not have enough wealth to provide for the boy. Frank is thought to be an ideal match for Emma and, without having met him, Emma agrees that his age and breeding make him a good suitor for her. Another character who occupies Emma's thoughts is Jane Fairfax, the granddaughter of Mrs. Bates, the impoverished widow of the former vicar, and the niece of Miss Bates, a chattery spinster who lives with her mother. In the meantime, Mr. Elton returns from Bath with news that he is engaged to a Miss Augusta Hawkins.  Frank Churchill finally visits the Westons, and Emma is pleased to discover that he lives up to her expectations. As Frank and Emma continue to spend more time in each other’s company, Mr. Knightley becomes somewhat jealous. He disapproves of Frank, convinced that he is not to be trusted, especially with Emma’s heart. Emma in turn becomes jealous as she suspects that Mr. Knightley might be in love with Jane Fairfax. Then, Frank and Emma sponsor a ball at the Crown Inn. During the ball, Mr. Elton takes the opportunity to humiliate Harriet, openly snubbing her in front of the other guests. Mr. Knightley undercuts this social slight by graciously dancing with Harriet in Mr. Elton’s stead. Mr. Knightley begins to suspect that Frank Churchill has a secret relationship with Jane Fairfax, but Emma laughs at him and continues to flirt with Frank Churchill.  After the death of his aunt, Frank is suddenly free to reveal that he has been secretly engaged to Jane Fairfax. The engagement had to remain a secret because of his aunt’s disapproval and threat to disown him if he made a bad match. When Emma attempts to break the bad news of Frank Churchill’s engagement to Harriet, Emma learns that Harriet is actually in love with Mr. Knightley, who “rescued” her at the Crown Inn ball. With Harriet’s revelation, Emma realizes that she is in love with Mr. Knightley herself. Mr. Knightley soon professes his love for Emma, and they plan to marry. Yet there are two obstacles: first, if Emma were to marry, she would have to leave her father, who would not be able to bear the separation; second, she must break the news to Harriet. Mr. Knightley decides to move in to Hartfield after their marriage to allay Mr. Woodhouse's fears of being left alone. Harriet takes the news about Mr. Knightley well and soon after reunites with Robert Martin. The novel concludes with three marriages: Robert Martin and Harriet, Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, and finally, Mr. Knightley and Emma.