In Jane Austen’s Emma, Mr. Knightley’s demonstration of love for Emma Woodhouse transitions from Socratic to Christian in representation. Initially, his concern for Emma regards her intellectual growth, which suggests a Socratic love. In fact, there are many comparisons that one can draw between Emma and Alcibiades, Socrates’ protégé in Alcibiades I, that further support Mr. Knightley’s initial behavior toward Emma as Socratic in nature. In the latter parts of the novel, however, Mr. Knightley’s love is very much representative of the Christian definition of love. For example, one can view Mr. Knightley’s behavior in comparison to the definition of love expressed in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians and find many congruencies. However, by the novel’s end, Mr. Knightley’s expression of love for Emma and the love she returns can be understood as a representation of the union of the Socratic and Christian ideals of love – a union that reveals a commonality between the two.
The erotic-educational pairing of Mr. Knightley and Emma Woodhouse is comparable to that of Socrates and Alcibiades as portrayed in Plato’s Alcibiades I. For example, both Emma and Alcibiades are prideful. Austen’s narrator describes Emma as “having rather too much of her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself” (5). Likewise, Socrates reveals to Alcibiades the “reason for [his] surpassing pride” when he tells him, “You say that you have no need of anyone for anything, for your advantages are so great that you lack nothing, beginning with your body and ending with your soul” (Plato 104A). Emma, too, believes she lacks nothing; when discussing the possibility of marrying, she responds that she has no intention of doing so and claims, ‘“I cannot really change for the better. If I were to marry, I must expect to repent it”’ (Austen 62). For Emma, marriage is a tool to better a person’s socio-economic standing and provide security, and in her position as the “mistress” of her father’s house and being ‘“always first and always right”’ in his eyes, she finds herself to be in no need of matrimony (Austen 5, 62). In addition to their common pride, Emma and Alcibiades both possess unfulfilled potential, which is due in part to previous educators. For example, Austen’s narrator describes Miss Taylor, Emma’s former governess, as having a “mildness of ... temper [that] had hardly allowed her to impose any restraint,” which led to “Emma doing just what she liked; highly esteeming Miss Taylor’s judgment, but directed chiefly by her own” (5). Mr. Knightley calls Miss Taylor’s inadequacies to light during a debate with her regarding Emma’s friendship with Harriet Smith: ‘“Where Miss Taylor failed to stimulate, I may safely affirm that Harriet Smith will do nothing. – You never could persuade her to read half so much as you wished. – You know you could not”’ (Austen 28). Mr. Knightley is familiar with Emma’s character and patterns of behavior as he is both an “intimate friend of the family” and the brother of John Knightley, who is married to Emma’s sister Isabella (Austen 8). Simultaneously acknowledging Emma’s potential and remarking on its unfulfilled state, Mr. Knightly says, ‘“Emma is spoiled by being the cleverest of her family”’ (Austen 28). Similarly, Socrates, who, like Mr. Knightley is familiar with his protégé’s educational history and behavior as he has observed Alcibiades for many years, explains that Alcibiades, as a beloved in the practice of pederasty, has “defeated [his] lovers,” or educators, “because of their inferiority” (Plato 103B, 104C). Further commenting on his insufficient education, Socrates tells Alcibiades, “Pericles chose as your tutor the slave who was the most useless due to his age, Zopyrus the Thracian” (Plato 122B). Socrates, like Mr. Knightley, recognizes his protégé’s potential and understands that for Alcibiades to fulfill all that he is capable of requires a qualified instructor, one who first possesses the knowledge they seek to impart to others (Plato 124C, 118D). Therefore, Mr. Knightley’s concern for Emma’s intellectual wellbeing and unfulfilled potential along with Emma’s pride and history of inferior educators present their erotic-educational pairing as comparable to that of Socrates and Alcibiades.
Emma’s potential for intellectual growth has been thwarted, in Mr. Knightley’s opinion, by the “blind affection” of her inferiors, such as her father and Harriet Smith (Austen 29, 30). His disapproval of Emma’s friendship with Harriet reflects his desire for Emma’s full intellectual potential to be realized. In Harriet, who ‘“knows nothing herself, and looks upon Emma as knowing every thing,”’ Mr. Knightley sees “the very worst sort of companion that Emma could possibly have”’ (Austen 29). Harriet’s company only feeds Emma’s high regard for herself as Harriet’s inferiority does not present any challenge or motivation for improvement in Emma. For Emma to grow, Mr. Knightley understands that she must first come to acknowledge her lack of knowledge, and companions such as Harriet Smith magnify Emma’s abilities rather than her insufficiencies. In the words of the narrator, Mr. Knightley is “one of the few people who could see faults in Emma Woodhouse, and the only one who ever told her of them,” which indicates his attempt to help Emma grow and recognize areas in which she needs improvement (Austen 9). Throughout the novel, he offers, perhaps unwanted, advice and correction to Emma, even going so far as to tell her, ‘“Better be without sense, than misapply it as you do”’ (Austen 46). Mr. Knightley’s honest assertions of Emma’s inadequacies reflect Socrates’ claims regarding Alcibiades: “Then alas, Alcibiades, what a condition you suffer from! … You are wedded to stupidity” (Plato 118B). Socrates explains to Alcibiades that he is not as qualified as he believes himself to be to lead Athens and that those against whom he has measured himself do not provide a true reflection of the degree of his abilities (Plato 119E). Alcibiades and Emma find themselves to be superior when measured against those whose company they keep; however, such is an inaccurate measure when their company consists principally of their inferiors. Socrates suggests Alcibiades look to “the kings of the Lacedaemonians and the Persians” as a more accurate guide by which to measure himself while Mr. Knightley believes Jane Fairfax to be a more fitting companion for Emma (Plato 120A; Austen 118-119). Socrates details the ways in which the Lacedaemonians and Persians prove superior to Alcibiades (Plato 121A-124B); likewise, Mr. Knightley, according to the narrator, claims Emma’s reason for disliking Jane Fairfax is “because she saw in her the really accomplished young woman, which she wanted to be thought herself” (Austen 115). Both Mr. Knightley and Socrates recognize that for their protégés to improve, they must first acknowledge their inadequacies, which requires self-examination.
One may ask why Mr. Knightley, like Socrates, shows concern for his protégé’s intellectual growth and well-being; for what reason does Mr. Knightley desire to see Emma improve? The concern with and desire for another’s intellectual growth reflects a Socratic love, which is further explained in Plato’s Symposium (Sym.) when Socrates delivers a speech in which he describes Eros, or love, as he came to understand it through the teachings of Diotima. Socrates explains that Eros is essentially love ‘“of engendering and bringing to birth in the beautiful”’ (Sym. 206E). As ‘“wisdom is one of the most beautiful things,”’ according to Socrates’ speech, Mr. Knightley’s desire for Emma’s intellectual improvement fits the Socratic definition of love (Sym. 204B).
In the latter part of the novel, however, Mr. Knightley’s behavior toward Emma reflects the Christian definition of love expressed in the New Testament. For example, becoming suspicious of a relationship between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax, Mr. Knightley attempts to protect Emma, whom he believes to be forming an attachment to Frank (Austen 241). The narrator explains that “he certainly must, as a friend – an anxious friend – give Emma some hint, ask her some question. He could not see her in a situation of such danger, without trying to preserve her. It was his duty” (Austen 241). Mr. Knightley’s “duty” to protect continues when he learns of Frank Churchill’s engagement to Jane Fairfax. Austen’s narrator explains that “He had come, in his anxiety to see how she bore Frank Churchill’s engagement, with no selfish view, no view at all, but of endeavouring, if she allowed him an opening, to soothe or to counsel her” (297). Mr. Knightley demonstrates kindness, selflessness, and a desire to protect Emma, which echoes Paul’s letter to the Corinthians: “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails” (1 Cor. 13.4-8). Furthermore, when Mr. Knightley confronts Emma regarding her treatment of Miss Bates at Box Hill, he “does not boast” in his reproof of her behavior: ‘“This is not pleasant to me; but I must, I will, – I will tell you truths while I can, satisfied with proving myself your friend by very faithful counsel”’ (1 Cor. 13.4; Austen 259). Later, while reading Frank Churchill’s letter, referencing, in part, the Box-Hill incident, Mr. Knightley demonstrates Christian love that “keeps no record of wrongs,” for, according to the narrator, “It was all read, however, steadily, attentively, and without the smallest remark; and, excepting one momentary glance at her, instantly withdrawn, in the fear of giving pain – no remembrance of Box-Hill seemed to exist” (Austen 307). Mr. Knightley’s gracious dismissal of Emma’s past errors reflects the Christian ideals of mercy and forgiveness. For example, according to the narrator, with the knowledge of Frank Churchill’s engagement, Mr. Knightly “had ridden home through the rain and had walked up directly after dinner, to see how this sweetest and best of all creatures, faultless in spite of her faults, bore the discovery” (Austen 298). Mr. Knightley also reflects Christian love in his patience and perseverance with Emma; he never ceases to care for Emma’s well-being, intellectual or otherwise. For example, though Emma “had not deserved it,” the narrator explains, Mr. Knightley “had loved her, and watched over her from a girl, with an endeavour to improve her, and an anxiety for her doing right” (Austen 286). Thus, Mr. Knightley’s patience with Emma and the improvement he desires to see in her presents an overlapping of the Socratic and Christian representations of love.
Though his expression of love appears to have transitioned from a representation of Socratic to Christian ideals in the latter part of the novel, Mr. Knightley and Emma’s relationship reflects a commonality between the two philosophies of love: the betterment of others. In Plato’s Symposium, Socrates explains what he learned from Diotima; when one who is ‘“pregnant in terms of the soul,”’ with wisdom, ‘“meets a beautiful, generous, and naturally gifted soul, he cleaves strongly to the two (body and soul) together. And to this human being he is at once fluent in speeches about virtue – of what sort the good man must be and what he must practice – and he tries to educate him”’ (209A, 209B-C). Mr. Knightley, who demonstrates the qualities of Christian love and virtue such as patience, kindness, charity, forgiveness, and concern for others, seeks to educate Emma on these matters and encourage her intellectual pursuits as well. Furthermore, Mr. Knightley believes marriage, a traditional model of love, should likewise bestow improvement upon the woman: ‘“A man would always wish to give a woman a better home than the one he takes her from; and he who can do it, where there is no doubt of her regard, must, I think, be the happiest of mortals”’ (Austen 295). While Emma, too, understands marriage to be a means of improvement for some, she comes to understand that such improvement is not limited to socio-economic gains. For example, the narrator explains that Emma wished only “to grow more worthy of [Mr. Knigtley], whose intentions and judgment had been ever so superior to her own. Nothing, but that the lessons of her past folly might teach her humility and circumspection in future” (Austen 327). Similarly, Mr. Knightley predicts that Frank Churchill’s ‘“character will improve”’ through his relationship with Jane Fairfax (Austen 308).
Christian love instructs one to love because God first loved them, and this love, which God bestowed through the sacrifice of Jesus, serves to repair the connection severed between God and humanity with The Fall. By following Jesus’ commands: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind,”’ and ‘“Love your neighbor as yourself,”’ one may achieve eternal life (Matt. 22.37-39). Similarly, Socrates explains that ‘“through the correct practice of pederasty,”’ a lover ‘“come[s] close to touching the perfect end,”’ which is ‘“beholding the beautiful itself”’ (Sym. 211B, 211D). Furthermore, Socrates’ speech explains that when one ‘“can glimpse the divine beautiful itself … it lies within him to become dear to god and, if it is possible for any human being, to become immortal as well”’ (Sym. 211E-212A). Therefore, both Socratic and Christian philosophies of love inspire one to pursue the betterment of others for the sake of reaching the most beautiful thing – the divine. Further, both philosophies inspire one to seek eternal life so that the most beautiful thing will be ‘“one’s own always”’ (Sym. 206A).