'Emma' is a novel firmly rooted in Augustan notions of social hierarchy, a permanent, virtually impermeable and quintessentially English theme, alluded to throughout the plot. From royalty down, society was governed by strict rules of adherence to rank and place with an emphasis upon proper etiquette and social graces. Small social mixture was acceptable to a certain degree, but to tread further than this was severely frowned upon. We are immediately introduced to the protagonist, Emma Woodhouse as `handsome, clever, and rich' setting the tone for the remainder of the novel. However, these three adjectives used to depict Emma, imply Jane Austen's bitter satire of the frivolous upper classes and so it would seem that the novel is not just about a rich and snobbish society, but it has hidden depth and meaning.

Austen was writing at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the century that saw the...