Emma · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in Emma by Jane Austen.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Emma Woodhouse
major
Also known as Emma, Miss Woodhouse, Hartfield, Dear Emma, dearest Emma
Highbury's cleverest heiress, convinced she knows who belongs with whom, and constitutionally unable to leave other people's romances alone.
Harriet Smith
major
Also known as Miss Smith, Harriet, poor Harriet, Dear Harriet
A sweet-natured boarding-school girl of uncertain parentage whose pliability makes her the perfect, and perfectly dangerous, canvas for Emma's matchmaking ambitions.
Mr. Knightley
major
Also known as Mr. Knightley, George Knightley
A plainspoken gentleman farmer of seven or eight-and-thirty who has known Emma her whole life and is the only person in Highbury unafraid to tell her the truth.
Jane Fairfax
major
Also known as Jane, Miss Fairfax, Fairfax
An orphaned, exquisitely accomplished young woman whose reserved manners and uncertain prospects make her the object of Emma's guilt, envy, and persistent neglect.
Frank Churchill
major
Also known as Frank, Churchill, Mr. Frank Churchill
Mr. Weston's long-absent son, a charming and flirtatious young man whose visits to Highbury depend entirely on the whims of a difficult aunt.
Mr. Elton
supporting
Also known as Elton, Poor Mr. Elton, Mr. Elton
Highbury's agreeable young vicar, whose smooth manners and ambitious eye make him a puzzle Emma believes she has already solved.
Mrs. Elton
supporting
Also known as Augusta Hawkins, Miss Hawkins, A Miss Hawkins of Bath
A brisk, self-congratulating bride from Bath who arrives in Highbury determined to be its reigning lady and never lets anyone forget Maple Grove.
Mr. Weston
supporting
Also known as Weston, Mr. Weston
A cheerful, enterprising widower who has married Miss Taylor and now schemes happily to bring his absent son Frank home to Highbury.
Mrs. Weston
supporting
Also known as Miss Taylor, Taylor, Dear Mrs. Weston
Emma's beloved former governess, now settled at Randalls as Mr. Weston's wife, still the gentle confidante her old pupil cannot quite do without.
Mr. Woodhouse
supporting
Also known as Woodhouse, poor Mr. Woodhouse
Emma's anxious, invalid-minded father, who dreads weddings, late hours, and rich food, and cannot bear the thought of anyone he loves changing circumstances.
Miss Bates
supporting
Also known as Miss Bates, Bates, Poor Miss Bates
A kind, endlessly talking spinster whose cheerful torrents of gratitude and news make her both a fixture of Highbury and an easy target for Emma's wit.
Mr. John Knightley
supporting
Also known as John Knightley, John, Mrs. John Knightley
Mr. Knightley's sharp-tongued younger brother, a London lawyer and Isabella's husband, who visits Highbury with his family and speaks his mind without flattery.
Isabella Knightley
supporting
Also known as Isabella, Bella, poor Isabella
Isabella has left Highfield for Brunswick Square, where she presides over a household of children and a husband whose sharp sense contrasts with her tender fretting. Her father's anxious temperament lives on in her; she worries over drafts, illnesses, and her little ones with a devotion that is both comic and genuinely warm. Her visits home bring news of the wider family and quietly remind Emma of the domestic path she has so far refused.
Robert Martin
supporting
Also known as Mr. Martin, Robert, the Mr. Martin, young Martin
Robert Martin is a young man of substance in Highbury's farming world — respectable, literate, and steady, with a sister who befriends Harriet Smith. His proposal to Harriet is sincere and unpretentious, but Emma dismisses him as too coarse for her protégée, setting in motion the novel's central argument about rank, worth, and self-deception. He matters because his suit forces everyone to ask what a good match actually looks like.
Mr. Perry
minor
Also known as Perry, Poor Perry, Mr. and Mrs. Perry
The local apothecary who advises Mr. Woodhouse on health matters.
Mrs. Bates
minor
Also known as poor Mrs. Bates, the Bates, Bates
Miss Bates's elderly, deaf mother, a widow living in reduced circumstances.
Mrs. Goddard
minor
Also known as Mrs. Goddard
The mistress of a boarding school where Harriet Smith was a pupil.
Colonel Campbell
minor
Also known as Colonel, Colonel Campbell
Jane Fairfax's benefactor, a retired army officer living abroad.
Mr. Dixon
minor
Also known as Dixon, Mr. Dixon
A wealthy Irish gentleman who marries Miss Campbell.
Mrs. Churchill
minor
Also known as poor Mrs. Churchill, The great Mrs. Churchill
Frank Churchill's wealthy, domineering aunt who controls his life.
Mr. Cole
minor
Also known as Cole, Mr. Cole
A prosperous tradesman in Highbury who hosts social gatherings.
Mrs. Cole
minor
Also known as Mrs. Cole, Cole
Mr. Cole's sociable wife who enjoys entertaining Highbury society.
Mrs. Campbell
minor
Also known as Mrs. Campbell
Colonel Campbell's wife, who treats Jane Fairfax like a daughter.
Mrs. Dixon
minor
Also known as Miss Campbell, Mrs. Dixon
Colonel Campbell's daughter, who marries Mr. Dixon and lives in Ireland.
William Larkins
minor
Also known as William, William Larkins
Mr. Knightley's steward who manages the Donwell Abbey estate.
Henry Knightley
minor
Also known as Henry, Little Henry, dear little Henry
John and Isabella Knightley's eldest son, a favorite of Emma.
Mrs. Martin
minor
Also known as Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Robert Martin
Robert Martin's mother, a respectable farmer's widow.
Miss Nash
minor
Also known as Miss Nash
A teacher at Mrs. Goddard's school, friend of Harriet Smith.
James
minor
Also known as James, Mrs. James Cooper
The Woodhouse family's coachman.
Mr. Wingfield
minor
Also known as Mr. Wingfield, a Mr. Wingfield
A physician consulted by the Woodhouse family.
Hannah
minor
Also known as Hannah
A servant in the Woodhouse household.
Patty
minor
Also known as Patty
A servant at the Bates household.
Elizabeth Martin
minor
Also known as Elizabeth, Elizabeth Martin
Robert Martin's sister, a friend of Harriet Smith.
Mrs. Stokes
minor
Also known as Mrs. Stokes, Good Mrs. Stokes
A neighbor in Highbury mentioned in passing.
Miss Bickerton
minor
Also known as Miss Bickerton
A young lady at Mrs. Goddard's school, acquaintance of Harriet.
Mrs. Partridge
minor
Also known as Mrs. Partridge, Clara Partridge
A woman mentioned in Highbury gossip.
Mrs. Bragge
minor
Also known as Mrs. Bragge
A wealthy woman in Highbury, mother of many children.
Mr. Suckling
minor
Also known as Mr. Suckling, old Mr. Suckling
Mrs. Elton's brother-in-law, owner of Maple Grove.
Mrs. Hodges
minor
Also known as Mrs. Hodges
Housekeeper at Donwell Abbey.
Mr. Cox
minor
Also known as Mr. Cox, Mr. William Cox, young Cox
A lawyer in Highbury, father of several daughters.
Anna Weston
minor
Also known as Anna Weston
The infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Weston.
