Who Wrote Robert Martin's Proposal?

Who Wrote Robert Martin's Proposal? 

'The style of the letter was much above her expectation. There were not merely no grammatical errors, but as a composition it would not have disgraced a gentleman; the language, though plain, was strong and unaffected, and the sentiments it conveyed very much to the credit of the writer. It was short, but expressed good sense, warm attachment, liberality, propriety, even delicacy of feeling. She paused over it, while Harriet stood anxiously watching for her opinion, with a "Well, well," and was at last forced to add, "Is it a good letter? or is it too short?" "Yes, indeed, a very good letter," replied Emma rather slowly -- "so good a letter, Harriet, that every thing considered, I think one of his sisters must have helped him. I can hardly imagine the young man whom I saw talking with you the other day could express himself so well, if left quite to his own powers, and yet it is not the style of a woman; no, certainly, it is too strong and concise; not diffuse enough for a woman. No doubt he is a sensible man, and I suppose may have a natural talent for -- thinks strongly and clearly -- and when he takes a pen in hand, his thoughts naturally find proper words. It is so with some men."' Emma

 Everyone knows that Emma wrote Harriet's response to Robert Martin's proposal letter - but what if someone else wrote Robert's letter, as well? A great deal of literary criticism has been written about Emma's authoring of Harriet's response to Mr Martin, but very little has been written about Robert's letter, and the possibility that it too may also have been written by another character. Robert Martin is a sensible and literate man, but as a tenant farmer in the Regency era it is very unlikely he would be the author of a letter impressive enough to surprise Emma, as his proposal does. Austen writes that Robert reads Almanacs and other practical publications important to his profession, but it is unlikely that he has a great deal of leisure time to read much else, as is supported by his seeming disinclination to purchase the book that Harriet recommends to him.

The case against Robert as author of the letter

Emma's reaction to the letter provides us important clues as to who the real author of the letter may be. She makes two claims. Firstly, it is unlikely Robert wrote the letter on his own. Secondly, the style is not that of a woman's, making it unlikely his sisters helped him. This all points to the question, who did help Mr Martin with his letter? All of the clues divulged by Emma's claims suggests that if the letter was written by someone other than Robert Martin, it must have been a man and someone whose writing would surpass even Emma's high standards. The answer to this mystery lies in one of two directions. The first direction is that the author is someone who Austen does not introduce to her readers during the course of the novel. This is an unsatisfying but very possible conclusion, as Austen frequently writes endings that leave the reader unsatisfied in one sense or another. The second possible direction, much more interesting and satisfying, is the possibility Robert Martin's letter was written by Mr. Knightly. Knightly fulfils both qualifications created by Emma concerning the author's identity. He is an educated man, and genteel enough to impress her. It is also clear in the text itself that Robert Martin consulted Mr. Knightly just as Harriet consulted Miss Woodhouse. Emma chose to take control and write Harriet's response, so the possibility of Knightly having written Robert's proposal fits rather nicely into their dichotomy of attitudes about the marriage.

Why Mr. Knightley's potential authorship of Robert Martin's proposal is important

More than simply making the storyline more interesting, the possibility of Knightley's authorship of Martin's letter adds depth and a more critical slant to the novel. Jane Austen is famous, not just for writing love stories, but for questioning and critiquing the society in which she lived.

 Throughout the novel, Austen presents Emma as someone who interferes in the affairs of others and bringing Mr. Knightley into that same critical light moves the shortcoming from a personal level to a class based and societal issue. If indeed Knightley wrote Martin's letter, then we have two very wealthy upper-middle socialites interfering in the affairs of those who are socially beneath them and robbing these two individuals of their own voice. As we see later on, Robert Martin and Harriet Smith do well enough courting each other without the interference of their friends that they do eventually marry.

Jane Austen's Critique of Society

Knowing what we know about Jane Austen, one cannot believe that the criticism she lays upon Knightley and Emma for their interference is simply directed at two fictional characters. It is more likely Austen's criticism is really directed at the wealthy upper classes of England, those literate people who through affluence and influence control the way the very history and story of a nation was written and remembered. At the time Austen wrote Emma, pastoral stories that presented a romanticized version of country life were very common. Jane Austen's satirical advice to another novelist, that "3 or 4 families in a Country Village [was] the very thing to work on]", shows an awareness of this trend. Austen, a writer often concerned with the themes of authorship and voice, as well as ideas of material inequality, would very likely want us to look on Knightley and Emma's interference as indicative of a larger societal problem.  

Michaela Spangenburg has always been a Janeite but did not fully appreciate Jane's brilliance until taking a course in literary criticism from Robert Coleman-Senghor. Michaela aspires to be a literary theorist, writer, and one day clinical psychologist and anthropologist. Reprinted with permission from Suite 101: Authorship of Letters in Jane Austen's Emma: An Exploration and Critical Analysis of Voice and Letter Writing.

You can take a look at our wider Emma collection here.