In an anthology which claims to champion the boldness of Austen's women I found it rather cheap to introduce a woman who served to do nothing more than reinforce the ideas of the time instead of being allowed to challenge them. Knightley ends by stating that her behaviour is the action of someone who is miserable with their own lot in life, and the 'moral' of the story is that she is a scarlet woman and a pitiable fantasist. Yet those very strengths are used to paint her as a cold-hearted homewrecker a stereotype many strong, independent women have fallen victim to whether it holds any truth or not. Miss Winthrop is on one hand allowed to be a single woman who lives life to the full despite having no husband, which falls nicely within the feminist remit of this anthology. (Emma Woodhouse.) I liked many things about this story, having a particular fondness for Emma and George, but one element troubled me.
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