Emma and Elizabeth: A story based on 'The Watsons' by Jane Austen
Ann Mychal2014

'When a young woman, on whom every comfort in life is bestowed, has the misfortune to inhabit a neighbourhood in which peace and harmony reign, her ability to perceive and understand the world must be diminished and, consequently, in need of adjustment.' Based on 'The Watsons', a novel fragment by Jane Austen, 'Emma and Elizabeth' contrasts the fortunes of the Watsons sisters in a world where the alternative to marriage is poverty. Emma returns to her family penniless when her widowed guardian remarries. At a local assembly, she is admired by more than one suitor, but her lack of fortune has the potential to ruin her happiness. Elizabeth, a woman on the verge of spinsterhood, has little hope of love. But when duty to the family is tested, one sister is obliged to sacrifice her own happiness for the sake of the other. Set in Surrey in 1795, 'Emma and Elizabeth' blends passages from the original fragment into the narrative, creating a unique story which is faithful to Jane Austen's style and subject matter.