Knightly and Woodhouse

Austen introduces the polarity between Mr. Knightly and Mr. Woodhouse in the beginning of the novel, when Mr. Knightly first enters the scene. For every negative comment Mr. Woodhouse makes, Mr. Knightly counters with a positive comment. For instance, Woodhouse suggests that Knightly's walk must have been "shocking" and knightly answers, "Not at all, sir. It is a beautiful moonlight night; and so mild" (5). Woodhouse then comments on the "damp and dirty" environment, and Knightly points out that his shoes have "not a speck on them" (5). Where Woodhouse calls Miss Taylor's marriage a "sad business" (6), Knightly asserts "how much the marriage is to Miss Taylor's advantage" (7), further saying that "Every friend of Miss taylor must be glad to have her so happily married" (7). His comments, particularly pertaining to marriage, subtly rebuke Mr. Woodhouse's pessimistic, selfish character. And, when he questions Emma's "success" in the Weston's matching, Knightly directly contradicts Mr. Woodhouse's belief that "whatever Emma says always comes to pass" (7). It may be that Knightly is the only person in the novel who refuses to revolve around Mr. Woodhouse. Of course, he is so selfless that he is kind to Mr. Woodhouse and does not seek to cause him discomfort, but he is also honest and forthright, characteristics not possessed to such a degree by any other character in the novel. Since subtly seems to be a damaging aspect of their society, Mr. Knightly's honesty is courageous and contradicts the miscommunication that exists in many circumstances in the novel. He grounds the rest of the characters in this way, because he does not get caught up (as much) in the communication breakdown between Emma, Mr. Elliot, Harriet, Jane, Frank, and other characters.

Further evidence of Knightly's heroism appears in the final chapters of the novel after his and Emma's resolution to marry. He displays the ultimate act of selflessness when he proposes to proposes to move to Hartfield in order to preserve Mr. Woodhouse's "happiness--in other words, lis life" (390). Mr. Woodhouse is so stationary, static, and impossible that he threatens the very solution to Emma's unsatisfactory existence. The repetition of the word "impossible" in the passage where she and Knightly discuss his moving to Hartfield emphasizes the father's absolute fixedness. If not fore Knightly's resolution to abandon his home in order to avoid risking Emma's father's comfort, Emma's life would revert to a standstill, revolving literally around her father's life as she awaits his death. Knightly's sacrifice is thus heroic, for it enables the marriage that satisfies the novel's central conflict.