Merit and Birth

Harriet Smith is an example of a character who does not have the right breeding, being introduced as the daughter of an unnamed “somebody” and in perilous circumstances. Despite her apparently humble background she is pretty and an excellent student (but seems kind of clueless much of the time). Still it is Emma’s endorsement of her through her friendship that makes her become more accepted into society. It doesn’t seem like merit or birth, it seems like connections that create Harriet’s value.

Mr. Woodhouse is Emma’s father and head of the family estate. He is very elite in the town of Highbury, and so expects respect from the community, and has certain assumed expectations that the world should work how he thinks it should, and is kind of oblivious to others. He is a hypochondriac and does not seem to care about anyone but himself. His advantages of birth seem to have led to him being incredibly self-centered. He doesn’t seem to think that any people should get married, and assumes that what he thinks is correct whether it is about wedding cake, boiling eggs, or how people should live.

I do think that there are modern day connections to this. Birth v. merit still seems like an enormous issue, especially in the wake of this week’s election. America prides itself on being a meritocracy, that anyone can achieve if you work hard, but that is a lie. If you come from a certain family, or have a certain family wealth you may have an array of privileges about what you can do, and how you should be treated in society. As importantly, those privileges allow you to amass more wealth and privileges, so there is no such thing as a meritocracy, despite America claiming to be based on one.