jane austen was right!!!!! i AM half agony half hope!!!!! if i loved you less i COULD talk about it more!!!!!!!! i WAS in the middle before i knew i had begun!!!!!!!
I've said it before, but I reread Emma, so I'm saying it again.
George Knightley is THE Austen Hero. He is kind, compassionate, never condescends. He is so nice that not once, but TWICE, he is mistaken for being in love when he's not. He may be strict and rational, but he isn't cold. He plays with his nieces and nephews and helps keep the peace between family members. He calls Emma out, but only because he wants to help her be the best possible version of herself. He moves into Hartfield at the end, something completely unheard of in those days, because he knows Emma would never leave her father and he would never ask her to.
I think my absolute favourite thing about Jane Austen's Emma is that it's a love story about two best friends. They've known each other for two decades, so they know the other inside and out. And they fall in love with each other. Despite the fact that Emma meddles in others' lives and that Mr Knightley scolds her for it, they fall in love. And they don't just fall in love with the other's positive attributes, but their negative ones too. They love every part of the other, and that's beautiful.
Some (unconventional) Jonny Lee Miller!Knightley propaganda for the @hotjaneaustenmenpoll.
Notice how he avoids saying that Mr. Elton has got engaged in front of Harriet, frowns uneasily when Miss Bates blurts it out, and discreetly hands Harriet his handkerchief in the end.