The Austen novel, Emma, has many characters that play off of one another. Emma, the novel's main character is a busybody. She loves to meddle in everyone's business without stopping to think whether or not she is doing that person any harm. This is the case with Harriet Smith. Still, she has a good heart, though sometimes she can be a snob (most likely doesn't realize that she is being one). Whereas Emma is full of life, her father, Mr. Woodhouse seems to be constantly on the lookout for his own death. He's a hypochondriac. Elton, the preacher, shows himself to be a petty and vain individual. The two Knightley brothers (John and George) are quite different from one another. John is rather stoic while George understands that social gatherings are necessary.
