Both the characters and the narrator speak of women as possessions – “There was no recovering Miss Taylor”. a reflection of society’s view on women in the 18th & 19th centuries.

“Miss Taylor had begun to influence his schemes” – “The aunt was a capricious woman, and governed her husband entirely” – these two quotes show a reversal of gender roles; the man (at least at that time) was in charge in the relationship, whereas in these two examples it is evident that Austen is putting the women in the powerful positions.

“there was scarcely an evening in the week in which Emma could not make up a card-table for him [Mr Woodhouse]”

The positions of power which Miss Taylor, the aunt and Emma find themselves in would have been considered controversial in the 18th and 19th centuries; the treatment of women in the 1800’s is sometimes compared to a form of slavery – being ‘owned’ by their fathers (or other male relatives – brothers etc) and then by their husbands, and the father was usually offered a dowry in exchange for their daughters hand in marriage.

“enjoyed a most uncommon degree of popularity for a woman neither young, handsome, rich, nor married.” – this reflects upon the shallow view society had towards women at the time (and perhaps to this day), which meant that a woman’s popularity relied heavily, if not wholly, on their looks.

“her youth had passed without distinction, and her middle of life was devoted to the care of a failing mother, and the endeavor to make a small income go as far as possible.” – this comments on the limited job opportunities for women in the 18th and 19th century.

“she was a great talker upon little matters… full of trivial communications and harmless gossip” – a resemblance to the first impression of Mrs Dean in Wuthering Heights, who was assumed to be a provider of idle gossip at first by Mr Lockwood. reflecting society’s view of women’s conversational and intellectual capabilities.

“young ladies for enormous pay might be screwed out of health and into vanity… where a reasonable quantity of accomplishments were sold at reasonable price, and where girls might be sent to be out of the way, and scramble themselves into a little education, without any danger of coming back prodigies.” – a comment on the inequality at the time of the education system. the little amount of education that women received (which usually consisted mostly of social protocols), and how they were seen as being in the way.

“somebody had raised her from the condition of scholar to that of parlour boarder.” – a woman to be seen as a specialist of anything intellectual was seen as a “condition”, whereas a woman in the position of parlour boarder (a person who permanently lives with a family, sometimes a pupil) was seen as a positive thing. This is a comment on the inequality of the genders.