Miss Augusta Hawkins, who becomes Mrs. Elton in Jane Austen's Emma, is an interesting character, in that she is unquestionably the most distinct persona in the novel. The fact that she is a new member in Highbury is not an issue for her because she wastes no time in trying to solve other people's personal problems and making their lives her business. In doing so, Jane Austen has created a character that the reader loves to hate.

Augusta Hawkins is constructed so that the reader is torn between completely despising and loving her when she is in the scene due to the spiteful comments she makes and the social lives that she `improves'. Much of the dislike that the reader has towards Augusta is due to the fact that we are seeing her as portrayed through the eyes of Emma. Before the two characters meet, Emma clearly shows...