Volume 1 Chapter 3 Summary

As the nights at Highbury continue without Miss Taylor, the usual rounds of callers are admitted. Mr. Woodhouse prefers a very small circle of friends and the same guests can be counted on for an evening filled with small talk and gossip of the day's activities. Emma begins to despair, thinking that her nights will now be filled with nothing but this chatter and no real conversation. Miss Taylor's intellectual shoes are hard to fill and Emma fears that she will find no one to truly discuss important topics in the future.

Mrs. and Miss Bates are introduced as frequent visitors at Hartfield. Mrs. Bates is the widow of the vicar at Highbury, and is very well respected. Her daughter, Miss Bates, although neither pretty, rich or highly intelligent is nevertheless a very popular woman in Highbury. Much of this is...