A new person has joined our group at work. His name is William: not Bill or Will or Will.I.Am, but William. Every time I hear his name I think of William Larkins, the property manager* from whom Mr. Knightley was often walking away. William Larkins is mentioned quite a few times in Emma but he never speaks directly and he's never described; we only hear about other people's reactions to him. The reactions are amusing, as only Jane Austen can be amusing; and they offer as much insight into the character of the speaker as they do about the character of William Larkins. They also show the reader what Mr. Knightley's thinking when Mr. Knightley is not even in the room. Clever, clever Jane...
But what I find most interesting, as a student (!!) of that time, is the insight into William Larkins' importance. He's just an dude, a lower class dude, with no title or anything, but clearly he's got a great deal of influence over the most important man in the area. Emma puts William Larkins' influence in jeopardy. She puts his position in jeopardy and doesn't even realize it.
I think that in those days, the birth/death/marriage/health of the inhabitants of the manor house mattered just as much to the layperson as the hiring/firing/promoting of division leaders does in a corporation.
I quite sympathize with William Larkins, I tell you.
Anyway. Austen never describes William Larkins. I doubt he looked like the Portland hipster I know!
* Property manager? Is that the right word? Overseer?
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