Home - 2027 JASNA AGM: Emma

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Our 2027 AGM will explore Emma, Austen’s story about a heroine like no other in Austen’s novels. In Emma, Jane Austen presents a young woman who, in possession of a large fortune, confidently declares from the outset that she is not in want of a husband and shall never marry. Emma is strong, secure, and confident at age 20 because, under her particular circumstances, she has grown up free of the social and legal restrictions that compel other women in Highbury to contemplate highly uncertain futures unless they manage to marry well.

Austen fills her novel with razor-sharp humor and irony, exposing the ridiculous figures of Mr. Elton and Mr. Woodhouse, endorsing admirable characters like Mr. Martin and Mr. Knightley, and building empathy for other women--Harriet Smith, Jane Fairfax, and Miss Bates, but not the insufferable Mrs. Elton. Through her exceptional narrative techniques and sparkling dialogue, Jane Austen traces Emma’s journey of self-discovery and transformation. After much mystery, misdirection, and misunderstanding, Emma finally discovers the “happiness when good people get together.”

Join us in St. Louis, where together we will meet Emma and Austen’s other characters to explore the intriguing questions the novel raises. After more than two centuries, Austen’s themes in Emma still resonate in countless communities beyond the small village of Highbury. As Cornel West declared, other authors have the light, “... but Jane has the fire!”

Our AGM conference venue--Hyatt Regency at the Arch--is steps away from the soaring Gateway Arch overlooking the Mississippi River. The city of St. Louis encompasses beautifully landscaped Forest Park, site of the famous 1904 World’s Fair, which contains the outstanding St. Louis Art Museum, a zoo, science center, the Missouri History Museum, the art deco Jewel Box conservatory, and 1,300 acres of parkland. St. Louis boasts legendary music venues, breweries, and great dining, with opportunities for good conversation with hundreds of our JASNA friends.