Emma’s father and the Woodhouse patriarch. Mr. Woodhouse is a rather silly, excessively nervous, and frail old man who dotes on his daughter. He hates change and possesses a narrow-minded and even selfish outlook on changes like his oldest daughter’s marriage, which he views as a tragedy depriving him of familiar and beloved company. However, Emma and his close friends not only humor, but also comfort him in all of his foibles.
Mr. Woodhouse Quotes in Emma
The Emma quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. Woodhouse or refer to Mr. Woodhouse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Get the entire Emma LitChart as a printable PDF.
Mr. Woodhouse Character Timeline in Emma
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. Woodhouse appears in Emma. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...of good fortune and pleasant manners, depriving Emma of her constant companion. Her elderly father, Mr. Woodhouse , is even more distressed by Miss Taylor’s departure, as he hates change of every...
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Mr. Woodhouse , who hates change so much he even dislikes marriage, begs Emma to put off...
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Chapter 3
Mr. Woodhouse enjoys small evening parties that Emma arranges with their neighborhood friends, preferring them to large...
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Chapter 9
Mr. Woodhouse and Emma discuss the visit of Isabella’s family at Christmas. During the course of the...
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Chapter 11
...nervous disposition. Mr. John Knightley is respectable and gentlemanly, but reserved and often impatient with Mr. Woodhouse and his daughter’s sensitivity.
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Isabella commiserates with Mr. Woodhouse ’s grief over Mrs. Weston’s departure. Emma and Mr. John Knightley gently moderate their dramatization...
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Chapter 12
Mr. Woodhouse and Isabella debate the merits of their favored physicians, Mr. Perry and Mr. Wingfield respectively....
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Mr. Woodhouse recommends that Isabella and Mrs. Mr. John Knightley switch their vacation spot according to Mr....
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Chapter 15
Mr. John Knightley announces that the heavy snow will soon make it impossible to travel. Mr. Woodhouse and Isabella are horrified at the prospect of traversing through the storm. The party quickly...
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Chapter 17
Mr. John Knightley and Isabella depart from Hartfield, despite Mr. Woodhouse ’s attempt to persuade “poor Isabella” to remain behind. The narrator reflects that “poor Isabella,”...
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Mr. Elton sends a very formal, cold letter to Mr. Woodhouse —completely ignoring any address to Emma—announcing his departure for several weeks to Bath. Grateful for...
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Chapter 21
...discover that her distaste remains intact. The Bateses bursts into the room to thank the Woodhouses for a gift of pork and report that Mr. Elton is going to be married...
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Chapter 25
Mr. Woodhouse frets over the prospect of leaving his house for a dinner party. Emma insists that...
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Chapter 29
...ten couples, measure out the dimensions of various rooms, and decide on the Crown Inn. Mr. Woodhouse frets over the dangers of catching colds at inns, but Emma assuages his fears.
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Chapter 32
...real grace. She feels Harriet, for all her lack of refinement, is much her superior. Mr. Woodhouse , however, only complacently observes that Mrs. Elton seems a nice young lady. He remarks...
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Chapter 37
...the Westons and Frank himself. Mr. Weston can finally hold the ball with certainty, and Mr. Woodhouse resigns himself to the evils of such excitement.
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Chapter 39
...that she will not actively involve herself. News of the episode speeds throughout Highbury, alarming Mr. Woodhouse , but the gypsies soon take off. The gossip subsides into an exciting story Emma...
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Chapter 45
...soon to visit the John Knightleys in London, and he wants to say goodbye. When Mr. Woodhouse mentions Emma’s visit to the Bateses, Mr. Knightley perceives Emma’s intentions with warm gratification. He...
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Chapter 50
Emma worries about breaking the news to Mr. Woodhouse and Harriet. Emma decides that she will not marry until her father dies. She then...
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Chapter 51
...to Jane. Mr. Knightley then proposes to move into Hartfield, in order to avoid disturbing Mr. Woodhouse with his daughter’s marriage. Emma is moved by such a sacrifice on his part, and...
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Chapter 53
...London. Emma anxiously breaks the news of their engagement to her father. Though initially distressed, Mr. Woodhouse eventually accepts it as a settled and even good affair with the help of Mr....
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Chapter 55
...death before their wedding in November. Emma and Mr. Knightley hope to marry in October. Mr. Woodhouse ’s misery threaten these prospects, but when Mrs. Weston’s poultry-house is robbed, he comes to...
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