Setting

Emma

by Jane Austen

Definition of Setting

Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or it can be an imagined... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the city of New York, or... read full definition
Setting is where and when a story or scene takes place. The where can be a real place like the... read full definition
Setting
Explanation and Analysis:

Emma takes place entirely in the fictional village of Highbury, England, with a short excursion to the nearby Box Hill in North Surrey. Highbury is described at the beginning of the novel as “the large and populous village almost amounting to a town,” Austen’s tongue-in-cheek way of communicating that Highbury is in a rural part of the country. The novel is also set during the Napoleonic Wars, the period between 1797–1815 when England was at war with France. Though Austen does not reference the war directly, she includes references to characters who have passed away in war (like Jane’s father).