From Emma
Miss Bates
Highbury’s chatty neighbor • Kind to all
A cheerful village lady with little money, who talks about everything and everyone.
Who is Miss Bates?
Miss Bates is a cheerful, kindhearted lady who lives in small rooms in Highbury with very little money. She loves to talk and can go on and on without stopping for breath, and she is proud of her niece Jane and thankful for every kindness. Everyone in the village knows she would never hurt anyone.
Miss Bates is a character in Emma, the 1815 novel by Jane Austen, retold for ages 6–9 by Sean Lee.
What is Miss Bates like?
- chatty
- cheerful
- kind
Miss Bates’s story
Miss Bates is the daughter of a former vicar of Highbury. She now lives with her elderly mother in modest rooms above a shop. The book says she is neither young, rich, handsome nor married, yet she is liked by nearly everyone because her happy spirit and thankfulness never fail.
She talks constantly, jumping from the weather to her mother’s spectacles to the latest letter from her niece Jane. Emma finds her tiresome at times, but Miss Bates is warm, generous and never says an unkind word. She is always glad to share her news and cheer for those she loves.
At the Box Hill picnic Emma jokes that Miss Bates will have trouble keeping to only three dull things. Miss Bates is wounded, and Mr. Knightley scolds Emma for the cruelty. Emma visits her the next day to make amends, and the book shows that Miss Bates forgives her at once.
“then I need not be uneasy. ‘Three things very dull indeed.’ That will just do for me, you know.”
A moment to remember
During a picnic game, Miss Bates laughs and says she will easily think of three dull things, but Emma’s teasing reply hurts her feelings.
Family and friends
- Jane Fairfax: her niece
- Emma Woodhouse: a neighbor who hurt her feelings
- Mr. Knightley: a kind neighbor who defends her
- Mr. Woodhouse: a longtime friend and neighbor
Talk about it
Miss Bates was kind to everyone even though she talked a lot. Why should we be extra gentle with people who are easy to tease?
Questions about Miss Bates
- How is Miss Bates related to Jane Fairfax?
- Miss Bates is Jane’s aunt. Jane is the only child of Miss Bates’s younger sister, and she visits the Bateses in Highbury.
- What does Emma say to Miss Bates at Box Hill?
- Emma teases that Miss Bates will have trouble keeping to only three dull things. Miss Bates is hurt, and Mr. Knightley tells Emma afterward that it was unkind.
- Does Emma apologize to Miss Bates?
- Yes. Emma visits Miss Bates the next morning to make up for her cruelty, and Miss Bates receives her warmly.
Read the story in
Emma
Ages 6–9, 72 pages
