Some background: I've worked in a library shelving books - including thousands of romance novels and pulp-fiction. The type of book that a certain subsection of the population tends to buy (and I don't mean to stereotype but it's true)... this certain subsection isn't look for any real meaning in their books, just a potato chip, which is fine.
Now, Emma - There are three ways I can look at it. Genius, Pulp, or Poultry.
I don't think it's genius. There may be some philosophy woven into the plot, but it was nothing new, though I'll grant, it may have been new to the book's audience.
At the same time, I don't know if it is pulp. There is a little more going on upon closer inspection than the template and ghost writers of today's ten shelf author lay down.
So I'll strike a middle ground: It is all about Poultry and the theft thereof.
From this perspective, we can see how, like War and Peace - Emma shows us that humanity is never in complete control, how even the greatest wannabe matchmaker has nothing on turkeys when it comes to actually getting people hitched.
... I still don't like it.
