Should I start with criticism or praise? After finishing the main story, I certainly had some worries and things I'd love to see more of, but the side stories filled in all the gaps and gave me all the closure I needed. I'm still riding the high of the last volume, so these thoughts will be filled with praise. {There will also be moderate spoilers ahead}

Speaking of the feeling that this work gave me, when was the last time you opened a classical literature book and sat there reading through it? When was that time for me? Sure, reading manga is quite nice, but it was precisely "Emma" that reminded me of cosying up with an old library book, reading through pages that tell about past centuries and how life was back then. It's an amazing feeling. Maybe I'm just as obsessed with 19th-century England as much as the mangaka for this is.. and maids!! Oh, the amount of work Mori put into drawing everything with great detail: buildings, plants, dresses and animals, even food and drinks packaging at times got great attention. You can clearly tell when someone has a passion for what they create. This was also serialising monthly, so they had an ample amount of time to carefully fill in every page (at least I hope it was not excessively stressful work).

Now let me talk about the contents. Certainly, I've read too many manhwas about arranged marriages between aristocrats and ladies falling in love with strange men who would later turn out to be royalty. This is not like that. Not only is the romance between someone whose family is desperately trying to climb the social ladder and a maid, but it's also incredibly realistic when it comes to the consequences that come out of the selfish behaviour, which is to indulge in such a relationship. For both parties, mind you. Sure, the start is quite sweet and ambitious, but every next event tells you how much of a struggle something like love would bring to people of different social standing.

The Industrial Revolution is a peculiar thing; even though it has a lot of benefits for humankind, it also had lots of downsides. One might argue that even a ton of them in the eyes of the aristocracy. Because what do you mean that now an average Joe can get wealthy without hailing from a line of aristocrats whose family name has centuries old history? Well, I may be exaggerating, but this tension is quite palpable throughout the story.

The eventual happy ending is only the result of the circumstances and hard work of the people involved. Emma certainly didn't have it as easy, but through everything that we learn about her, it's obvious that she knows what she wants, and to me, it's probably survival and a feeling of contentment. It's never explicitly revealed what the goal is behind her actions up to the point when she met William, but it's easy to tell that she would do anything that's in her power. She is not someone who will sit around and wail. Yes, she would get lucky, but only because of her hard work. Even at the end, when she has a person who will definitely take care of her and all of the things that can possibly bring harm to her, she tries her best not to be a burden and bring him peace in return. In latter, she resembles William's mother quite a lot.

William is a bit of an idiot! A "cad", as Grace put it. He had made a fair share of bad choices, but never shied away from taking accountability. A lot of the issues that were brought upon him and his family could've been avoided if only he were just a bit smarter. But he is only a human, one who's young and in love at that. And I have to say, I think the worst thing about love triangles is not that they are an overused trope, but that when they are done right, the reader will feel absolutely awful for everyone involved. Still, I do hate Will’s actions towards Eleanor. To me, it felt like there was no reason for him to act so rashly, and he effectively ended up hurting so many people in the process. Though it's not my place to judge, I've not been under pressure from my angry father to marry someone to get related to nobility, oh no.

His dad, Richard, is a peculiar one as well. He has this image of a cold social climber who has no love for his children. He is firm in his absolute rejection of Emma, while actively trying to force the marriage between Eleanor and William to go through without any hindrance, but then we learn more about him. Part of me feels like the dad really is a hypocrite, but another part wonders if he's opposed to Emma because he already had his fair share of experience with someone who was far removed from high society and witnessed how it kept eating away at them to the point of health concerns. Was it kindness, or selfishness? You can find out by reading. William doesn’t resemble his father in character. Although stubbornness might be something that he inherited from his mother. By the end of the story, he puts that trait to good use. Rich boy finally did something, and we are all cheered!

Romance between the two is certainly refreshing. Their night in the crystal palace and the letter exchanges. Two of them grew more in love with each other the more time they spent apart. Every parting they had was as tragic as sweet were their reunions. They were definitely meant to be from the moment they met (duh, it's the romance about them). It was sudden to me when it was revealed that Emma has tons of admirers, and I found it adorable how she always made sure to carefully and firmly reject them, but that was never the case with William. No part of her considered the fact that he is of a different class and that they might never be together, but that's also something she has a great monologue about later in the volumes. William, on the other hand, once lazy and reclusive, springs to action when it comes to things regarding Emma; he becomes a bit careless and rash, but that's love. He has the guts to go "against the grain," fully grasping the consequences of his actions, but it's not like his plan is to sit still.

There is beautiful symbolism in the scenes that only clicked for me because I reread my notes after finishing the last volume. That time when Emma and William missed each other at the train station, both of them bought Lilly of the Valley from a flower girl. A flower that symbolises the return of happiness, and a while after that, Emma makes her social debut with William, and the perfume she chooses to use is.. Lilly of the Valley. This is so romantic!!

I want to add that Mori created so many "alive" characters, even when it came to maids that would have 5 total pages of "screentime" and the Indian girls who have not spoken a single word, even once. Hanz was someone whom I suspected of having more involvement, but it never came to that, how tragic. There are, however, two specific characters that I came to like a lot, and they are Kelly Stowner and Hakim Atawari! One is quite different from the other, but they both hold their firm spot in the lives of Emma and William.

Kelly was someone who showed Emma immense kindness, gave her a place to live and work, and taught her writing and reading in English and French. Manners and other tidbits included. I thought this lady would be around forever, but everybody gets old. Thinking about her brings tears to my eyes once again.

Hakim, on the other hand, is a little weasel. Same as everyone else, he is charmed by Emma, but instead of trying to steal her away, he entrusts her to William. Is he happy in the end? He proceeds to be a troll. He and William have been best friends since childhood, and I think he is the one person who planted the seeds of action in William's mind. Hakim is really like a wonderful sculpture in the background of chapters, but when he speaks or takes action, he drags the story with him. Wonderful man.

I just have to say two words about Dorothea Mölders. Her entire presence differs so much from the rest of the older Ladies in this series. She is definitely wise and collected, but there is also some youthfulness to her that's unexplainable with plain language. That's a great woman right there. And her husband is a perfect match for her. If there were a separate manga about their romance, you best believe I would pick that up in a heartbeat. For now, I will just settle on the crumbs we got from the side stories.

Do I think there is a special reason behind this manga's title? (girl, nobody asked) I mean, it is Emma's romance story, but I also feel like it's because she is a bit of an enigma. Men talk about her beauty and don't leave out the fact that she's a maid; her new peers in Mölders' house call her quiet and reclusive. Only those who diligently watch over her or gently try to get to know her get a better picture. And as a reader, we are allowed exactly that. We see everything that happened to her, things that only a few knew, her lowest and her happiest, even when she was all alone. Maybe that's why it's not "Emma and William", it's just "Emma".

I'd love to have this in my library someday.