This is only the skeletal plot structure, and it is fleshed out in many ways. To comprehend this fleshing out, the reader should remember that the motive force for plot in fiction is generally one or more of three kinds of conflict: man against man, man against environment, or man against himself. The force of man-against-man is incidental but important to the overall satire of the novel and can be seen in the social maneuverings of various characters. The force of man-against-environment is seen primarily in terms of Emma versus her social milieu: She goes against the accepted manners and social ranks in trying to manipulate Harriet either from or into the social and personal lives of others. But the most consistent plot force in the novel is man-against-himself: Emma is constantly deceiving herself and is thus in conflict with herself. All three motive forces for plot, then, are found in Emma, but the last two predominate and are in essence the same, for Emma is ironically against herself because she is against her environment. She has accepted the code of her society but at the same time, due to her imbalance of imagination and reason, she wants to go against it; both the code and her opposing willfulness are important to her — hence conflict.
The overall pattern of plot movement is rather classic. Emma's conflict begins when her willful imagination is released by the loss of Miss Taylor; her situation is like a vacuum to be filled — and fulfilled — in accordance with her nature. The result is a continuous rising interest for the reader as Emma's self-deception realizes and manifests itself. The major climax, the highest point of reader interest, comes in Chapters XI, XII, and XIII in the final volume, followed by an unraveling denouement. This movement designed to increase reader interest can be charted like the rising, peaking, and falling on a graph.
Finally, another major plot pattern used in the novel is that of contrast. Plot manipulation not only arranges to juxtapose significantly different characters (Frank and George, for instance) but also often develops a special rhythm by placing introspective scene or chapter next to one of social interaction.
Thus the plot is quite complex, with more than one element often working at once. Composed of classic pattern, contrast, and planned general social satire, all facets are based upon conflict. Though not as obvious as the others, even the last-mentioned element (which is man-against-man) stems from the conflict between social intention and performance. Underlying all of these conflicts is the motive of comic irony.
