] ] ....I should think that her being received along with Mrs Bates at Hunsford would solidify her position at the lower fringes of the gentry....

] This got me soooo confused! I just had to look up Hunsford, as I couldn't think of anyone in Emma who lived in a house of that name. (I can't believe I forgot it was the home of Mr Collins and his dear Charlotte!)

] Anyway, re Miss Bates and Mrs Goddard. We know that Miss Bates was once equal in rank to Emma (if Mr Knightley's comments to Emma in the aftermath of the Box Hill incident are to be believed. I mean when he points out to Emma that once "her notice was an honour." ) Miss Bates now seems to be in the category I've heard called 'shabby genteel,' although I doubt the phrase was in use in JA's time.

] The crucial factor to remember is that, in JA's day and even now, your class is independent of your actual wealth. So even should Miss Bates fall yet further in condition, as Mr Knightley predicts, she will always retain her Hartfield visiting privileges, because her gentility cannot be removed. (Unless she herself forfeits her right to the term, as did Maria Bertram, for instance.)

] Mrs Goddard is rather an unknown quantity. I would think that the very fact that she is invited to Hartfield suggests that there is gentility in her background too. Therefore, it matters not a jot what she does to make ends meet.

] The problematic family in the novel are the Coles, as far as Emma is concerned. Even though they are, "in fortune and style of living, second only to the family at Hartfield" , Emma considers them only "moderately genteel." They are said to be, horror of horrors, "of low origin," hence her hesitation at allowing them privilege of a visit from her exhalted self!