Emma
Mr. Woodhouse
Emma's father
Emma's gentle, anxious father, who worries about drafts, chills and rich food. He is polite to everyone and depends on his daughters.
Henry Woodhouse is Emma's elderly father and master of Hartfield. He is kind and courteous, but he is anxious about his health and everyone else's. A draft or a rich cake is a danger to him, and he relies on Mr. Perry, the apothecary, for comfort. He dislikes any change, including weddings.
He loves his daughters and feels the loss of anyone who leaves. His fears shape the household, and Emma arranges her life around them. He is not unkind, and his main wish is to keep his family close and warm. Emma, Mr. Knightley and the apothecary all know how to calm him. His politeness never fails, even when he is frightened.
“Pray do not make matches, Emma; they break up one's family circle.”
In the story
Contains spoilers.
Mr. Woodhouse is sad about Miss Taylor's marriage to Mr. Weston and tells Emma not to make matches, since they break up the family circle. At the Christmas Eve dinner at Randalls, the first snow sends him into a panic that they will all be cut off, until Mr. Knightley checks the road and reassures him.
His attachment to Hartfield is also what shapes the ending. Emma cannot leave him, so Mr. Knightley agrees to live at Hartfield for as long as he lives. A quiet evening at home with dear Knightley turns out to be the safest blessing of all, and Mr. Woodhouse is present at the wedding.
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