“And who do you think came in while we were there?…Knightley!” continued Mrs. Elton; “Knightley himself! – Was not it lucky? – for, not being within when he called the other day, I had never seen him before; and of course, as so particular a friend of Mr. E.’s, I had a great curiosity. ‘My friend Knightley’ had been so often mentioned, that I was really impatient to see him; and I must do my caro sposo the justice to say that he need not be ashamed of his friend. Knightley is quite the gentleman. I like him very much. Decidedly, I think, a very gentleman-like man.”
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 32. Mrs. Elton’s use of Mr. E and caro sposo (Italian for my spouse) to describe her husband is a mark of her pretentiousness. But Austen also includes this to satirize the nouveau riche, self-important lady with her airs and graces. The importance of social rank to Mrs. Elton can be seen in her boast that a gentleman of Mr. Knightley’s standing came to call on them.