“She is out of health now; but that indeed, by her own account, she has always been. I would not say so to every body, Mrs. Elton, but I have not much faith in Mrs. Churchill’s illness.”
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 36. Mr. Weston questions the legitimacy of Mrs. Churchill’s illness. We learn in the course of the novel how her illness is used to stop his son Frank Churchill from visiting him. The quote highlights the theme of deception, foreshadowing its growing importance as the story progresses. Despite Mr. Weston’s skepticism about whether Mrs. Churchill’s illness is genuine or fabricated or exaggerated, she does die in the end.