“You are very fond of bending little minds; but where little minds belong to rich people in authority, I think they have a knack of swelling out, till they are quite as unmanageable as great ones.”
– Jane Austen
Emma, Chapter 18. Emma defends Frank Churchill against Mr. Knightley’s criticism of him not fulfilling his duty as a son by visiting his father. Emma in a metaphor speaks of Knightley’s fondness for bending or influencing “little minds.” But when these small minds belong to rich people with power, she describes them in another metaphor as “swelling out” and becoming difficult to control. The small-minded people she refers to are Mr. and Mrs. Churchill. They are Frank’s uncle and aunt who became his guardians after the death of his mother and he is under their control, Emma says.