an answer, but am throwing out the question. Is he supposed to just be supplying comic relief, is he there to make Emma look good because she loves the fussy old man, or is there some other purpose? I see him as weak, either effeminate or sexless, with imaginary ills and I find myself skimming the sections that deal with him. Am I missing something much larger that he represents, either in the story or to Austen herself?