Good point, Ramya, on Emma being Mr. Knightley's "project" and so I'd like to take that a little further.......

Mr. Knightley, for all of his gentlemanly virtues, is revealing a few defects in his armor. From clear back in Ch 8:

".....But I could not reason so to a man in love, and was willing to trust to there being no harm in her, to her having that sort of disposition, which, in good hands, like his, might be easily led aright and turn out very well....."

Merry olde England was a patriarchial society and that attitude shines forth in that quote from Mr. Knightley and it shows forth, thus far, with his constant nagging at Emma.

Granted, both Harriet and Emma could have used correcting here and there but it certainly is not the exclusive providence of Mr. Knightley to impose, as he seems to assume, that the Female sex is incapable of either correcting anyone or self-correcting themselves!