She was just as determined when the morrow came, and went early, that nothing might prevent her. It was not unlikely, she thought, that she might see Mr. Knightley in her way; or, perhaps, he might come in while she were paying her visit. She had no objection. She would not be ashamed of the appearance of the penitence, so justly and truly hers. Her eyes were towards Donwell as she walked, but she saw him not.
Emma
Austen, Jane. Emma. Ed. George Justice. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 260. Print.
Here we can see Emma reverting back to the lovestruck teenage girl that she never was, dropping by places that Mr. Knightley might be found in order to bump into him while doing something that he would be impressed by. It is clear to readers that Emma must repair her slight against Ms. Bates, but I, for one, have to question her motives. Emma does not repent her words to Ms. Bates until Mr. Knightley reprimands her, which gives reason to wonder if Emma truly regrets her words, or just Mr. Knightley's reception of them. If Emma's remorse has more to do with Mr. Knightley than her own ethics and Ms. Bates, then it is not difficult to believe that her reasons for visiting the Bates' household is a self-serving errand of obligation, and bears no true sincerity.