When Smith held a discussion group on "Emma" with three women in Paraguay, all the participants had only scorn for the titular protagonist. "Once she made her friend reject her proposal, to do a thing like that to somebody鈥�" one commented. "'When she'd step in and make decisions for somebody, she'd say, 'What a great thing I just did! That was wonderful! That was my good action of the day!' Alicia and Ana Mar铆a broke into laughter at Lorena's mincing Emma imitation: 'Boy am I great!... 'She couldn't work, though,' Ana Mar铆a pointed out, reining in her laughter. 'So what could she do?' 'Run other people's lives, I guess!'"
