The 2009 miniseries adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, directed by Jim O’Hanlon and adapted for the screen by Sandy Welch, pulls themes of travel, community, and homecoming from the novel and presents them in a way that offers new insight and perspective on the novel itself. This adaptation stars Romola Garai as Emma and Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley and, unlike other adaptations of Austen novels focuses less on the romance between the hero and heroine, and more on the circumstances and themes that link Emma, Jane Fairfax (Laura Pyper), and Frank Churchill (Rupert Evans). Through the use of opening backstory and dialogue, the film highlights this link in a way that offers new and interesting insight not only into the relationship between …show more content…
It briefly describes her parents and transitions to her mother’s death and her father’s resolution to keep his daughters close. As the narrator describes how the sun continues to shine on Emma, we see her walking down a lane hand in hand with her governess, Anne Taylor. Two gentlemen, Mr. Weston and Dr. Perry, rush to a house on the corner, Mr. Weston entreating Dr. Perry to hurry in to his fatally ill wife, as this happens, Emma is pulled along, away from the spectacle, by Miss Taylor. The narration then goes on to say that other children are not so lucky as Emma, and that “Frank Weston’s world was turned upside-down.” The film briefly shows his aunt coming to take him away from Highbury and little Frank starring out the back of a coach waving to his father as it drives away. The narrator then goes on to say that “Jane Fairfax’s life was changed forever when her aunt fell on hard times”, and we see a teary Jane being handed off to Captain Campbell to live with him and his family. As she is getting into the carriage, Emma and Miss Taylor come walking around the corner and the narrator ends this first sequence by saying that Emma remained at home with “little to distress or vex …show more content…
From an early stage, it marks Jane and Frank as important to the narrative so that when they finally do come back in the second episode of the miniseries, the audience remembers them, and remembers that they are importantly linked with Emma. Aside from this beginning scene, the scene directly following the opening titles of the miniseries shows a maybe 12 or 13 year old Emma hiding under the table scoffing at the way Miss Bates is doting on the letter from Jane and talking of how accomplished Jane has become. In fact, throughout the move, Emma compares herself to Jane as little more outspokenly than she does in the novel. This not only reinforces the link between them and the importance of Jane as a character, but also serves to set up Emma’s own character development arch. It is one of the earliest means of setting up that Emma has faults, and faults that tend to be somewhat unbecoming, since the audience has no reason to believe Jane to be as insufferable as Emma makes her out to
Word games play a huge role in the plot development of Emma. ". . . Emma is itself a word game, anagrammatic in theme . . . and plot structure" (Grey 181). The word games in Emma involve the matching and rearranging of verbal characters. This mirrors the plot of the book, where characters are matched and rearranged as potential marriage partners. (Grey 181). In the same way that rearranging the alphabet tiles changes their meaning, different pairings in Emma demonstrate different aspects of the individual’s character. The theme of Emma is expressed through the word games by the games’ requirement to adhere to the rules. Emma’s society relies on a strict adherence to the rules dictated by the “middle-class aristocracy” (Grossman 1). Likewise, the word games rely on observation of the rules, and when the rules of the game are broken it usually coincides with breaking of the rules of the social game. Frank and Emma break the social rules when they gossip obviously about Jane Fairfax and mock her attachment to Mr. Dixon by spelling out ...
At the start of Jane Eyre, Jane is living with her widowed aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her family after being orphaned. Jane is bitterly unhappy there because she is constantly tormented by her cousins, John, Eliza, and Georgiana. After reading the entire book you realize that Jane was perfectly capable of dealing with that issue on her own, but what made it unbearable was that Mrs. Reed always sided with her children, and never admitted to herself that her offspring could ever do such things as they did to Jane. Therefore, Jane was always punished for what the other three children did, and was branded a liar by Mrs. Reed. This point in the book marks the beginning of Jane's primary conflict in the novel. She feels unloved and unaccepted by the world, as her own family betrays her.
Jane Austen masters the use of epistolary in her novel Pride and Prejudice, to add more layers and understanding to her piece, and to quickly put forth a message rather than prolong the plot. Austen uses letters as a dramatic device to add effectiveness to the novel and to continue to unravel the plot. Letters reveal an intimate perspective of a character 's thoughts without any intrusion from another character, and it aids in the revelation of character. Specifically, the letters in Pride and Prejudice allow Austen to communicate important information that would take longer to write as a narrative. Elizabeth’s letter to her aunt, Mrs. Gardiner, and Jane’s letter to Elizabeth about Lydia both are exemplary to discuss how Austen’s use of epistolary
...re present for the rest of the novel. Upon learning of the secret engagement of Frank and Jane Fairfax, Emma is further humbled in realizing the effects of her game of gossip with Frank concerning Jane and Mr. Dixon. Every game played had a negative repercussion.
Jane Fairfax is placed in many of the important parts of Emma playing a significant role as a contrasting character to Emma who is the alternative heroine of the text. Jane Fairfax teaches Emma many moral lessons: not to interfere with other people’s life and also not to invent other people’s situations as Emma is a character that lives in her own imagination and writes stories in her mind. If Emma is a character living in a dream, Jane is a character who shows realism throughout the novel and reality to the audience. If Jane Fairfax was not included as one of the characters in the novel, the story would have been very dull with no surprise endings and resolution to Emma’s mistakes in interfering other people’s relationships. Jane is a character who makes Emma mature and also realise her mistakes and finally find her own lover.
In the novel, Emma, Austen introduced her audience to a new idea of patriarchy. While she is known to satirize society for the “faulty education of female children, limited expectations for girls and women, and the perils of the marriage market” (“Austen, Jane”). Austen expresses the irony of the men of her patriarchal society and proposes the ideal gentleman in Mr. Knightley. In Emma, Austen moves away from “a traditional idea of 'natural' male supremacy towards a 'modern' notion of gender equity” (Marsh). Jane Austen is a revolutionary in the way she transforms the idea of Nineteenth Century patriarchy by not “reinforcing the traditional gender stereotypes” (Rosenbury) but instead challenging the status quo. While her characters still hold some ties to traditional ideals, Austen proves to be ahead of her time, influencing the way gender is regarded today.
Women in the Victorian era were held to an inferior status. Many had to hide their feelings, conceal their creativity and they were sought to conform to societal rules. Jane Eyre never quite followed this, growing up in a contemptuous household Eyre acted out, calling her provider, Mrs. Reed, "deceitful" and describing her upbringing as "miserable cruelty" (Bronte 37, 36). Jane's upbringing instills her strong belief in justice toward those who treat others unfairly. When Jane becomes a student at Lowood Institute, the orphan school, Jane endures cruelty from the headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst. Due to her rough childhood, Jane's passion is uncontrollable. Rather than being passionate for love, she is passionate for justice. While at Lowood, she eventually learns the meaning of forgiveness and strength. Her good friend, Helen Burns, teaches her to accept others opinions of her, to be humble and recognize one's own faults. Helen councils Jane, saying "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs" (58). Helen's advice to Jane teaches her self-possession, to endure hardships that come her way ...
Although the fantasies appropriately capture Emma’s inner thoughts and even reveal her subconscious like when she imagines Mr. Knightly marrying Jane Fairfax and she yells “but what about little Henry”, the film’s audience, much like the novel’s reader, is aware that Emma is more than worried about little Henry’s inheritance. Also, much in the way that gossip in the novel acts like a female triviality, so do the
Emma's personality is largely shaped by the nature of her upbringing. Emma had no motherly figure guiding her as she grew up, due to the fact that her mother passed away at a young age, and her governess, Miss Taylor, became her best friend instead of an authority over her. At the start of the novel Miss Taylor gets married to Mr. Weston, leaving Emma with her despondent and hypochondriac father, Mr. Woodhouse. Although Mr. Woodhouse often confines Emma to the house because of his paranoia of her being harmed, he gives her little guidance. Emma becomes accustomed to being the "princess" of her house, and she applies this role to all of her social interactions, as she develops the ability to manipulate people and control them to advance her own goals. Emma views herself with the highest regard, and feels competition and annoyance with those who threaten her position. Emma has much resentment toward Mrs. Elton, as Mrs. Elton becomes a parody for Emma's mistakes and interactions. Mrs. Elton's attachment to Jane Fairfax is much like Emma's attachment to Harriet Smith; both Mrs. Elton and Emma attach themselves to young women and try to raise their...
In Jane Austen’s Emma, an emphasis is placed on the importance of female friendships. In particular, Austen places a great deal of emphasis on how Emma treats the women she calls her friends. In many ways, Emma manipulates the people in her life to fit her specific expectations for them. This can be seen in her matchmaking, especially Harriet’s relationship with Mr. Martin. Emma’s manipulation of various relationships serves as a way to control the friendships she has with the women in her life. By matching her friends with the men she has chosen for them, Emma can not only elevate their status but also keep these women in her life as well. It is only when her friendships are affected by marriage that Emma re-evaluates the role of marriage in her own life.
Jane Austen's Approach to the Character Emma in Pride and Prejudice 'Handsome, clever and rich' are the complimentary words Jane Austen lavishes upon Emma; accurate as they may be, they paint a picture contrary to the Emma portrayed during the first half of the novel. Set against the nineteenth century patriarchal society, structured by the privileges and constraints of money and status, both of which she acquires, a complex mental journey faces her. The journey, however is one she is oblivious to and one to which the predominate barrier is her apparent good fortune. Jane Austen plays the role of an omniscient narrator providing dialogue whilst also supplying constant commentary into the thought process of the heroine. Armed with her arrogance and additional ' unsavoury traits' Emma interacts with influential acquaintances that act as catalysts along her journey to self- discovery.
Literary Analysis of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen The novel Pride and Prejudice, is a romantic comedy, by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is a story about an unlikely pair who go through many obstacles before finally coming together. Pride is the opinion of oneself, and prejudice is how one person feels others perceive them. The novel, Pride and Prejudice, uses plot, the characters of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, and the status of women and social standing, to portray the theme of the novel - pride and prejudice.
An individual may have several different characteristics, however it is Emmaline’s determination which helps her pursue the quest to save Tommy. While on the travel to London, the location of the master sweep containing her brother, Emmaline forces herself to take a few days worth of wagon rides alone through harsh conditions. Although she is able to receive sleep during the night, Emmaline is “awakened a number of times by harsh coughing and the shrill cries,” (pg 133”), leaving her tired. The fact Emmaline has enough for a coach, which would make her voyage more relaxing, but makes the choice to opt for a cheaper option to preserve enough money in hopes to buy her brother back shows her determination. Emmaline is willing to tackle any hurdle
Emma Woodhouse: Emma is the main character of the novel. She is a beautiful, smart, and wealthy 21-year-old woman. Because of her admired qualities, Emma is a little conceited. She is the daughter of Henry Woodhouse. Since her mother has died, Emma has taken the role of taking care of her father, who is old and often sick. Because she feels she is obligated to stay by his side, Emma decides not to marry. Emma believes that she is a good matchmaker, and tries to put together several couples throughout the novel. Emma believes that social classes are very important and refuses to see anyone cross over to marry someone lesser than themselves In chapter 8-page 52, Emma is talking about Harriet’s situation with the farmer with Mr. Knightley. She says, “Mr. Martin is a very respectable young man, but I cannot admit him to be Harriet’s equal. As the novel progresses, Emma becomes more mature, and realizes how silly she had been in the past. In the end, she finally stops matchmaking others and marries Mr. Knightley, who was perfect for her all along.
Within the novel, Jane Austen’s exploits of irony are shown linked throughout Emma’s notions of love and the real within her own society. Emma’s lack of education on the concepts of love is quite evident within her apathy towards Frank Churchill as her opinions are deeply rooted within her own affections, as she states, “Emma continued to entertain no doubt of her being in love. Her ideas only varied as to the how much. At first, she thought it was a good deal; and afterwards, but little. She had great pleasure in hearing Frank Churchill talked of; and for his sake, greater pleasure than ever in seeing Mr. and Mrs. Weston; she was very often thinking of him. But, on the other hand, she could not admit herself to be unhappy, nor, after the first morning, to be less disposed for employment than usual; she was still busy and cheerful; and, pleasing as he was, she could yet imagine him to have faults,” (Austen 264). Emma’s sketch of Harriet is another illustration of irony surrounded by Emma’s arrogance as it does not portray an accurate depiction of Harriet as Emma has altered ...