Matchmaking now days consists of game shows and blind dates; but in Emma, a novel written by Jane Austen, it was composed of a lonesome and bored women who is convinced she is the reason for the marriage of her old governess and the village widow. She also believes she can find her new friend the perfect husband; but she will go to the extremes to find this ideal match for her newly found companion.
Emma Woodhouse, a rich, flirtatious, and clever twenty-one year old Highbury resident, becomes bored of her small town life and creates a scheme to find a true love for her friend—Harriet Smith. Although her father and brother-in-law Mr. Knightley frown upon her matchmaking, she proceeds to do it anyway. She creates a mess of things when Harriet is convinced by Emma to deny the proposal of the local farmer Robert Martin; and then setting Harriet and Mr. Elton up as a couple. Later after being alone in a carriage with Mr. Elton, he declares his love for Emma; she begins to have doubts about Mr. Elton ever having feelings for Harriet. Later, Emma is convinced that Frank Churchill is also in love with her and she believes the feeling is mutual. Meanwhile, Mr. Knightley is accused of being interested in the newest resident, Jane Fairfax, and Emma is convinced that he is falling in love with her, though it is clear he is nothing of the sort. Frank leaves with the Westons to London and by the time he gets back Emma knows she no longer has feelings for him. Suddenly—Emma realizes she might be in love with Mr. Knightley and that it was wrong of her to convince Harriet to decline the proposal of Robert Martin. Finally, all ends well when Emma and Mr. Knightley become married as well as Harriet and her first love Robert Martin.
The reader is fi...
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...beliefs. Austen tries to show that people change even when they don’t expect it and they can also change their outlook on life; kind of like how Harriet started off in the novel being with Robert Martin, the local farmer, then transitioned to Mr. Elton, then to Mr. Knightley, and lastly she went back to Robert Martin. Also how Emma transitioned through men as well, beginning with no man and never wanting to be married to being infatuated with Frank Churchill, to marrying Mr. George Knightley; not to mention the fact that Emma begins the novel having no awareness of her actions to realizing what she had done and fixing it.
Emma is an early nineteenth century novel written about a girl who is dedicated to finding her friend her one true love; and along the way she finds one of her own. This drama filled novel shows two girls and the many men they fall in love with.
Emma a widely recognized novel written by Jane Austen, Clueless a modern movie adaption of the novel. Both focusing on the lives of privileged and wealthy girls who have limitless boundaries. Emma Woodhouse lives in nineteenth century England, whilst her counterpart, Cher Horowitz lives in modern and upscale Beverly Hills. The literary text, Emma, is set in a time that is culturally, socially and historically different to Clueless. Clueless is set in a time where plastic surgeries are a routine thing and replicating another person’s clothing is an offense punishable by intense social judgement. Whereas Emma is set in a time where being alone with a boy is seen as culturally wrong and marriages are usually only solely based on convenience depending on the social status and wealth of your partner. Prominent themes that enhance Heckerling’s purpose of transforming Emma into Clueless involve importance of class, wealth, marriage, relationships, self-development and transformation between the two characters.
Emma's arrogance shines through when she brags that she is exceptionally skillful at matching couples. She believes that she is in control of fate and must play matchmaker in order for couples to discover their true love. Austen confirms, "The real evils indeed of Emma's situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself" (Austen 1). Although Emma is so spoiled and overbearing, she truly doesn't realize this fact.
Emma, who had hated Jane since the day she arrived because Jane "tires [her] to death," (Austen 78), actually felt an ounce of sympathy towards her at one point. “She begins to develop in sensitivity, however, as she experiences her own humiliations. While still disliking Jane, she is capable of entering into her feelings and granting a moment of privacy” (Laurence 1989). Granting privacy towards someone is a huge step for Emma because it means she is actually taking into accounts someone else’s feelings and showing respect towards that person for having them, rather than finding fault in them or simply not caring at all. Besides Jane she also shows sympathy for Harriet after finding out things had gone wrong with Mr. Elton, the man Emma essentially forced Harriet to love. Emma felt bad about this and knows Harriet must have felt lachrymose about the situation because she was led to believe things would work out between them and that it they did work out it would finally make Emma respect her as an equal. Later on in the novel when Harriet becomes convinced of Mr. Knightley’s love for her, Emma cuts herself off from him, and chooses to put aside her comfort in the situation and let Mr. Knightley think for himself. Emma seems willing to “suffer anything, endure any “cost” if it helps him to overcome the terrible state of indecision that she imagines him to be in because, as she believes, he is so reluctant to inflict the pain on her that the revelation about himself and Harriet will incur,the pain of his final turning away from her,and of her final loss of him” (Austen lxxvii). Emma is showing awareness for how Mr. Knightley feels which is something that might not have been felt towards him during the beginning of the book when Emma was too focused on herself to realize her true feelings for others. The
Emma increases in humility throughout the novel. In Volume 1, Emma is saddened that her friend Miss Taylor has recently gotten married, because now she will have no one to talk to. She is happy that she made a match for Miss Taylor but admits that “the want of Miss Taylor would be felt every hour of every day” (2-3) . This attitude of selfishness diminishes as Emma matures, and by the end of the novel Emma’s focus is more on others than herself. Emma’s newfound selflessness is evident in Volume 3 when she is trying to decide if she should accept Mr. Knightley’s proposal. She carefully considers the effects of her decision on her father as well as Harriet, wanting to “guard the comfort of both to the utmost” (285). Emma does not want to hurt her relationship with Harriet any more than she already has and wishes only to “spare her from any unne...
relationships (Emma). Being a very good friend she wants to find the perfect match for Harriet (Emma).
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 eighteenth century which feminist in social status was not popular by that time, author can only through literature to express her thought and discontented about society. Jane Austen’s Emma advocates a concept about the equality of men and women. Also satirizes women would depend on marriage in exchange to make a living or money in that era. By the effect of society bourgeois, Emma has little self-arrogant. She is a middle class that everyone could admire, “Young, pretty, rich and clever”, she has whatever she needs. She disdains to have friends with lower levels. However, she is soon reach satisfaction with matchmaking for her friend. Story characterizes a distorted society images and the superiority of higher class status. It brought out the importance of class divided over that time. Story Emma is female bildungsroman. In this thesis will explore the essentials of old society, feminism and the fear of marriage and how main character’s spiritual growth to transform distorted ethic on social value and value of marriage.
...er. Even as wise and intelligent as Charlotte is, she still identifies with the ideas of her time about marriage. Charlotte, serving as a basis of time’s views allows the reader a glimpse into the institution of marriage in the Regency Era. Charlotte more than emphasizes just how radical Elizabeth was for her time, since she was willing to wait for the perfect man rather than settle. As a contrast, she helps Austen create a unique relationship in Darcy and Elizabeth. Austen disproves Charlotte’s and the general society’s pragmatic belief in a likely unhappy marriage. Through Charlotte’s marriage Austen gains a more cynical and realist voice she shows that the heart does not always have to be consulted with for a comfortable union. However, she also proves that a happy marriage is possible in spite of personal imperfections as is the case with Darcy and Elizabeth.
middle of paper ... ... During his first marriage, Mr. Weston experiences troubles with his wife because of the social class difference, resulting in their fall out. His marriage’s failure epitomizes this theme for people in Emma’s society who were confined to their social class and if one were to move too far away from their class, “an unsuitable connection, and did not produce much happiness” (Austen, Emma 12). As President Lincoln once said, “Character is like a tree and its shadow is its reputation.
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 ...
...ied about his intentions during the entire novel, no one truly knows him. Frank’s uncle, Mr. Churchill is inferior to his wife in regards of control. Throughout the novel the reader hears more about his wife than they hear about him. Their relationship represents complete switch of the traditional idea of man being superior to woman. The Knightleys however, John and Isabella, are purely conventional and are ideal couple for Nineteenth Century society’s times. Mr. Elton does not represent true gentility while Mr. Weston too gentle. Although all of these characters have their flaws, Austen finds her perfect figure in George Knightley. His infallible nature is unrealistic, yet it gives society the ultimate gentleman to aspire for. Austen’s Emma is more than a comedic novel of manners but also a quintessential piece that fits perfectly into the lives of today’s society.
The men in Emma’s life are subpar: her father essentially sells her so he can live comfortably without thinking about her needs, Charles, her husband is bland and inattentive to her needs, Rodolphe, her first lover is a player and uses her for sex even though he knows she is in love with him, Leon, her other lover satisfied her only for a short amount of time and then could not keep her interested. Because of the disappointing men in her life, Emma must turn to novels to encourage her will to live. She clings to the romance shown in fiction because she cannot find any in her own life. Whenever Emma indulges herself and dreams of romance, she has just been heartbroken. The first scene is after Rodolphe breaks up with Emma, she goes to the theatre and thrusts herself into a dreamed life with the main character of the play: “she tried to imagine his life…the life that could have been hers, if only fate had willed it so. They would have met, they would have loved!” (Flaubert, 209). In order to help herself get over Rodolphe, she has to reimagine a life with another man. The second follows Emma fretting breaking up with Leon, as she no longer tolerate him. As she’s writing another love letter to Leon, she creates an imaginary lover to write to. Creating a man from her favorite novels, a man so perfectly imagined she could practically feel him.
A total of ten characters are mentioned by name in the first chapter of Emma, though of these only three speak, the dialogue of each of the three serving to reinforce the description of each which is given in the narrative (Austen 362-67). Emma, the eponymous character, is introduced in the first sentence of the novel as being a young woman who is “handsome, clever, and rich,” a character who seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence” (Austen 362). But though the author describes her character with such glowing terms,, she is not ideal, much less perfect: the fourth paragraph opens by saying that “the real evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think
In Jane Austen's Emma the eponymous heroine is "handsome, clever, and rich" but she also suffers from arrogance and self-deception. With the good judgement of Mr Knightley, and her own self scrutiny, Emma experiences a movement of psyche, from arrogance and vanity through the humiliation of self knowledge to clarity of judgement and fulfilment in marriage. The tone of the novel and the episodes where Emma is self deceived progresses from the light comedy of Mr Elton's gallantry and the eventual mortification to the sombre depression of Emma's belief that she has ruined her own chances of happiness by bringing Mr Knightley and Harriet together. Although at times the reader is able to laugh at her mistakes, as she moves slowly and uncertainly to self knowledge and maturity, the reader, like Mr Knightley, comes to take her seriously, for in the novel serious moral and social issues are dealt with, issues which directly concern her. While we may be 'put off' by her mistakes, and flights of illogical fancy, these are also the very qualities which endear her to us.
The plot of the novel follows traditional plot guidelines; although there are many small conflicts, there is one central conflict that sets the scene for the novel. The novel is about an embarrassing; mismatched couple and their five daughters. The novel begins with Mrs. Bennet, telling her daughters of the importance of marrying well. During this time a wealthy man, Charles Bingley, moves close to Netherfield, where the Bennets’ reside. The Bennet girls struggle to capture his attention, and Jane, who judges no one, is the daughter who manages to win his heart, until Mr. Bingley abruptly leaves town. Mr. Bingley is often accompanied by Fitzwilliam Darcy, who is a very proud man. Elizabeth Bennet, who is proud of herself, and Mr. Darcy are not fond of one another from the start, these two characters pose the central conflict in the novel. As the novel progresses, Elizabeth receives a marriage proposal from her cousin, Mr. Collins, and turns him down. Mr. Collins then proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s bestfriend, who accepts. Elizabeth then leaves home to stay with, the Collins’ who live near Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy’s aunt. While this is going on, Mr. Darcy realizes he has feelings for Elizabeth and proposes to her, this is the climax of the novel. She is astonished by his actions, and turns him flat down. She explains that she feels he is arrogant, and feels he stood in the way of Jane and Mr. Bingley marrying, and also feels he is a cruel man, especially in his treating of Mr. Wickham, she is expressing her prejudice towards him. He leaves and they part very angry with each other. Mr. Darcy then writes Elizabeth a letter, explaining his feelings, defending his actions, and reveling the true nature of Mr. Wickham. During this time Elizabeth returns home still baffled about the letter Mr....