Emma Wuthering Heights And Jane Eyre Character Analysis

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Character and Relationships in Emma, Wuthering Heights¸ and Jane Eyre
It is the aim of this piece to consider how two elements are developed in the opening chapters of three classic novels written by 19th century English women: Emma, Wuthering Heights, and Jane Eyre, respectively. The elements to be considered are a) character; and b) character relationships. Consideration will be given to see how each opening chapter develops these two aspects, and the various approaches will be compared and contrasted as well.
Emma
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 …show more content…

Lockwood, a newly arrived tenant of one of the outer homesteads belonging to Mr. Heathcliff’s estate. In this entry Mr. Lockwood relates how he visited Mr. Heathcliff to introduce himself, and proceeds to describe the demeanor of his new landlord. Mr. Heathcliff and Mr. Lockton are the only two characters of consequence who are developed in this short chapter, though a third, Joseph, is introduced as Mr. Heathcliff’s “elderly, nay . . . very old” servant, and utters only a short statement to express his ornery nature and displeasure at having to look after an unexpected and unwanted guest (E. Brontë

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