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Analysis Of Jane Austen 's Emma

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Jane Austen’s Emma follows the life of an overindulged, upper class young woman who, after enduring a crisis brought on by her own pride, is transformed from callow and vain, to a state of mental and emotional maturity. On first reading, the audience may perceive Emma’s actions as a repression of feelings, but upon closer inspection one can see that she is not suppressing her emotions but simply does not have the level of self-awareness that would allow her to clarify the difference between right and wrong. It is important to bring to light the connections between self and society, which Austen has embedded into narrative, as they raise the question of who is to blame for Emma’s harmful conduct. She struggles with shedding her arrogance, and the fear she has of facing her feelings causes her to misunderstand those around her, wreaking havoc in the lives of others. Her immaturity is not confined to contextual milieu – Austen’s examination of character and society has universality in its comment on our sense of self and culture, and is as relevant today as it was in the 19th century.

The novel opens by introducing the main character, Emma, who has been endowed with “some of the best blessings of existence”p3. It is suggested that this is a character flaw of such significance that it is revealed in the opening chapter, and foreshadows the novel’s structure - “The real evils indeed of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to

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