Emma Grows And Matures Before The Readers

“Emma could not resist. Ah! Ma’am but there may be a difficulty. Pardon me- but you will be limited as to number- only three at once”; Emma insults Miss Bates, who is a dear friend, in order to quench her desire for social credit. When Mr Martin’s proposal arrives for Harriet, Emma shakes her head with disdain. Emma has the highest social status, apart from Knightley, and uses this to diminish those of lower class. Chapone asks us to “Observe her manner to servants and inferiors” and whether she treats “them always with affability”, but we know, Emma does not. Emma thinks Mr Martin is a “very inferior creature” and when Harriet asks for advice Emma says “the letter had much better be all your own” but sneaks in “You need not to be prompted to write the appearance of sorrow for his disappointment”. Harriet refuses Martin, and Emma proclaims that Harriet, if she accepted, would have been “confined to the society of the illiterate and vulgar” and “could not have visited Mrs. Robert Martin” since she deems the lower class as unsophisticated primitives. Emma would have lost her latest amusement and her chance to prove her intelligence. Emma’s subtle manipulations illustrates the absence of inner morality, and is thus, an ill-qualified mentor.

Emma befriends Harriet Smith, a pretty young girl of obscure background, determined to make her into a lady. Harriet a simple girl, raised in an orphanage, is tremendously grateful for Emma’s friendship. She provides her a source of both entertainment and constant admiration, affirming her superiority. Mr. Knightley instantly recognizes the nature of this new friendship “How can Emma imagine she has any thing to learn herself, while Harriet is presenting such delightful inferiority?”(35). Harriet is destined to advance in the social latter, mostly through association with her patroness. For that reason, it is not therefore surprising that Emma’s first comment upon hearing Mr. Martin’s marriage proposal to Harriet should be in regard of his apparent resolve to “‘connect himself well if he can’” (47).

In Jane Austen’s “Emma,” conversations reveal the social concerns and the character of its participants. Each contributor has a unique and therefore biased perspective that informs how they appear in a conversation. The eponymous protagonist, Emma is oft seen making judgments whether in dialogue or through free indirect discourse, such that her own shortcomings and biases are elucidated. Emma willing enters into a disagreement with her step-brother, Mr. Knightley, on the elusive Frank Churchill. She admittedly plays devil’s advocate as a source of amusement. Despite taking on a perspective she feels she doesn’t really have, Emma, reveals her values and Mr. Knightley reveals his. The conversation later proves the catalyst for which Emma and

In Amy Heckerlings 1995 film clueless we see the deep transformation of Jane Austin’s more conservative 19th century classic Emma. In clueless we see the values and themes of high culture literature combined with the modern context of teenage society in the 20th century. The transformation of Jane Austen's novel Emma to the 20th century film Clueless by Amy Heckerling allows for the same themes of social structure and personal growth to be universally conveyed in a modern situation. Throughout Heckerlings transformation we see things like photography substituting for portraiture, convertibles for carriages, parties in the Valley for fancy dress

Similar to Sheridan, Austen reimagines several stock characters such as the braggart soldier (in the form of Mrs Elton) and the killjoy (in the form of Mr Woodhouse), however she takes it one step further as she combines several comic roles to form her main protagonist Emma. This is a key reason why ‘Emma’ is an innovative comic novel as Austen subverts the idea that ‘the obstacles to a [protagonists] desire … form the action of… comedy and the overcoming of them the resolution’ by combining the role of the trickster, the ingénue, the fool and the blocking character to characterize Emma. In doing so Emma becomes the obstacle to her own happy ending as the mischief she creates is caused by her own self-inflicted restriction on herself of being unable to love as ‘it is not my way, or my

Though the characterizations of both Emma and Harriet are undoubtedly crucial to the development of meaning and purpose in the passage, that of Emma assumes greater importance and overall relevance, due to the narrator's seemingly direct ties with Emma as opposed to Harriet, the distinct division of the paragraphs accordingly with their emphases of Emma's and Harriet's internal and external traits, the inclusion of detail regarding Emma's passions and the exclusion of detail regarding Harriet's background, other than the fact that she has had unfavorable acquaintances in the past, and the specific diction used to establish tone in characterizing Emma's fervent desire to influence Harriet's views of

Harriet’s life revolves around men and she pines after Mr. Elton for nearly the entire book. Austen uses this character to show just how silly women seem that focus their lives around men and the obsession to marry and in fact Austen never even married herself. Harriet’s obsession with men and marrying is shown throughout the novel, but especially when she reveals to Emma that she has been keeping items that are reminiscent of Mr. Elton and even she admits it was “in [her] nonsense” (307) and that she “could not help making a treasure of it” (307). Harriet is also used as a foil to Emma. Where Emma is firm in her ideas and beliefs and will only marry for true love Harriet is easily swayed in any direction she is pointed by Emma and others. Where Emma is self assured and confident Harriet is shy and uncertain. Emma is committed to living a life unmarried with little exception and all Harriet wants to do is to be

Emma, we see, is a devoted daughter; she continuously goes out of her way for her father keeping his mind off vexing matters, changing the subject and knowing the best ways and times to give him news so as not to upset him. In this aspect Emma never flags in her devotion to him and is caring from start to finish. In the first chapter we are given an example of how deftly Emma changes the topic of conversation from a distressing topic to one easier on Mr. Woodhouse's mind. The two of them were discussing Miss Taylor, now Mrs. Weston's marriage and how they shall be going to visit her at her new home often.

Looking at Emma, Emma sees the Woodhouses and Knightleys as coequal, as the town’s distinguished families. The social classes in Emma do not really stick to certain groups;

After declining Mr. Martin’s proposal, Miss Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley get into an argument because Mr. Knightley sees that Harriet is actually lower in class than Mr. Martin, while Emma disagrees. Mr. Knightley states, “Nonsense!... Harriet Smith refuse Robert Martin! Madness, if it is so; but I hope you are mistaken” (60). Emma thinks that since she is a friend of Harriet, she cannot possibly be that low in class because Emma doesn’t associate with the lower class.

Unlike Elizabeth Bennet, the eponymous character in Emma realizes she loves her romantic interest in a sudden epiphany. After Emma learns of Harriet’s attraction to Mr. Knightley, realizes that she loves him–and only she must love and marry him. As she believes in a potential engagement between Knightley and Harriet, Emma thinks, “How long had Mr. Knightley been so dear to her, as every feeling declared him now to be? When had his influence, such influence begun?–When had he succeeded to that place in her affection, which Frank Churchill had once, for a short period, occupied?” (Emma 386). Immediately, Emma considers her feelings for Knightley in comparison to those she had for Churchill, which illustrates her way of rationalizing her love for Knightley along with dispelling any remnants of affection she may have for Churchill. Emma is completely smitten with Knightley. In addition, her feelings for Knightley suddenly change because of a potential loss, rather than discovering a new, positive aspect of his character. Furthermore, Austen illustrates that Emma has always admired Knightley: “She [Emma] saw that there never had been a time when she did not consider Mr. Knightley as infinitely the most dear. She saw, that in persuading herself, in fancying, in acting to the contrary, she had been entirely under a delusion, totally ignorant of her own heart–and, in short, that she had never really cared for Frank Churchill at all!” (386). Emma continues to reflect upon her

Jane Austen presents a light-hearted and simplistic view of society through the ordinary lives in Emma. Every character is linked and connected to the location of Highbury in some way. The limited social and geographical range does pose weaknesses in this active yet reserved village. Austen’s recognition of flaws behind gossip, marriage and social status, provide readers delight and a sense of identification. Emma successfully stimulates awareness to the effects of isolation, and generates appreciation for our own social privileges and position.

The crux of Emma focuses on Emma’s relationship with Mrs. Weston, who, upon the novel’s opening, the narrator clearly indicates that Emma views as a mother: “Her mother had died too long ago for her to have more than an indistinct remembrance of her caresses; and her place had been supplied by an excellent woman as governess, who had fallen little short of a mother in affection” (Austen 1). In terms of life lessons, Mrs. Weston is the person who influences Emma the most as she grows up. It is she who instills in her good manners and morals. She teaches her to be charitable to people, no matter their social status. Her geniality and good breeding make her an ideal 18th century woman for Emma to emulate. Perhaps it is Mrs. Weston’s teachings that result in Emma frequently inviting Miss Bates, a poor widow, and Mrs. Goddard, a school principal, to her supper table. However, it is not to be implied that Miss Taylor is the perfect motherly figure for Emma. The narrator notes that Miss Taylor fails to properly administrate Emma by letting “Emma [do] just what she likes” (1), which results in Emma’s major faults as a character, such as “having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself” (1). Ultimately, it is the informal

in fact, this is not true at all. In this sense, Emma is very naïve

Emma may be older than Cher, but she is an adolescent in most senses, a young woman who has never left her father’s side or her small neighborhood. She has free rein at home but is also confined by her caretaker role, which she performs as Cher does with her lawyer dad lovingly and without complaining. Yet Emma’s protected provincialism ensures she doesn’t fully understand the larger world, and her own role in it, particularly the potential of her power — over men, over women, over her neighbors. Just as Clueless, Tai actually has more real-world chops than her self-appointed life coach, Cher Horowitz, most everyone in Austen’s Highbury has seen more of existence than Emma has but they defer to her because of this “handsome, clever and rich” woman’s social rank, charm, and beauty. The ensuing disconnect between Emma’s