Essay Feminism and Jane Austen's Emma

Today marriage is seen as an expression of deep love and respect for another person. In Austen’s time, a ‘good’ marriage was seen to be one where wealth and social status of the man and woman were socially suitable. There was very

Jane Austen provides her readers with insight into marriage and English society within the 1800’s. In Emma, the story establishes the idea that society could not function without marriage and how the institution of marriage defined one’s social status.

The analysis will cover three aspects. First of all, in her book, Jane Austen expresses the view that both genders possess equal creative and intellectual qualities, and thus women are born to be equal to men. Second, she expresses her skepticism towards the degree of rationality and justice of the common social norms about female behavior. The third aspect is that Austen also insists that women should act for themselves in a rational way rather than merely trying to impress or to please the other sex.

Jane Austen’s novel 'Emma' and Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, as significant and satirical reflections of Regency England and postmodern America respectively, indicate how the transformation process can shape and improve literacy, intertextual and logical importance. The transformation is evident in the compositions Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’ and Amy Heckerling’s ‘Clueless’ enabling us to investigate the assortment of logical subjects. Regarding ‘Emma’ the perspective throughout the Regency time frame examines the strict values of love and marriage inside the inflexible social hierarchy. Austen’s advances the significance of etiquette throughout the text. Austen reveals a neo-women’s activist perspective, shown in the female protagonist revealing the female protagonists’ scholarly capacity and social equity in an otherwise patriarchal society. However, the close resemblance of the story; ‘Clueless’, Heckerling composition conveys entirely transformed values, reflected through the actions of the current upper-working class of contemporary Los Angeles. The critical analysis of commercialism in the informal social class system of modern America reiterating social expectations of gender and social characterisation within the microcosm of the typical American educational system. The transformation in attitudes of Austen, reveals an exhaustive utilisation of setting, a close examination of dialect and various artistic procedure.

She is met with Elton’s indignant reply, “Don’t you even know who my father is?”, his shocked tone and rhetorical question emphasises the nonsensical nature of her remark, emulating the social rift between himself and Tai. Elton distances himself from Tai by emphasising his superior status, and reflects upon the contextual importance of adherence to social distinctions when forging relationships, a similarity shared in Emma. In contrast to Clueless is the rigidity of social class in Emma’s time, in which there is a strong regard for birthright, wealth and mannerisms. In chapter 10, Emma says, “A single woman, with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous, disagreeable, old maid! ...but a single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable”. A poor, unmarried woman is described as an “old maid”, whereas her wealthy counterpart is “always respectable”. These double standards between single women of high and poor economic status exemplifies the importance of wealth in determining respectability within Austen’s context. Evidently, social hierarchy are strong social values upheld in both contexts, with relationships and societal norms dependent upon an individual’s social class.

Emma Woodhouse, who begins the novel "handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition" (Austen 1), suffers from a dangerous propensity to play matchmaker, diving into other’s lives, for what she believes is their own good. Despite this, she is a sympathetic character. Her matchmaking leads only to near-disasters and her expressions of remorse following these mistakes are sincere and resolute. Jane Austen's Emma concerns the social milieu of a sympathetic, but flawed young woman whose self-delusion regarding her flaws is gradually erased through a series of comic and ironic events.

In Emma Jane Austen exposes the limitations of the role of women in her society. Examine Austen’s presentation of what is called in the novel, women’s usual occupations of eye, and hand, and mind. Emma – Role of Woman In Emma Jane Austen exposes the limitations of the role of women in her society.

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.

Though at first glance, Emma appears to be a generic romantic novel about virtue and ladyhood, Austen actually challenges what the meaning of “ladyhood” is to the reader. We view Emma’s follies, trials, and triumphs through the eyes of the omnipotent narrator who first describes Emma as a stereotypical, wealthy young lady who is “handsome, clever…with…a happy disposition” (1). Through the use of irony, Austen employs a series of situations in which Emma, a “lady” of high standing within her community, challenges conventional thinking of what it means to be a young woman in the early nineteenth century, particularly her ideas concerning marriage and

Feminism is often seen as a negative word towards women, but it actually represents the gender inequality for both men and women. In 2014, Emma Watson, a twenty-four-year-old British actress, and the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador co-hosted a special event for the UN Women’s HeForShe campaign. Before Watson was a UN Women’s Ambassador, she was known as a strong activist for women’s rights. The importance of the HeForShe campaign, which is a united movement, to spread and inform the gender equality awareness for both men and women to the public. As a speaker, Watson comes across to her audience as credible also reliable because she is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, she also sends her message across by building a trust relationship with the

Austen reveals how self-transformation is necessary in maturing and establishing self-awareness. Emma Woodhouse possesses qualities that many would envy: beauty, intelligence, wealth, and youth. However, the positive aspects of Emma are equally contrasted by her personality. The novels begins with a description of the protagonist, "The real evils, indeed, of Emma 's situation were the power of having too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself: these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments."

Marriage has no always been about the love and happiness two people bring eachother; instead it was concidered to be more of a business transaction. Emma by Jane Austen takes place during the early twentieth century, this time period was completly absorabed in social classes and had a much different view on marriage than today. Through the young, bold, wealthy, and beautiful character Emma Woodhouse, Jane Austen exposes the protocol of marriage as well as the effects marriage held based on social standing during the early twentieth centuery.

Jane Eyre was written in a time where the Bildungsroman was a common form of literature. The importance was that the mid-nineteenth century was, "the age in which women were, for the first time, ranked equally with men as writers within a major genre" (Sussman 1). In many of these novels, the themes were the same; the protagonist dealt with the same issues, "search for autonomy and selfhood in opposition to the social constraints placed upon the female, including the demand for marriage" (Sussman). Jane Eyre fits this mould perfectly. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Jane Eyre on a journey of development from adolescence to maturity to show that a desire for freedom and change motivates people to search for their own identity.

Jane Austen lived from 1775 until 1817, a span of four decades that saw significant changes in English social, political, and economic life. At the time her birth, England was embroiled in a bitter struggle with its American colonies, the loss of which, several years later, proved to be a tremendous blow to English political and military prestige. Under the rule of George III, England's political climate became increasingly unstable with constant struggles between the King and Whig politicians. Ireland received its independence in 1782, although the violence that had long plagued the country continued to rage. Across the Channel, the French Revolution had begun and the English aristocracy watched in horror as royal heads began to roll.

A feminist is a person whose beliefs and behavior are based on feminism (belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes). Jane Eyre is clearly a critique of assumptions about both gender and social class. It contains a strong feminist stance; it speaks to deep, timeless human urges and fears, using the principles of literature to chart the mind?s recesses. Thus, Jane Eyre is an epitome of femininity - a young independent individual steadfast in her morals and has strong Christian virtues, dominant, assertive and principled. That itself is no small feat.