How Does Emma's Character To Change

Jane Austen begins the novel Emma by stating, “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence, and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her” (1) immediately giving readers the impression that Emma is a young woman whom the readers should respect and grow to love throughout the novel. As we continue reading, however, we learn that while Emma has a good reputation and a circle of people who love her and want the best for her, she is extremely flawed. In the article, The Darkness in Emma, Anita Soloway states, “for Emma, beauty, cleverness, and wealth prove to be mixed blessings at best, for they foster the conceit of arrogance that lead her to hurt others and threaten her own happiness” (86) which ties into my argument that Emma’s good reputation is not necessarily based on her character, but instead, the lifestyle she lives, which is a similar concept for Tom in Tom Jones.

The ensuing disconnect between Emma’s perception and the reality of her surroundings forms the crux of Austen’s novel. Just as Cher convinces herself that Elton loves Tai and Christian loves her, everything that Emma imagines is occurring in her small village turns out to be wrong, and she manipulates people and events with disastrous results. Emma suffers little limitation as she goes to the Cole’s party, to the ball at the Crown, and to the excursion at Box Hill, "provided all was safe at Hartfield." The fact that this represents Emma 's change of response to her father rather than being a change in Mr. Woodhouse himself is made clear by details which would have felt inconceivable in book three, for instance, we casually hear that Emma had replaced the small uncomfortable table at Hartfield with a modern round table sometime in the unspecified past.

Throughout this entire section Emma becomes a lot more attached to Rodolphe. She is counting down the days until she gets to leave the life she is living now with Charles to go with Rodolphe. As it gets closer and closer to the day she gets to leave, the more she is crazy about Rodolphe. She starts to get very annoying especially when Rodolphe has to leave her each night he comes to visit. Part of the reason Rodolphe sent her the letter breaking things off is because of how annoying and over protective she becomes of him. Rodolphe does not want to bring Emma along if she is going to be acting that way. Rodolphe is fed up with the fact that even if they go one day seeing each other, Emma acts like it has been years when they do meet up. Rodolphe

Emma finds that Mr. Martin had written a letter of proposal to Harriet. Upon reading the letter together and discussing that Harriet should reject the proposal, Emma says, “A woman is not to marry a man merely because she is asked, or because he is attached to her, and can write a tolerable letter.” (75). Being a well wealthy enough woman, Emma has the ability to refuse a marriage proposal, unlike other girls, in this case Harriet. Throughout the novel, there are certain events that happen as to where readers might find to be foolish. An example, when Mr. Knightley discusses with Mrs. Weston explaining why Harriet is not a good companion for Emma, “How can Emma imagine she has any thing to learn herself, while Harriet is presenting such a delightful inferiority?” (67). Mr. Knightley’s argument is based upon the standards of Highbury and he believes that as long as no one better than Emma is

Inward thesis.“She leant against the embrasure of the window, and reread the letter with angry sneers. [...] She saw him again, heard him, encircled him with her arms, and throbs of her heart, that beat against her breast like blows of a sledge-hammer, grew faster and faster, with uneven intervals.” (266). Conclusion.

[…] [Emma] had a quarter of an hour of the lady’s conversation to herself, and could composedly attend to her; and the quarter of an hour quite convinced her that Mrs. Elton was a vain woman, extremely well satisfied with herself, and thinking much of her own importance; that she meant to shine and be very superior, but with manners which had been formed in a bad school, pert and familiar; that all her notions were drawn from one set of people, and one style of living; that if not foolish she was

If one could see the way they hugged, they could perceive that Charles and Emma had feelings for each other. Emma told him every thing that was going on in the agency building. Emma White is very beautiful and has blonde hair. She is wearing a jean jacket with a white shirt and black pants. Emma has great feelings for Charles and enjoys spending time with him. Emma had told Charles that there were terrorists trying to negotiate with the President. They are going to launch a nuclear missile towards the White House, if in 45 minutes; the President does not agree to nuke Syria and Iran. The terrorists dislike these countries very much because they have kicked all people out of their countries replacing them with new people and now the terrorists want revenge.

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

The model she tries to emulate, of which her inability to do so also leads to her suicide, is one filled with exuberant romanticism. Her inveterate romanticisms can be traced back to her childhood. Emma was put in a convent when she was a little girl. Inside the convent, she began to embrace romance novels, which filled her mind with thoughts of sophistication, sensuality, passion, love, lust, and other romantic thoughts. For example, she read The Genius of Christianity in the convent. "How intently she listened, the first few times, to the sonorous lamentations of that romantic melancholy expressing itself again and again in all the echoes of this world and the next!" (Flaubert 31). The reason for this love of novels can be associated with her yearning to leave the convent. Romanticism was her escape from the cold walls of the convent. "Instead of following mass, she look at the blue-bordered religious pictures in her book; she loved the sick sheep, the Sacred Heart pierced by sharp arrows, and poor Jesus stumbling and falling beneath his cross." (Flaubret 30). Religious services are a major part in a convent; yet, Emma did not follow mass like she was supposed to. She instead daydreamed and, in a sense, mentally left the convent. Her daydreaming was an attempt to leave the restrictions of the convent. Nearly the same thing occurred in the marriage

Emma Swan always had it with herself and her emotional roller coaster. Foster care when she was little, stealing during pregnancy with Neal (her boyfriend/father of baby), going to prison. She also gave up her son, then she found him 10 years later, later she found her biological family, and had a sad life of having all her boyfriends dead. It never ended for Emma, she thought that everything that happened to her was because she was cursed. Why does she out of all the people in the world had to have this done to her. Then it all changed, the day she met Killian Jones.

The passage above is describing the impact that Rodolphe is having on Emma. This passage shows that Emma is clearly thinking so far ahead not thinking clearly about the decisions that she is making. Because of this passage above, it is almost as if she is convincing herself that leaving with Rodolphe is the right choice. Emma knows that staying with Charles and taking care of their family is what the ideal family is supposed to be. Back in this time divorce and leaving their family was not common. The way that people look upon her is incredibly important in her eyes. On the other hand, Emma is still married. She is willing to drop everything she has built with her family and just leave. Emma does not know what love really is and how to deal

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

Mrs. Weston and Emma’s relationship can also be seen in the reverse, however, because while Mrs. Weston was Emma’s governess, Emma was also teaching Mrs. Weston numerous things. Mr. Knightley even noted this on page 29 where he says, “but you were receiving a very good education from her, on the very material matrimonial point of submitting your own will, and doing as you were bid”. The line points out that Emma has always been very bright and has always been strong willed. This strong will often meant that Emma would try to do her own thing and manipulate Mrs. Weston. Even though the friendship between the two is referred to as being based off, “gratitude and esteem” Emma definitely would try to get the situation in interest to go the way she desired (19). Emma, however, never was ungrateful for Mrs. Weston’s friendship and we can see at times that the best thing for Emma can be Mrs. Weston’s smile, touch, or voice (99).

Gustave Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, is the story of Emma, a naïve girl who dreams of having a life, bigger than the one she can ever achieve. Flaubert throughout the story depicts average members of society with all their faults. Greed, lust, deceit, and incompetence are the stock in trade of all his characters. The story has no heroes, only losers and fools who waste their unfulfilled lives. Emma schooled in a convent is desperate to feel the excitement of real love as she imagines it to be. Emma is married to Charles Bovary, the first man she ever really knows. Charles is the classic underachiever whose shortcomings plague Emma throughout their marriage. Charles will never have the position, money, success, or class status she so desperately desires. Marriage, a child, and respectability cannot assuage her disappointment in herself and her life. She finds solace and excitement in things she cannot afford and men she cannot resist. Emma has no one to blame but herself for all her failings. Her ego and sense of entitlement overrides her common sense and allows her to borrow money that she will never be able to repay. Like an addict without self-control, she continues borrow money and have affairs that never really satisfy her. She hates herself for her deceptions and constantly fears exposure. Her life becomes a downward spiral of lies and shame that eventually ends in the coward’s solution of suicide.