An Analysis of Jane Austin's Emma - Essay Example

23 July An Analysis of Jane Austin’s Emma Jane Austin's “Emma” is a novel about youths, who are caught in the perils of courtship, romance and marriage. Similar to Austin's other books Emma also narrates the story of women living in rural England, who are caught between the eternal pathways to spinsterhood and marriage. The novel is also considered as a departure from her routine character portrayals as the protagonist, Emma, is unique in her romantic detachment and lack of financial concerns. As the title of the novel clearly indicates, this novel is about the life and deals of a woman, Emma Woodhouse. The protagonist belongs to the highest social position in Hartfield’s estate in Surrey, in the village of Highbury of Regency England. He has social responsibilities towards other members holding lesser or poor social positions. Emma is a young woman possessing great amount of charm and tenacity, but misguided by imaginative skills that cloud her judgment. Jane Austen's “Emma” is a sophisticated example of fiction employing the art of high wit, elements such as irony, subtlety, diction etc to achieve overall effect to the narrative. "Emma," set in a fictional village of rural England within the timeline of the early nineteenth century, is structured around consummated and/or anticipated marriages. The narrative implies the relationship among different characters in a subtle way, providing deeper understanding of the characters that are apparent to only a vigilant reader. The novel involves the development of the character, Emma, from being an ambivalent and naive person to a mysterious individual. The plot involves the courtship and romantic connections of three major couples and their ultimate marriages. Austin presents marriage as a fundamental aspect of the society that appropriates and solidifies the social status of individuals. In “Emma” the institution of marriage is also used as the reason for all conflicts and excitement among its characters. Apart from the primary theme of courtship and marriage, the theme of social class also plays a vital role in the novel. Through this novel, Austin asserts the necessity of compassion and charity among the members of higher classes, which is evident from taking Harriet Smith of the lower class and bringing her to almost an equal social level. The readers can also see Emma pointing out the lower - class distinction of Harriet and the assertion that she would not have been accepted by the higher class, if she did not have Emma's influence. This causes confusion for Harriet who is caught between the desire of marriage and acceptance from higher class and the fear of rejection from her peers, like the Martins. Love is another major theme of the story. Even though Emma considers the possibility of her marriage to Frank Churchill, the reader finds that she is immune to romantic love. She even acknowledges that she does not love Churchill and that she is happy in his presence as well as in his absence. Here, Austin seems to argue that for the society, love is not a requirement for marriage. On the other hand, the social class, fortune and logical qualities become the decisive factors for marriages. However, we can see that Emma, who is financially independent, does not need to succumb to the above logical considerations and that she is able to marry Mr. Knightley solely for love. The marriages of Harriet Smith and Jane Fairfax also involve love, though their alliances also serve the purpose of financial and social security. The novel also involves the theme of imagination vs. reason, which becomes unraveled only to the eyes of the audience. There exists constant conflict between desires and judgment in this novel. When Emma misreads Mr. Elton's behavior, she imagines that he is in love with Harriet. Mr. Elton, on the other hand, is in love with Emma and misreads her behavior for encouragement. Mr. Knightley is unable to form an infallible judgment of Frank Churchill, as he is jealous of Churchill's romantic connection with Emma. The latter, who is jealous of Jane, speaks cruelly of her and also imagines a romantic affair between Harriet and Frank, which clouds her visibility to Harriet's feelings for Mr. Knightley. Frank, on the other hand, desires to use his friendship with Emma to mask his relationship with Jane, and he believes that Emma is aware of his situation. The narrator detaches herself from the novel, and the misunderstandings between the characters are visible only to the audience. The plot becomes thrilling as it culminates into a riddle and the audience is forced to apply their realizations to the novel, making each of its characters fuller. Emma is the only one whose inner thoughts are ever revealed in the novel. She fails to understand herself clearly and her feelings are precisely conveyed to the readers through certain elements in style that the author employs. The diction is educated, yet maintains a conversational tone. The sentences are often complex, with great degree of subordination, which suits suitable to the education, virtues and development of characters. The novel unravels through conversations between the characters and provides subtle hints about their psychology. Puns, riddles, and acrostics; charades, conundrums, anagrams, and double entendres are excellently displayed the novel. Austen is at her ironic best in Emma when she has her heroine declare that "'there does seem to be something in the air of Hartfield which gives love exactly the right direction, and sends it into the very channel where it ought to flow” (Austen, P. 157). The novel does not involve the quest for financial security and an appropriate husband, which is a contrast to other Austin novels wherein the reader finds these factors as the contributing elements for their dramatic conflict and narrative structures. Austin's Emma is mostly concerned with "elaborate displacements through which a great range of thought, feeling and minute observation is being quietly registered" (Austen, P.612). "Emma," in contrast to other works of Austin, displays Austin's technique and love for art of high wit through paradox. The readers can assimilate that this novel takes numerous diversions and twists, dilemmas and tangles at every turn, prompting and challenging the readers to discern the intent of the composition. As the novel unravels, the readers become a part of the story and they become preoccupied with guessing the purpose of the composition. The readers of Emma are required to be clever enough to guess and uncover the technique employed in the composition of the novel. The audience gains equal prominence of Emma and they apply their sense to the riddles and charades so that they can use its solution to unveil its meaning. Jane Austen's "Emma" is undoubtedly a mild foray into British society featuring a protagonist who is free from financial and social insecurities. "Emma" can be read as a critique against the existing social scenario of imposing limitations to women who are born in families of lower social status and financial dependence. The character portrayal of Miss Bates, Jane Fairfax, and Harriet Smith exemplifies the possible outcomes of financial insecure women against their counterpart, Emma, who enjoys financial independence and high social status. Emma still permeates the imposing patriarchal custom of either spinsterhood or marriage by marrying Mr. Knightley who will allow her to maintain her independence.In contrast to other Austin’s female protagonists, Emma's primary concern is that her marriage will prevent her from maintaining her existing social and financial independence. She is unique as she stays detached from romantic sensibilities and has a masculine approach to love. The irony in the character portrayal of Emma is that though she plays her part of matchmaker in Highbury, she has only a poor understanding of the subtlety of this emotion. When Emma discovers the true meaning of love, she happily obliges to marriage, just like a typical female protagonist of the romantic fiction. Works Cited Austen, Jane. ed. Alistair M Duckworth. Emma (Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism). Bedford/St. Martins, Boston: New York. Print. 2002. Read More