Analysis Of The Novel Emma By Jane Austen
The novel Emma by Jane Austen is a romantic comedy, drama that everyone should read. Emma tells a story about a young girl who is always trying to find live or play matchmaker for other people. Some of the main characters include Emma Woodhouse.
In the first sentence of the novel “Emma is a story of youth, cocksure, silly, vulnerable, light-hearted, and on the whole, well-meaning. ” The physical description of Emma is unclear but most picture her to be stunning, smart, and wealthy in all but love. Emma is the protagonist of the novel, that should be well known since the book is named after her character. She is constantly keeping the readers on the edge of their seats and ready for more. Like most of the characters in Austen’s work Emma makes tons of mistakes through the novel, but in the end she will grow as a person and will find self love.
Another important character that assists Emma in her matchmaking schemes is Harriet Smith. She is a seventeen year old, who lives at a local boarding school. Without Harriet none of the matchmaking would have taken place, for Emma was always trying to find “the one” for Harriet.
Yet another major character in this novel is Mr. George Knightly, Emma’s brother-in-law and the Wooodhouse’s good friend. Knightly lives in Donwell, Abby and rents or sells properties to the Martins (a family of extremely wealthy farmers). Mr. Knightly is the only character in the novel that is openly judgemental to Emma by pointing out he very obvious flaws, although many believe he only does this is out of concern and because of how much he cares or maybe even loves her. George acts as a blunt character that will always tell Emma what the readers actually want to hear. Mr. Woodhouse is Emma’s father. He is also a anxious and hypochondriac and just a overall nervous wreck when it came to that sort f thing, he is mainly know to be quite social and many people envy the relationship he has with Emma. Mr. Woodhouse is an old fashioned man which means he is not very fond of change. So much so that he didn’t even want his own daughters to marry. Emma and her father didn’t always get along but she has never treated him poorly or with any sort of disrespect.
Frank Churchill is Mr. Westons son and Mrs. Westons stepson. Frank lives in Europe with his aunt and uncle. Everyone believes he is the perfect suitor for Emma and that he is dashingly handsome, she believes he is charming, and quite attractive but as Frank’s character develops it is very obvious that he is irresponsible and unsuited for her. Also most people would belive that he is a huge playboy, but as his character develops the readers can tell that he is very loyal to Jane (his significant other).
The novel has a theme of how marriage and social status affect how people view you and how you view yourself. One’s love should never be about how much money they have or how this will make you look in the village. Love is about how many true genuine feelings you have for someone. Emma gives a miraculous theme that most novels just don't have and that is true love wins. One of the very first events that happened is Emma trying to find love for Harriet. The cause of this is always playing matchmaker. Many readers believe the reason Emma is always playing matchmaker is that she is in fact scared of love. Soon after, something else happens, Harriet actually found true genuine feelings for Mr. Elton. The reason for this being is from Emma’s matchmaking skills. They then find out that Mr Elton had feelings for Emma and not for Harriet. Emma feels a need to go for round two with her match making skills and introduces Harriet to a guy named Mr. Martin. As usual, Emma is criticized for “meddling” and ruins the entire situation. Mr. Martin then leaves town and soon after relocating, marries another girl. Emma is then left to comfort and care for Harriet. Emma has to comfort her after being the cause for her heart break, not just once but twice. Emma comforting Harriet is when of the rare times when the reader sees the true genuine side of Emma and how she is a good friend. Surely enough she would have never had to comfort Harriet if she wouldn’t been scheming in the first place but Emma was doing this out of the kindness of her heart to find Harriet a soulmate. Mr. Knightley made a declaration of love for Emma. The irony in this is that Harriet loved him and was going to let him know. The roles reversed and he then made a declaration of love to Emma and they married soon after.
Mr. Elton then makes an attempt to embarrass Harriet. In their village, they had a ball and he decided to show up with his new wife. This was quite possibly an attempt to make her jealous as well as no one knew why he attended. Then again, maybe he just wanted to dance. There were some unusual and interesting terms used in this novel. The first is behind hand which means late or slow in doing something or paying a bet. The example from the book is “You are miserably behind hand”. Another term is obliging, which means willing to do a service or kindness. This is used in the novel as “They are extremely civil and obliging to us”. Another term is approbation which means approval or praise. This is stated in the book like this: “He sighed and smiled himself off in a way that left the balance of approbation much in his favor”. Another term is forbearance, which means patience, self control and tolerance. The example “It had a high claim to forbearance. ”One more term used in this book is abominable. Abominable is defined as causing moral revulsion. This is used in the book “The feelings of the warmest friendship-indignation-abominable”.
The writing is very formal. In Emma, Austen really incorporates the language that was used in this time period. She is also great at pictating the mood. She describes the setting to a tee and it really fits for this intense storyline. When reading the first few chapters, the narrator describes the estate and makes the reader feel like they are present in the home. The narrator goes into great detail on the village. She also makes you feel like you know the characters as she describes how everyone knows each other. The village gives the story a “small town vibe”. When speaking of the estate that Emma and her father live in, it really makes the reader happy for the relationship that Emma and her father share.
The character of Emma went on quite a journey in this novel. She started off as a scheming matchmaker for Harriet. She was oblivious to the fact that the men she kept trying to set Harriet up with were infatuated with her. It becomes evident to the readers that Emma has developed a crush on Frank when his character comes into play. Of course, not long after she finds out that he is already in a relationship. However in the end, Emma learned how to accept and appreciate love from Mr. Knightley. The purpose of this novel is encouragement. This novel gives the message “Don't give up on love”. Emma was unaware of what was going to happen, but she never gave up; she believed in love so strongly that she wanted to help find it for everyone. Little did she know that by trying to find love for everyone else, she would find it for herself. The symbolism of her finding love love for others and that they end up loving her is very strong throughout the novel. There is a sense of foreshadowing the first time that Mr. Knightley and Emma speak that anyone could see that cares for her deeply.
Emma is a young woman who lives in a small village named Highbury, She pictures herself to be an expert at finding love matches for others. She has had such success in matchmaking that she takes it upon herself to search for a spouse for her dear friend Harriet. Emma is convinced that she will be able to find the best man for Harriet who will be a perfect gentleman. Emma sets her sights on Mr. Elton for her friend, but Harriet had her eyes on someone else, Robert Martin. Following Emma’s many suggestions, Harriet rejects his proposal. Harriet then begins to fall for Mr. Elton. Emma’s plans do not go as planned because Mr. Elton then confesses his love for Emma. Emma is of course there to comfort Harriet. Frank Churchill arrives to their village and he and Emma develop a flirtatious relationship. Mr. Knightley is not fond of this relationship or of Frank Churchill. Emma soon finds out that Frank is engaged to someone else. It is obvious to the reader that Emma is very jealous of Jane, Frank’s fiance. During this time, Emma believed that Harriet was in love with Frank, but as it turned out; She was in love with Mr. Knightley. Emma was certain that Mr. Knightley would declare his love to Harriet but instead he revealed his love for Emma. Harriet is soon comforted by a second proposal by Robert Martin. She accepts this proposal. This novel ends with both Emma and Mr. Knightley getting married along with Harriet and Mr. Martin. This is a final answer in who loves who. The point of view is in third person omniscient told by a narrator. In this case, it was very effective. No one ever knew who Emma had genuine feelings for. The ending revealed everything, which was quite shocking and a “bomb” for everyone because no one was expecting Harriet and Mr. Martin to end up together or for Emma and Mr. Knightley.
One of the book’s major strengths is most definitely the plot and character development. No one would have expected Emma to actually find love for herself. Mr. Knightley has always been there for Emma, but no one expected him to be in love with her. They wind up happily together. One of the weaknesses of this book is the fact that Frank is almost an unnecessary dramatic character in the story. His character was not really needed although he did add for the drama between Harriet, Emma, and Jane. One other weakness is that no one ever knows what Emma is thinking because of the point of view. An interesting point of view would first person told by Emma herself although, this would take away the element of surprise of who ends up with who. This is why the ending throws such a curveball. Emma is trying to find love for everyone but herself. So many people today are afraid to fully express themselves. I think one reason for this is because social media plays such a huge role in today’s society. Many people hide behind “posts” but won’t say thing in person. This entire novel would be a completely different story if it were written in 2018.
