Thoughts after Reading Emma

Emma was the fourth of the six books written by Jane Austen. Being a controversial work:  some authors and critics saw nothing from it, Charlotte Bronte for instance, after reading Emma, wrote, “she ruffles her reader by nothing vehement, disturbs him with nothing profound. The passions are perfectly unknown to her”; while, some critics regard Emma as the most successful one of all the six novels, Ronald Blythe, for example, states in his introduction to the 1966 Penguin Classics edition of "Emma" that it is "the climax of Jane Austen's genius and the Parthenon of fiction.” Austen herself thus claimed "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like". Indeed, I read from Emma a girl that is beautiful, quick-witted, filial, helpful, capable, courageous, yet meanwhile so snobbish, vain and manipulative. A flawed protagonist is more realistic and truer than a perfect one, and thus easily arouses readers’ sympathy and endearment.

Emma was born into a rich gentry’s family, to be exact, the richest and most famous family in Hartfield. Even before her sister was married, she was the favorable one both of her governess Miss Taylor (later became Mrs Weston) and his father. Then after, she became the mistress of the Woodhouse. After Miss Taylor married and moved out of Woodhouse, Emma took Harriet Smith (whose parents were unknown) as her intimate friend. Emma tried to arrange a match between Harriet and Mr Elton, first by persuading Harriet turning down Martin’s proposal and then making Harriet believe Mr Elton was in love with her. However it turned out Emma was the target of Mr Elton’s gallantry. Emma regretted deeply and determined not to perform match-making. Nevertheless, another eligible gentleman turned up, Frank Churchill, and Emma, after her passion with Frank receded, fancied Harriet could make a good match with Frank. Emma urged Harriet to love Frank the one who had great disparity with her, while Harriet was actually referring to Mr Knightley. By this incident, Emma realized she was in love with Mr Knightley herself. The story ends with happy ending: Harriet and Martin, Emma and Mr. Knightley.

Emma was, from the start, a kind-hearted and sweet girl. She had good relationship with her governess; Miss Taylor was not only tutor to her, but friend. She was happy for Miss Taylor’s marriage, “Mr. Weston is such a good-humoured, pleasant, excellent man, that he thoroughly deserves a good wife”.  As for Harriet, Emma was sincerely fond of her. When Emma first met Harriet, “she was a very pretty girl, and her beauty happened to be of a sort which Emma particularly admired”, and “before the end of the evening, Emma was as much pleased with her manner as her person, and quite determined to continue the acquaintance.” She tried all her effort to elevate Harriet from her low circle of life, although her attempts failed, yet I can’t doubt her good intention with Harriet. When she heard Jane Fairfax was sick, Emma sent notes and gifts to Jane, and even went to visit Jane herself.

Emma was also a filial daughter. She put her father’s concern above everything else. When going to Mr Cole’s ball, she let her father promise not to sit up for her, should she return later.”I am only afraid your sitting up for me.””You must promise me not to sit up” She would not marry Mr. Knightley until her father consented. “she could not bear to see him suffering” “she hesitated- she could not proceed.”

But, we can’t forget Emma’s first and foremost merit, she was clever and quick-witted. Here and there, the book is dotted by Emma’s sagacious opinion towards human being and life: “There are people, who the more you do for them, the less they will do for themselves.” “One would rather have a stranger preferred than one’s very particular friend; with a stranger, it might not recur again, but the misery of having a very particular friend always at hand, to do everything better than one does one’s self.”

If Austen simply depicts all the merits Emma has, then it fails to be an impressive novel. Only with the following restrictions that Emma is full of flesh:

First and foremost, Emma was snobbish. Maybe the word snobbish is a little too strong, but she was too full of class consciousness, which is exemplified by several incidents. First one is she coaxed Harriet to reject Martin’s proposal. Martin was a tenant of Mr. Knightley. In Emma’s opinion, a man from decent family is always gentleman, and a man from low class will never be a gentleman. So she preferred Mr. Elton, the vicar to Martin, the peasant. Second one is Emma originally decided not to go to Mr Coles’ ball, because she regarded herself far superior than Mr Coles, the merchant family, “they [Mr Coles] ought to be taught that it was not for them to arrange the terms on which the superior families would visit them”. Third one is when Mrs Weston suspected the possibility of Mr. Knightley marrying Jane Fairfax (daughter from poor family, though receiving good education elsewhere), Emma strongly deny the possibility, “a very shameful and degrading connection”. This drawback, in fact makes the character of Emma more reliable. For an upper class girl, her social status prevented her from getting rid of this kind of class prejudice.

Emma was vain as well. She delighted at people’s flattery. She took Harriet as good friend, partly because Harriet was humble, simple and dependent. From Harriet, Emma could gain satisfaction. Even when Emma played worse piano than Jane, Harriet kept praising Emma. In the end part of the story, when Frank praised her and Mr Knightley, “Emma was delighted, and only wanted his to go on in the same style”.

To conclude, during my reading course, I was really infuriated by Emma’s self-assurance and stubborn, but after finishing the novel, I began to like Emma. All her demerits only make her more lovable and sweet.