Jane Austen indicates her concern for women of her time, especially single women, in her novel Emma through the circumstances and situations in which she places her female characters. The two factors that governed women's lives and their destiny, in Austen's class-structured society were social position and personal fortune.
Emma Woodhouse, the heroine of Emma, has both social position and personal fortune. Emma's father comes from a good, well-respected family; he owns a private estates Hartfield. He has enough money so that he has never needed an occupation to earn money. Emma inherited her father's position as well as a personal fortune of thirty thousand pounds. Since Emma's older sister is married, Emma's duty in life is to look after her father. This duty causes problems when late in the book Emma and Mr. Knightly plan to marry. If Emma had remained single, her life would not have changed much from the lifestyle described in the book. She would have lived at home and taken care of her father. Her social life would have consisted of visits to the Bates or Westons and going to occasional tea or dinner parties. As a single woman she would not have been able to travel, (a married woman could travel with her husband). When her father died Emma would have no useful duty to perform for society. She would remain independent with her fortune but her social sphere would remain the same and her social position would change slightly as she grew older, being an old maid does not improve social standing while marriage usually improved a woman's position since women usually married above themselves on the social ladder.
Jane Fairfax and Miss Bates are good examples of single women, with good social position but practically no fortune. Miss Bates, as a vicar's daughter, would be a respectable woman, but she had the misfortune of not getting married; she had relatively little intelligence and a poor education.
Miss Emma Woodhouse is a very interesting character in the novel Emma, written by Jane Austen. ... Emma did not even speak to Mr. ... Weston is like a mother to Emma, so she is biased when it comes to discussing Emma's faults. ... Weston are talking about Emma, Mr. ... Emma's love for Mr. ...
In both, Emma and Clueless society is structured according to wealth. ... Emma's disproval of Mr. Martin as a husband for Harriet clearly demonstrates Emma's perspective. ... The quote is spoken by Emma regarding Mr. ... Being a farmer, Emma doesn't feel obligated to associate with him. ...
Emma's Development And Progression: Emma is a member of the gentry" class in English society. ... People such as Robert Martins, a farmer, is so far below Emma's social class that she "cannot help him." ... Therefore, the context of Emma's social position and the rules of behavior that govern her rank are essential realities that shape Emma Woodhouse's development. ... Emma Woodhouse, despite her social standing and her basic intelligence, is not such a person when the novel opens. ... This was not, the narrator continues, "particularly agreeable to Emma herself" b...
The Evolution of Emma Jane Austen is considered to be the first great English novelist, and Emma, is undoubtedly her greatest work. ... (pg.7) Emma's life centers on herself and her father. ... Initially, Emma rejects Mr. ... Emma believes that Mr. ... The incidents between Emma and Jane allow Emma to reach a higher level of maturity, understanding and self-awareness. ...
Emma's perceptions are most notably amiss when dealing with Harriet, a young woman of unknown parentage, whom Emma befriends and attempts to remake in her own image. ... Emma goes on to highlight the good qualities of Mr. ... Due to Emma's endorsement of Mr. ... His praise for how Emma has improved Harriet, his delight over Emma's artistic skills, and his eagerness to take the drawing to London are all misperceived by Emma. ... The book's final "happy union" (439) is a sign that Emma has achieved that end. ...
Emma is inclined to disregard Mr. ... Austen uses Emma to follow a cause and effect methodology where all of Emma's actions affect the plot and the novel as a whole. ... She serves as an exaggeration of all of Emma's bad characteristics. ... Martin because she knows this is what Emma wants. ... Throughout the novel, Knightley corrects and leads Emma, and, in marrying Knightley, Emma indicates that her judgment has begun to coincide with his. ...
Throughout Emma, parties and social events are used widely as turning points in the novel. ... This Chapter also indicates Emma's ignorance, through the mention of Frank Churchill. ... The second important social occasion in Emma is the dinner party at the Coles. ... This alteration of Emma's disposition towards Jane is likely to stem from an increased maturity. ... The continual existence of Emma's active imagination, for example in her persisting belief that Jane Fairfax and Mr Dixon have formed an illicit attachment, proves that Emma has not yet reached full maturity. ...
Contrastingly, the society of Emma places no importance on self-image, as the only description we receive of Emma is that she is "handsome, clever, rich" but they do value etiquette. ... Austen also uses this to show the mistakes and unclear perception of Emma that leads her to her own downfall. ... Emma Woodhouse is first in consequence of Highbury where everybody looks up to her. It is Emma's independent fortune and the anonymity of Harriet's parentage that allows Emma to have friendship and the authority to manipulate Harriet. ... Education for women and men in Emma is highly valu...