A Bumpy Ride
~Blog Post #2~
Topic E
April 23, 2015
by Lily O'Gorden
The intense buildup as well as the aftermath of the uncomfortable
conflict between Mr. Elton and Emma in the carriage makes this a significant scene in the novel. The most important piece of foreshadowing occurs during
a conversation with Mr. John Knightley, who mentions to Emma that it seems like
Mr. Elton has a “great deal of good will” towards her (105). If Mr. Elton were in love with Emma, she would
have to deal with a failed match and the embarrassment for Harriet; therefore,
she promptly dismisses the thought of this. When she is escorted to a carriage with Mr. Elton alone, she is sure
the ride will be awkward, and as soon as they get in the car her suspicions are
confirmed. To Emma’s dismay, a drunken Mr. Elton immediately begins to confess
his love to her and even propose! While Emma had been focused on making Mr.
Elton fall in love with Harriet, he had been falling in love with her instead.
Everything she had done to make the relationship between him and Harriet happen
had been mistaken by Mr. Elton as a sign of Emma’s mutual affection. Mr. Elton
is extremely surprised when Emma brings up his “fondness” of Harriet, and he says that he
had never thought of Miss Smith in any way other than Emma’s friend. This scene
alters the plot of the novel because it is now certain that Emma is not the
best matchmaker, and she may stop trying to set people up after this letdown. More
importantly, Emma begins to see herself in a new light and realize that she
is not always perfect. After the event, Emma feels terrible about being
the reason for Harriet’s feelings towards Mr. Elton and, instead of her usual
selfishness, recognizes that
her pain and humiliation are nothing compared to the “evil done to Harriet”
(126). This particular situation brings out the caring and sweet side of Emma,
and hopefully serves as a turning point in her unproductive matchmaking
business.
I would give this blog an A. I believe Lily did a good job using proper content and she then analyzed her quotes very well. Lily used different types of sentence structures and she has been posting her blogs on time if not earlier. Her structure and formatting is on point, but I wish her paragraphs up as indented when viewing the post. Good job Lily!
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ReplyDeleteI also agree with Lily that Emma mismatching Mr. Elton and Harriet alters the plot of the novel. From the beginning of the novel, Emma believed that Mr. Elton had feelings for Harriet. Emma prided herself on her matchmaking “skills” and was oblivious to others’ criticism. However, Emma seems to have a change of mind when Mr. Elton professes his love in the carriage like Lily said. This alters Emma’s dynamic because she is now unsure of herself and is humiliated. In chapter 16 Emma admits that, “It was foolish, it was wrong, to take part in bringing any two people together” (Austen 128). Emma feels bad for encouraging her friend, Harriet, to have relations with Mr. Elton when all he wanted was Emma’s money. From this Austen hints that Emma might change and she might even stop trying her hand in matchmaking.
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