Communication is Key
~Blog Post #5~
Topic A
May 15, 2015
By: Rose Poplawski
Towards the end of the novel in chapter 29, Jane Austen adds in an
important quote by writing, “Seldom,
very seldom does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it
happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken; but
where, as in this case, though the conduct is mistaken, the feelings are not,
it may not be very material” (Austen 436). This quote is able to explain why the
conflicts in the novel occurred. Austen writes that conflicts occur when one
doesn’t speak the whole truth. She makes it apparent that the whole truth is
rarely spoken and important details are left out which could affect one’s
opinion on the subject. For example, the misunderstanding between Mr. Elton was
due to misunderstandings between not only Emma and Mr. Elton, but also Harriet.
Emma did not tell Harriet the whole truth, which led Harriet to falling for Mr.
Elton. Likewise, Emma didn’t tell Mr. Elton all of Harriet’s feelings for him.
These details Emma left out might have seem small and redundant, but they could’ve
changed both Mr. Elton’s and Harriet’s view of each other. Throughout the novel,
Austen makes the communication between the characters important because that’s
where their problems form.
Rose,
ReplyDeleteI agree that this quote offers a very significant conflict from the beginning to end of Emma. I believe Austen wrote in third person so that readers really could see how important communication is in her novel. Whenever there is a problem it is usually due to miscommunication. As you were pointing out, the queen of miscommunication is Emma. Stuck in her own little world she will think of people's feelings, but they always seem to be misconstrued. Emma says "I would much rather have been merry than wise" in the last chapter (440). Finally Emma reveals that she is just a free spirit and she really doesn't think much. She announces this as a sort of "take it or leave it" statement and she hopes that her new fiance, Mr. Knightley will take it. Communication is the key to marriage so it's maybe a foreshadow for the future of that marriage. Though, in this happy-go-lucky book no one wants to think about a failed marriage. For now we'll just assume Emma and Mr. Knightley lived happily ever after.