It
Takes Two to Tango- and Transform
~Blog Post #5~
Topic B
May 15, 2015
Lily O'Gorden
At the end of Jane Austen's novel Emma, the main character Emma Woodhouse has
experienced immense changes making her an improved and more openhearted woman. This
transition comes with the lessons she learned through her experiences, but most
importantly her complicated relationship with Mr. Knightley. When Emma is first
introduced, she is described as a girl who had little in her life “to
distress or vex her” (3). Emma had grown up in a society where everyone treated
her as perfect, and as a result she is egotistical and consumed in her own
upper-class world. The only sign of Emma's future change in the early parts of
the novel is through her friendship with Mr. Knightley because instead of
doting on her, he challenges her. When Emma convinces Harriet to reject
Mr. Martin’s proposal and seek Mr. Elton as a husband, Mr. Knightley is
distressed with Emma’s decisions; this makes Emma upset and she wants Mr.
Knightley to approve of her, showing her “habitual respect for his judgment in
general” (61). After her failed matchmaking with Harriet and Mr. Elton, Emma is
ashamed when she realizes Mr. Knightley was right after all, making her look at
her matchmaking more carefully. Once Mr. Frank Churchill arrives in town,
Emma’s new self disappears and she reverts back to her manipulative ways. Emma
believes she is in love with Mr. Churchill solely because of his social class
and the fact she is trying to suppress her feelings for Mr. Knightley. Mr. Knightley
is a much more open man who is in touch with his feelings and obviously cares
for Emma; however, Emma is consumed with her own vanity for most of the story. In
the end, she comes down to earth and gets in touch with her emotions. After Harriet
tells Emma she is in love with Mr. Knightley, Emma cannot bear the thought of
him with anyone other than herself; she is in love with him and he confesses his love to her as well. Mr. Knightley’s
honesty has transformed Emma into a sincere woman and “all her views of
happiness” originate with him (459). Emma changes into a
compassionate woman who can finally look to others for a source of happiness
rather than her old, conceited self.
Lily,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you that Emma has gone through changes. She has become more aware of the things around her and how her actions can harm people. In the beginning of the novel Emma was clueless as to what she was doing. She felt that matchmaking was fun and a good hobby, but as you mentioned she realized that matchmaking should not be taken lightly. Mr. Knightley helped Emma shape into the better woman she is through his open criticism. Austen wrote that, "[Mr. Knightley] was the few people who saw faults can see faults [in Emma]" (Austen 8). This quote was significant at the time because it gave the readers a glance as to what might happen between Mr. Knightley and Emma.