“Emma” is beyond any doubt one of Austen’s most terrific novels, portraying the tempers of England in the Regency Era. The novel is rather interesting to read and analyze, as it is unlike other books by the same author: the heroine does not experience any problems with money, and this fact allows Austen to focus on the inner world of the young, pretty, rich and rather spoiled young lady. The transformation that Emma undergoes through the book is capturing to observe, as it allows the reader to study the impact of the society and separate people on the development of the young woman. There are certain factors that predetermined Emma’s behavior in the very beginning of the novel. Her further change in personality is also influenced by some external factors. In fact, the novel is a great example of how the society has impact on individuals, but also demonstrates that there always is choice and anyone can change for the better.
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Before beginning to study Emma’s transformation, her initial behavior has to be analyzed. In the very beginning of the novel Emma is featured as a usual young lady of her epoch: she comes from a wealthy family, has a good education and manners. At the same time, she turns out to be a rather arrogant, proud and vain. These characteristics are common for the people of the epoch: British society flourished in the Regency Era, aristocrats were satisfied with their high level of life and cared little about anything else. Emma’s example is rather common among the young people of her time: she simply has nothing to worry about (she is rich and happy and hardly ever witnessed any difficulties). Her taste for matchmaking is easily explained: she is bored. Emma is not ready for emotional contribution and avoids relations with men, her education is mostly over and she has nothing to do. As a result, people surrounding her become the toys of some sort, as she plays with them just like with chess piece on the board. Such behavior is certainly not normal and can not be approved of. Austen, however, shows that such games are not in Emma’s nature.
As the narration goes on, the reader witnesses tendencies for change in Emma’s behavior and character. The source of this change is rather obvious – Mr. Knightley. He is twice Emma’s age, more experienced and wise. The most obvious harm caused by the heroine’s behavior is her attitude towards Miss Bates – an old nice spinster. At Box Hill, Emma criticizes and seriously harms her, not really understanding the damage she had done. Later on, Mr. Knightley criticizes Emma, trying to make her understand the mistake. Knightley says that her words are “unfeeling towards Miss Bates” (Austen, 245). Emma does not react to the criticism “laughs it off” (245) and continues her socializing. The reader however sees that Knightley’s words had some affect, as Emma grows concerned afterwards. This is the critical moment in the story, as Emma realizes her vices and starts striving towards improvement. She still is not capable of noticing her flaws and needs Knightley’s guidance to improve. Once she is pointed at her imperfection, she starts striving to excellence and tries to improve.
Austen’s heroine definitely makes a number of mistakes as the story goes on. Her attitude towards Miss Bates is not the only example. Emma tends to judge people according to their social position and level of wealth. Such pattern of thinking was rather common for Britain of those days. In fact, the level of wealth was among the basic criteria to judge a person. This has lead to plentiful misunderstandings, as people who possessed great qualities were not respected, while rich were considered to have only positive characteristics. Emma uses this judgment rather often and considers its natural. Only Mr. Knightley’s guidance allows her to realize that her ways of evaluation of people are entirely wrong.
Another interesting transformation that Emma undergoes concerns her feelings: at the beginning of the novel we witness her as a person that does not fall in love and seems to not even need it. Emma announces she is not going to marry, preferring to match others. This setting is rather interesting, as Emma is first of Austen’s heroine that does not have any strong affections or even simple sexuality. Even love is a game for this spoiled child: somewhere in the middle of the novel she tries to fall in love with Frank Churchill, simply because others said they would be a handsome couple. Their relations, however, do not go any further than flirting in public. When Emma hears that Mr. Knightley might have developed affection towards Jane, she suddenly feels jealous and only then realizes that she loves Mr. Knightley herself. This is the final transformation which we witness, as Emma eventually becomes a person ready for some contribution.
Emma’s initial flaws are largely predetermined by the social environment she was brought up in. Austen’s heroine is the mirror of the society of the time. Mr. Knightley’s careful guidance helps her improve, demonstrating that the person can change for the better if he/she really wants to. In the end, Emma grows to become a thoughtful, responsible lady, not afraid of commitment. Author also stresses the role of feelings and emotions in the development of any person.
Works Cited
Austen, Jane. Emma. 3rd. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2000.
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