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funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jane Austen said ‘I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like’ and she was wrong because I love Emma a lot. But also, what a power move. Emma is an unlikeable protagonist at least at the start of the book, but more than that she’s a flawed human being who learns and grows and makes mistakes and will never be perfect, she’s a part of a network of people who love her despite and because of her flaws and so how can you ever really dislike her!
What I love most is that her love interest is the one person to consistently call her out on her bullshit and that’s exactly why they’re perfect for each other. Also they are both autistic and Emma is aro, no I will not elaborate these are just my little headcanons. (But if you want me to elaborate. I could.)
What I love most is that her love interest is the one person to consistently call her out on her bullshit and that’s exactly why they’re perfect for each other. Also they are both autistic and Emma is aro, no I will not elaborate these are just my little headcanons. (But if you want me to elaborate. I could.)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Classism
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship
Minor: Pedophilia, Slavery, Death of parent, Alcohol
funny
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had to read this for my academic writing class and it was a pain to get through. The ending was foreseeable, the characters annoying and overall it was just a very slow and boring read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Racial slurs
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Classism
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of everybody's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange everybody's destiny. She was proved to have been universally mistaken; and she had not quite done nothing — for she had done mischief.
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism
use of the g-slur and a racist depiction of travelers as "dangerous" people.
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to like it. it’s so full of trivialities between genuinely interesting moments that I struggled so hard to finish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racial slurs
Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
perhaps this shouldn't have been the first Jane Austen book I started with, but that notion of a "heroine whom no one but myself will much like" drew me in; like, I wanted to know what kind of person only Austen would like, okay!! as a result, it did take me a while to get through this book, but I wouldn't necessarily blame it by any means. the plot was entertaining, I just had school 😔
Emma is always portrayed to be this intentionally annoying character, but I actually really liked her and empathised with the decisions she made, even if they weren't very good ones. her development was steady, not very quick or "ah-ha!" like, but not every story needed that and for this type of story, I think this gradual change was fitting. Harriet was just so cute and adorable and I loved whenever she would come into a scene; her development into making decisions for herself was nice, even if it was a lot nearer to the end. Mr Knightley – he was okay? like I definitely didn't hate him; I liked how he is Emma's critic in whatever she does and provides her other perspectives she hasn't considered, but I think I would've liked him with Emma more if he wasn't, like, sixteen years her senior and didn't say that one line. you know that one;"[I] have been in love with you ever since you were thirteen at least." we didn't need that 😭
I know a lot of people say this is one of her funniest works, but I guess my autistic self was more interested in the social cues the characters mentioned and how that impacted the way they would interact with each other (or how they would judge each other); e.g. the way her friendship with Harriet is written – a lot of class context and internal feelings (+ external factors like Emma feeling abandoned by Miss Taylor after she gets married) need to be considered before outright stating that Emma is a horrible person. the narrative of Emma was really well done, found myself thoroughly entertained by it and how it spoke of everything going on.
my criticism does lie in the racism and classism of Romani people near the middle-end; I understand the time it was written in but even then, it's good to point it out and acknowledge that it's not okay. this is one of my primary issues with a lot of classics and how I, as someone who isn't white, feel distanced from really connecting with them like privileged people are able to do.
despite this, how long it took to read, understand and grow accustomed to the language, I very much enjoyed the experience and am definitely rereading this at a later time to be able to properly grasp the concepts and themes. but if you're just starting to get into Austen: maybe don't start with this one 😭
Emma is always portrayed to be this intentionally annoying character, but I actually really liked her and empathised with the decisions she made, even if they weren't very good ones. her development was steady, not very quick or "ah-ha!" like, but not every story needed that and for this type of story, I think this gradual change was fitting. Harriet was just so cute and adorable and I loved whenever she would come into a scene; her development into making decisions for herself was nice, even if it was a lot nearer to the end. Mr Knightley – he was okay? like I definitely didn't hate him; I liked how he is Emma's critic in whatever she does and provides her other perspectives she hasn't considered, but I think I would've liked him with Emma more if he wasn't, like, sixteen years her senior and didn't say that one line. you know that one;
I know a lot of people say this is one of her funniest works, but I guess my autistic self was more interested in the social cues the characters mentioned and how that impacted the way they would interact with each other (or how they would judge each other); e.g. the way her friendship with Harriet is written – a lot of class context and internal feelings (+ external factors like Emma feeling abandoned by Miss Taylor after she gets married) need to be considered before outright stating that Emma is a horrible person. the narrative of Emma was really well done, found myself thoroughly entertained by it and how it spoke of everything going on.
my criticism does lie in the racism and classism of Romani people near the middle-end; I understand the time it was written in but even then, it's good to point it out and acknowledge that it's not okay. this is one of my primary issues with a lot of classics and how I, as someone who isn't white, feel distanced from really connecting with them like privileged people are able to do.
despite this, how long it took to read, understand and grow accustomed to the language, I very much enjoyed the experience and am definitely rereading this at a later time to be able to properly grasp the concepts and themes. but if you're just starting to get into Austen: maybe don't start with this one 😭
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Racial slurs
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Racial slurs
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
yeah so the fact that he was in love with her when she was like 13 doesn't sit right with me and the four starts are for emma and emma only bc she is an icon and i love her
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism
Minor: Death, Racial slurs, Death of parent