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elizabethean 's review for:
Emma
by Jane Austen
When I need to be reminded of good manners and decorum, I pick up one of Austen’s book and immerse myself into a world replete with propriety and social conventions. Once started, I begin to notice all the flaws the real world offers and how ill-mannered people are. I begin to straighten my back, smoothen my speech, and above all, behave like a member of my sex is expected to behave.
Of course, that last point is not at all positive. I often find myself wondering why I like these stories so much, since they are quite sexist. But in Emma, Austen does show her feminist side, a story about a rich independent protagonist who is taking care of her invalid father, and who is not at all thinking about marrying.
Emma contains many stereotypical characters, who display a variety of oddities. Emma’s father, mr. Woodhouse, is obsessed with health and does everything in his power to prevent anyone getting sick. Miss Bates is extremely garrulous, talking about the most trivial things. She is also good-natured, and a wonderful character to read about, even though you might be tempted to skip her endless soliloquies. Harriet is an artless and naive character, praised for exactly these traits by the men around her. And of course, Mrs. Elton, the classic example of a proud and mean woman who thinks the world revolves around herself. These characters fill the pages with so much colour, and I often laughed out loud for their dialogues.
Emma herself is witty and cares a lot about proper manners. She is always polite, and good at carrying the conversations. What I loved about Emma is her independence. Her father never pressured her to marry (In fact, he would be devastated if she would, because it meant her leaving him) which left her free to create matches for her friends. The fact that mr. Knightly chooses to live with her and her father instead of demanding her to live at his own house, shows that he admires her independence as well.
If you haven’t seen the 2009 mini-series already, go watch it! I think they portray Emma very well, although they make it seem like everything is mostly about matchmaking. (Also, go listen to the movie soundtrack, its absolutely fantastic!)
Of course, that last point is not at all positive. I often find myself wondering why I like these stories so much, since they are quite sexist. But in Emma, Austen does show her feminist side, a story about a rich independent protagonist who is taking care of her invalid father, and who is not at all thinking about marrying.
Emma contains many stereotypical characters, who display a variety of oddities. Emma’s father, mr. Woodhouse, is obsessed with health and does everything in his power to prevent anyone getting sick. Miss Bates is extremely garrulous, talking about the most trivial things. She is also good-natured, and a wonderful character to read about, even though you might be tempted to skip her endless soliloquies. Harriet is an artless and naive character, praised for exactly these traits by the men around her. And of course, Mrs. Elton, the classic example of a proud and mean woman who thinks the world revolves around herself. These characters fill the pages with so much colour, and I often laughed out loud for their dialogues.
Emma herself is witty and cares a lot about proper manners. She is always polite, and good at carrying the conversations. What I loved about Emma is her independence. Her father never pressured her to marry (In fact, he would be devastated if she would, because it meant her leaving him) which left her free to create matches for her friends. The fact that mr. Knightly chooses to live with her and her father instead of demanding her to live at his own house, shows that he admires her independence as well.
Spoiler
Her character development is linked with her realising she is in love with mr. Knightly, and it seems she just needed to mature to find her happiness.If you haven’t seen the 2009 mini-series already, go watch it! I think they portray Emma very well, although they make it seem like everything is mostly about matchmaking. (Also, go listen to the movie soundtrack, its absolutely fantastic!)