FREE ESSAY ON EMMA

EMMA

Emma 
Austen, Jane. Emma. New York: Bantam Books, 1981.
Emma takes place in Hartfield, which is a part of Highbury, England. Highbury was a large
and populous village, but Hartfield was much quieter and secluded. The story is in a time
where you only married people of your own social status. Therefore, the story probably
takes place in the Eighteenth century but there is no direct reference to the time at
which the story takes place. It was a romantic time where women were concerned with
marrying their true loves, but only if they were of their same class. The importance of
the village in which Emma lives is that to entertain herself she engages herself in
matchmaking activities. 
The main character of the story is Emma Woodhouse. She is handsome, clever, and rich,
with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings
of existence; and very little to distress her or vex her. (Austen, 3) Emma was the
youngest of two daughters and she was spoiled by her old, affectionate father. Her mother
had died when she was only a child and her sister, Isabelle, had married at an early age.
This made her mistress of his house from a very early period. Emma's self image is very
strong and she is doubly pleased with her match-making skills, which turn out to be
disastrous for her friend Harriet. Harriet Smith is a young girl of an unknown
background, but she was a student at Mrs. Goddard's School. Emma challenges herself to
reform and refine Harriet. She becomes to aspire to see Harriet marry a person in a
higher social station. Harriet is very pretty. She was short, plump, and fair, with blue
eyes and light hair, and a look of great sweetness. (Austen, 20) 
The other main character of the story is Mr. Knightley. He is a sensible man of about
thirty-seven. He is the elder brother of Isabelle's husband and a friend of the Woodhouse
family. Mr. Knightley had a very cheerful manner which pleased Emma. He was also one of
the few people that could see faults in Emma and he didn't hesitate on telling her of
them. In addition to Mr. Woodhouse, Emma's father, the other character's in the story are
Isabelle, her husband, Miss Taylor (now Mrs. Weston) and her husband. 
From the start of the story, Emma's willful and determined imagination give way to the
plot of the story. Emma's determined plans contradict her own beliefs an thwart the
natural selection process of a mate. This provides the early plot of the book, by having
Emma incur unexpected and unpleasant surprises. However, the main plot is between the two
main characters, Emma and Mr. Knightley. Emma represents impulsive and willful
imagination, whereas Knightly stands for order, rational thinking and a stable state of
being. This clash is universally telling of many human relationships, which is symbolized
in the characteristics of the two main characters. Emma and Knightley each represent the
two extremes of human emotion. 
The climax of the story is reached when Emma realizes that she is in love with Mr.
Knightley. Emma had never known how much of her happiness depended on being first with
Mr. Knightley, first interest and affection. (Austen, 381) After this Mr. Knightley
confesses his love to Emma and they get married. Also, Harriet marries a man of her
social status and they all live happily ever after.
In conclusion, Emma appears to be a novel about the affections of love and one's struggle
to find a mate for life. However, another theme jointly exists with the previously
mentioned motif, which is Emma's, the heroine's, struggle with her self-deception. This
is great novel because you learn that love is natural thing. You do not chose who to
love, or who not to love.