Jane Austen: Emma

Hi

This is my review of my reread of Emma by Jane Austen.
The story is 476 pages and it has a 10-page essay by David Lodge.

“Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protégée Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected. With its imperfect but charming heroine and its witty and subtle exploration of relationships, Emma is often seen as Jane Austen's most flawless work.”

I enjoyed this more then my first time reading it. I got more out of it because I could see beyond Emma’s flaws, Mr. Knightley’s preaching and almost every other character’s nagging and complaining. 

Emma is very different from Austen’s previous novels. Emma is a woman who doesn’t need to marry because she has financial stability. There’s no pressure for her or her family to find her a man with enough money.

But because her life is so dull, she has to imagine things to do to keep her mind occupied and thus comes to matchmaking and inventing drama.
Emma can get away with her meddling, her snobbism, condescending remarks and manipulating of Harriet because she’s rich but also because she’s, loving, devoted, cheerful, and intelligent.
Emma matures and grows as the novel progresses and that’s one of its main appeals.

I abhor Frank though. Frank is not a nice character. He abuses Jane to others even though they are engaged and he tries to ‘seduce’ Emma and thus causes her pain intentionally. Emma is not in love with him, but that doesn’t change his intentions and his actions. I think he would have done the same thing even if he believed Emma did have feelings for him. He only cares for what he wants.

Mistakes in communication, flawed characters, natural, clear dialogue and very human emotions make this a great novel.

Happy reading!
Helena

Finishing this beautiful couple.