Another Emma Discussion

In this blog I will continue to discuss Jane Austen's novel Emma. In particular I will try to analysis Emma's behavior and actions in the beginning of the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Emma is described as "handsome, clever, and rich," and that her only flaw is that she is too confident and used to getting her way. She is slightly spoiled by her father and is very stubborn; Emma is very steadfast about not wanting to get married and remaining single. In the beginning of the novel, Emma had set up her friend Miss Taylor with her husband Mr. Weston. Since Emma successfully hooked up Miss Taylor and Mr. Weston, Emma has gained confidence in her match making abilities. Emma tried to set up her friend Harriet with Mr. Elton, even though Harriet wants to get married to Robert Martin. Emma remained very stubborn about the fact that Harriet is too good for someone like Robert Martin and tried her best to convince her friend that Mr. Martin was no good. The young Emma tried her best at getting Mr. Elton and Harriet to be together as often as possible, and even convinced Mr. Elton to draw a portrait of Harriet. Through all this time, Emma remained oblivious about the fact that Mr. Elton truly did not want to marry Harriet. Mr. Knightly, Emma's neighbor, pointed out that Mr. Elton did not like Harriet and instead liked Emma herself. But Emma ignored Mr. Knightly's insight ad stubbornly believed that Harriet and Mr. Elton were made for each other even when there was evidence against that belief. When Harriet came down with a cold, Mr. Elton was still looking forward to the party without her and declined Emma's suggestion to stay at home, since Harriet is sick. Even against all this evidence, Emma continued to believe that Harriet and Mr. Elton were fated to be together and because of this belief Emma was shocked when Mr. Elton proposed to her. Emma rejected the proposal and not only hurt Mr. Elton but her innocent friend Harriet. One huge flaw that Emma has is her stubbornness. She ignored her neighbor's insight about Mr. Elton's true feelings and dismissed Mr. Elton's obvious lack of interst towards Harriet, because of his Emma hurt many people. Emma hurt Mr. Elton by crushing on his feelings. Futhermore, she destroyed Harriet's chances with Mr. Martin even though they both liked each other. Finally, Emma hurt Harriet by ruining her chances at marriage with the person she likes and giving her false hopes that Mr. Elton likes her. Altough Emma has many good personality traits, her stubborness helps offset them.