Emma Discussion

In this blog I will discuss the beginning of Jane Austen's novel Emma. Before Austen started her novel she said, " I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," so she planned on making a very different and unique heroine for her book. 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. I think that although Austen thought that nobody would like her unique character Emma, because of those traits I think that it makes Emma a very likeable character. I can see that at the time, Emma was very unlike how most females were expected to be at the time, since it was made in the nineteenth century, so Austen thought that her character would not be liked. But I think that since Emma is very confident and sure of herself, she breaks the social norms at the time and becomes a inspirational character. Many women now would like to be like Emma now, since many people would like to be confident, rich, and beautiful. All of these positive qualities makes Emma a very likeable character, even though she may make mistakes. Emma is also proud of her accomplishments, which is seen when she was boasting about how she set Miss Taylor and her husband Mr. Weston. Emma is inspirational since she is quite able to take pride in her past accomplishments, which many people would also like to do too. But Emma has her negative qualities like being very stubborn. These negative qualities make Emma seem more human and relatable to others. Emma's stubbornness was seen when she insisted that Robert Martin is not good enough for Harriet, even though Harriet does not want to reject the offer. Robert Martin was a respectable, well-educated, and well-spoken man.  Although Emma thought she was being helpful, she ruined Robert Martin's chance for marriage with Harriet. Furthermore, Emma crushed Harriet's heart, since she was very sure that Mr. Elton liked Harriet, but was completely wrong. As a result of Emma's stubbornness, she ruined Harriet's potential marriage with a great guy, crushed her heart, and angered Mr. Elton, since he thought that Emma wanted him. But since Emma is able to make mistakes, it makes her more human and relatable. By making Emma have such qualities, Jane Austen has created a character that many like, even though she thought that not many would.