Emma, by Jane Austen, is a novel about youthful hubris and the perils of misconstrued romance. The novel was first published in December 1815. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women living in Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners among her characters. Before she began the novel, Austen wrote, “I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.”. In the first sentence she introduces the title character as “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich.” Emma is spoiled, headstrong, and self-satisfied; she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is blind to the dangers of meddling in other people’s lives; and her imagination and perceptions often lead her astray. This novel has been adapted for several films, many television programs, and a long list of stage plays.Of all Jane Austen’s heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most flawed, the most infuriating, and, in the end, the most endearing. Pride and Prejudice’s Lizzie Bennet has more wit and sparkle; Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey more imagination; and Sense and Sensibility’s Elinor Dashwood certainly more sense–but Emma is lovable precisely because she is so imperfect. Austen only completed six novels in her lifetime, of which five feature young women whose chances for making a good marriage depend greatly on financial issues, and whose prospects if they fail are rather grim. Emma is the exception: “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” One may be tempted to wonder what Austen could possibly find to say about so fortunate a character. The answer is, quite a lot.
For Emma, raised to think well of herself, has such a high opinion of her own worth that it blinds her to the opinions of others. The story revolves around a comedy of errors: Emma befriends Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage, and attempts to remake her in her own image. Ignoring the gaping difference in their respective fortunes and stations in life, Emma convinces herself and her friend that Harriet should look as high as Emma herself might for a husband–and she zeroes in on an ambitious vicar as the perfect match. At the same time, she reads too much into a flirtation with Frank Churchill, the newly arrived son of family friends, and thoughtlessly starts a rumor about poor but beautiful Jane Fairfax, the beloved niece of two genteelly impoverished elderly ladies in the village. As Emma’s fantastically misguided schemes threaten to surge out of control, the voice of reason is provided by Mr. Knightly, the Woodhouse’s longtime friend and neighbor. Though Austen herself described Emma as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like,” she endowed her creation with enough charm to see her through her most egregious behavior, and the saving grace of being able to learn from her mistakes. By the end of the novel Harriet, Frank, and Jane are all properly accounted for, Emma is wiser (though certainly not sadder), and the reader has had the satisfaction of enjoying Jane Austen at the height of her powers. –Alix Wilber
An unusual Austen heroine… The heroine of Jane Austen’s “Mansfield Park”, Fanny Price, is often overlooked in comparison to her more attractive or more interesting sisters such as the spirited and headstrong Elizabeth Bennet of “Pride and Prejudice.” Still, Fanny Price is worth getting to know, and “Mansfield Park” is worth a read as perhaps Jane Austen’s most subtle and complex novel.One of a growing brood of children in a lower middle class family in Portsmouth, Fanny is placed for raising with her much…
One of My Favorite Austen Novels Fanny Price is the quintessential âpoor cousin.â Her family consists of many siblings, and when her mother and father find themselves unable to care for all of them, they send Fanny to live with her aunt and uncle, Sir Thomas and Mrs. Norris at Mansfield Park. Living in the grand home is an adjustment for Fanny and her cousins and aunt are not very fond of her, though she adapts to life at Mansfield Park. Over the years, Fanny and Edmund become very close, yet her aunt has other plans for both…
I thought the book was packaged perfect. The only thing is the print is small … I thought the book was packaged perfect. The only thing is the print is small and I am old so it is hard for me to read.