"Emma"

Paper Summary:

This paper contends that one of the challenges posed by Jane Austen's heroine Emma Woodhouse, in the novel entitled "Emma", is how Emma must learn to be a good reader of both male and female characters. The paper discusses how the persona of Frank Churchill poses a constant series of challenges to Emma. The paper assesses that by becoming a better reader of the human character in general, Emma learns that Mr. Knightly is the better choice of the two male romantic prospects and also, by extension that she has misread the female characters of Harriet Smith and Jane Fairfax throughout the novel.

From the Paper:

"That Emma begins the novel as a poor reader of the human character becomes immediately apparent in the first chapter of the book, which portrays the charming scene, whereby Mr. Knightly is seen teasing Emma, as she sits next to her invalid, hypochondriac of a father Mr. Woodhouse, by the fire late one night. Mr. Knightly notes that while Emma frequently drew up many improving reading lists for herself, while under the tutelage of her former governess, she hardly ever read the books on the lists. This indicates that Emma at the beginning of the novel is a creature of surfaces, rather than someone who knows how to look deeply into the moral text of a person's character. The moral education of Emma, and her ability to read prospective suitors better is eventually exemplified in her shifting of allegiances from the young and handsome Frank Churchill to the more staid Mr. Knightly, whom like a true knight in shining armor has been by her side all along, chiding her, and watching her grow up with a careful eye. In contrast, Frank is only alluded to through most of the first part of the novel, like a shadowy prince whom is hardly real."

More papers on "Emma":

• Analytical Essay # 6793 : " Jane Austen's "Emma"
• Book Review # 139478 : "Miss Bates in "Emma"
• Analytical Essay # 36071 : "Emma"
• Analytical Essay # 37169 : "The Character of Emma in "Madame Bovary"

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