George Knightley in Jane Austen's "Emma"

Paper Summary:

This paper focuses on how Austen uses the figure of George Knightley to propose a new English gentleman ideal to criticize the strictures regarding the role of women and the skewed relationship between the sexes. In the first part, this paper looks at the social world of England in the early 19th century in which Austen lived. It then compares the reality of these conditions with the seemingly idyllic settings Austen portrayed in novels like Emma. The second part of the paper then examines Austen's redefinitions of the ideal English gentleman, as embodied by Mr. Knightley. Despite the expected happy ending, this paper argues that Austen presents George Knightley as a gentleman who is both socially upright and an ideal marriage partner for Emma Woodhouse.

From the Paper:

"The disrepute of the literary novel and Austen's desire for privacy are part of the reason Austen published Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Emma anonymously. Also, while she was clearly critical of the era's impositions on women, Austen decided to write domestic novels rather than the more overt "women's rights" novels penned by Mary Wollstonecraft. In novels like Mary and Maria, Or the Wrongs of Woman, the feminist Wollstonecraft advocated for legalized prostitution, women's financial autonomy and a woman's right to divorce."

More papers on George Knightley in Jane Austen's "Emma":

• Book Review # 1910 : "Human Nature in Jane Austen's "Emma"
• Analytical Essay # 150093 : "Irony and Class in Jane Austen's Novels"
• Book Review # 103312 : "Anne's Crumbling Facade in Jane Austen's "Persuasion"

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