Emma Question 1 Answer

I finished reading Emma on the plane ride to Paris earlier this month, and I will now be answering the questions that I wished to look at when I began reading Austen’s Emma.  The first question is:

Speaking of Emma, Jane Austen said “I am going to take a heroine whom nobody but myself will like much.”  What would you say is likeable and what is hard to like about the character Emma?

What I found to be likeable about Emma is the fact at how she tries to pleases people.  She tries to match make to see that her closest friends are happy.  She also wants to help people in other ways, and she demonstrates this trait when she meets Harriet and takes her under her wing to in order to introduce her into a higher class of society.  Later on though, as I will discuss, there were ulterior motives in this particular case.

Another significant thing I found likeable about Emma is how much she cares for her family, in particular her father.  She dotes on him and ensures that he isn’t placed in any situations that will cause him any discomfort.  She cares for him so much, that that’s part of the reason why she doesn’t foresee herself ever settling down and getting married.

Emma clearly demonstrating how much better her social status is than those “beneath” her is something that I really dislike about Emma.  She clearly demonstrates this trait in regard to Mr. Martin.  Emma clearly states to Harriet, early on in the novel, how if she were to marry Mr. Martin, Emma wouldn’t be able to visit with her anymore, because Mr. Martin was in such a lower social class than herself.  She wouldn’t be able to be seen in public with someone “perceived” to be beneath her, it would harm her reputation.

Another thing I dislike about Emma is how full of herself she actually is.  I could tell, very early on, that her judgment is clouded by her perception of her world, and that she believes she perceives things differently than anyone else.  This trait is shown when she tries to match Mr. Elton and Harriet.  Emma could not see that Mr. Elton was interested in her, but kept on pushing a match with Harriet.  Her ultimate goal clouded her judgment and didn’t allow her to see other alternatives.

Overall, I liked the character of Emma, and feel, that with a bit more maturing, and life experience, would improve herself to be a wonderful person, and someone I personally wouldn’t mind being friends with, if I happened to meet someone like her.