Topic > Analysis of the main heroine in Emma misdirected mischief " Do you agree? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In Jane Austen's Emma, ​​the eponymous heroine is "beautiful, intelligent, and rich," but she also suffers from arrogance and self-deception. With Mr. Knightley's good judgment and her own self-examination, Emma experiences a movement of the psyche, from arrogance and vanity through the humiliation of self-knowledge to clarity of judgment and fulfillment in marriage. The tone of the novel and of the episodes in which Emma deceives herself progresses from the light comedy of Mr Elton's gallantry and eventual mortification to the dark depression of Emma's belief that she has ruined her chances of happiness by bringing Mr Knightley and Harriet together. Although the reader is sometimes able to laugh at her mistakes, as she slowly and uncertainly progresses towards self-knowledge and maturity, the reader, like Mr Knightley, comes to take her seriously, as serious moral issues are dealt with in the novel and social. , issues that directly concern you. While we may be "off-putted" by her mistakes and flights of illogical fancy, these are also the same qualities that endear her. Perhaps the only character in the novel who takes Emma seriously is Mr. Knightley. As the moral center of the book, he is an example of good judgment and Emma's moral guardian. He has Emma's best interests at heart and is genuinely concerned about her moral development. Not blinded by selfishness or vanity, honest in all his dealings with her, Mr. Knightley exposes Emma's flaws for what they are and helps the reader see it. Under his influence Emma becomes aware of her mistakes and mistakes and finally reaches the maturity to be able to find fulfillment in marriage. Although she challenges him on many occasions, she has a "sort of habitual respect for his judgment" and her willingness to be guided by good principles helps her reform herself. Mr Knightley is "discouraged" by Emma taking on Harriet as a ward, because she is naive and ignorant. He doesn't take her "you made a lucky guess; and that's all that can be said" matchmaking powers seriously, and tries to discourage her from further matchmaking, knowing that "Elton is no good." He is very mortified at recommending Mr. Martin propose to Harriet, and is angry that Emma intervened in the affair. She tells Emma that she should make more effort to be kind to Jane Fairfax, a more suitable match for her than Harriet, because she equals and even surpasses Emma in talent. Mr Knightley is also "disheartened" by Emma's inappropriate behavior with Frank Churchill at Box Hill. Here Emma and Frank "flirt excessively", breaking social conventions, and because Mr. Knightley takes Emma seriously, he believes that she is in love with Frank. Emma's cruel comment to Miss Bates, prompted in part by Frank's good humor, elicits a strong reaction from Mr. Knightley, who scolds her for it because Miss Bates is poor and has declined in social circumstances. This shows his strong sense of duty and good judgment. Miss Bates also takes Emma seriously at this point, but has the generosity and "candor" to forgive her. Although Emma says at the time that it was done in jest, she later feels Mr. Knightley's reproach "in her heart", and is able to respond by visiting Miss Bates the next day to atone for her cruelty. Frank Churchill uses Emma as a cover for his clandestine affair withJane Fairfax, and that's because she doesn't take it seriously. He can see that she is not willing to fall in love, and therefore he can pretend to persecute her and deceive others. He does not allow himself to be "discouraged" by his snobbery and his misleading judgements, on the contrary, he encourages them. He puts the word "Dixon" in front of Jane to provoke her, a secret shared between him and Emma. She expresses her opinions about Jane Fairfax, unaware that he is actually engaged to her. He supports his suspicions by criticizing Jane and fueling Emma's imagination that Mr. Dixon gave Jane the piano and had fallen in love with her. The reader has the privileged perspective of an observer of everything that is happening: we are able to see the mistakes he makes, able to laugh at his spiteful plots, while not realizing his mistakes. As the novel progresses, however, the reader comes to take her seriously, due to the nature of the issues addressed in the novel, and while we may at times be "put off" by her snobbery and claim to omnipotence, Austen wrote in in such a way as to ensure our sympathy. Emma is neither a character so good that she is uninteresting, nor so completely cruel that she loses our sympathy. By presenting things from Emma's point of view for the majority of the novel, the reader is able to gain insight into her inner thoughts and unexpressed feelings. Although Austen declares that she would create a heroine "that no one should like but me," ultimately the reader likes Emma, ​​or at least appreciates her ability to change for the better. to never make a match again, or his vision of "the lovers", Mr Elton and Harriet, at certain points in the novel the reader is forced to take it seriously. When she berates herself for her blindness and encourages Harriet's affection for Mr Elton, we appreciate her concern for Harriet: 'could the effects of her mistakes have been limited to herself?' While we are "discouraged" by her snobbery shown to the Martins and Coles, Emma is taught a lesson and comes to regret her actions. Emma's encouragement of a romance between Mr Elton and Harriet almost destroys the potential marriage between Harriet and Mr Martin. , the socially just game. The aura of illegitimacy surrounding Harriet encourages Emma's imagination that Harriet is the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat; Mr. Knightley, like the narrator, knows that Harriet is "Someone's natural daughter", and is fortunate that Mr. Martin does not object to this. When Emma is happy that Harriet finds a match in Mr Martin, at the end, the reader knows that this happiness is genuine: for Emma's scheming almost prevented this from happening. When Emma returns home in a carriage in tears after Mr Knightley's scolding at Box Hill, she resolves henceforth to act more rationally and recognizes that "with common sense, I fear I have had little to do". It marks the culmination of his moral education, and now that he has become aware of his "unbearable vanity" and his "unforgivable arrogance", he can judge rightly and act effectively. The reader can appreciate her honesty about herself, her willingness to reform, and we take her self-examination seriously. Like Mr Knightley, where "his eyes received the truth from hers, and all that had passed good in his feelings was at once grasped and honoured," the reader sincerely considers his attempts to repent to Miss Bates and Jane, because they are met without the complacency and complacency of before. Although we may have felt that Emma lacked tenderness and social caution when she makes the cruel remark, and we are put off by her snobbery, the reader also feels that she shows genuine contrition for. his sins. Emma doesn't like Jane Fairfax because.