Abstract This research paper aims at analyzing the heroine of Jane Austen`s novel Emma and to show the position of women in her society and how this reflects the suffering of women in a global context both in her time and now. The research paper argues that the author has used various tools including parody and irony to reveal the position of women in the society at her time. The novel Emma was written by Jane Austen in the tear 1816. The novels that she writes show her as a moral writer who strives to establish a criterion of sound judgment and good conduct in the lives of human beings. In the novel Emma, she so dramatically and astutely presents the lesson that she strives to teach the public, with a minimum exposition that places upon …show more content…
She uses comedy to ridicule life`s social ironies. She does not include in her novels problems or death but just deals with the paradoxes of life which she is familiar with (401). She observes the follies and shortcomings in the real world and wisely addresses them in her novels. Jane Nardin also remarks that Austen uses satire as a humorous awareness of the incongruity in society and this she calls irony. This irony is the measure Austen uses in measuring how adequate moral positions are in the society (2). In the novel by Jane Austen, Emma is excessively imaginative and this is what makes her to always think that she is right in what she observes about life. Wright writes that although Emma is wrong almost all the time, she thinks she is right. As such, Emma is considered to be a comedy of self-deception. Austen uses comedy and irony as a tool against a culture in which women are intimidated and also as a tool to reveal the women`s …show more content…
Her novel shows that women can act against the patriarchal system of the society. Austen does not directly react against the woman`s place in the society, no, she instead reflects them as intelligent, charming, significant, lively and active as society members. According to Kaplan, Austen uses Emma to reflect the active response of females to the power of the ideologies of the patriarchal society. Emma is sure of the opinion that she holds and therefore she speaks confidently during conversations. Kaplan says, “To convey awareness of sexual inequality and subtle and overt expression of its unfairness, the heroine speaks with a female voice” (189). What Kaplan calls a female voice is the talk of Emma the heroine in the
Emma’s attitude and behaviour is ironic in which the Lord’s work
In her writing, Jane Austen used literary techniques to display her character’s integrity, poise, grace and charm, or lack thereof. Throughout most of Austen’s works, a common theme is women and their behavior. In Emma, Jane Austen weaves a story between the differences of society through the actions of a young woman, Emma Woodhouse. The strongest literary technique in Jane Austen’s Emma is the use of a foil.
Jane Austen characterises Emma as a woman with a lack of self-awareness due to her own privilege throughout the book. Suggested from the beginning of the novel, “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence”, Austen foreshadows Emma’s character by criticising her as an intelligent but also spoiled, meddlesome and self-deluded woman. Emma’s foolishness is shown throughout the book through her interest in match-making and meddling in other characters’ business. By Emma acknowledging “The first error and the worst lay at her door. It was foolish, it was wrong, to take so active a part in bringing any two people together.”
Austen successfully puts the wit into her books in three main ways described in the following paragraphs. First of all, with the distinguishing personality, it clearly shows the thoughts and feelings of the characters. For example, Mrs. Bennet is superficial and foolish that she only cares about her daughters’ marriages without any concern about their future lives. It’s also her pitiful part because she doesn’t receive an education. Therefore, she thinks that marries someone is rich and has high social status is the only way to make a living.
“Reviving Emma in a Clueless World: The Current Attraction to a Classic Structure.” Jane Austen Society of North America, 1999, www.jasna.org/persuasions/on-line/opno3/mazmanian.html. Accessed 21 Sept. 2022. Silvest, Augusta. “Clueless Movie Analysis (Brave New World Dystopia).”
The film 'Clueless', written and directed by Amy Heckerling, is an adaptation of Jane Austen's novel 'Emma' and closely parallels the story in terms of characters and the stories plot. Upon first viewing, the context of both 'Emma' and 'Clueless' are somewhat different and therefore, the values have changed but the film reinforces the values of 'Emma' despite the contextual difference. The film "Clueless" has scenes in which the values of Jane Austen's "Emma" are reinforced and solidified. The context of "Emma" is a time in which women are given little freedom and there is a social class hierarchy which is solid and expectations are given depending on one's position in society. "Clueless" is a modern take on "Emma" and has been written to
Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is a Bildungsroman, a coming of age story that focuses on the psychological development of the protagonist, Catherine Morland. This essay will analyse the language and narrative techniques of the extract, and discuss how it suggests vicissitudes in Catherine’s personal perspectives and relationships. In addition, it will discuss the ‘domestic gothic’ and abuse ubiquitous in ordinary situations. Furthermore, it will argue how Austen’s rhetorical techniques work to encourage reader interest as well as exercising perception when distinguishing between appearance and reality. Finally, it will conclude by briefly discussing the significance of the extract within the novel’s wider themes.
In the Victorian era, women were forced to marry, as they needed the security of a man. However, Austen uses logos to question the real inequality in the Victorian era’s ideology, that a woman is incomplete without a man. This allows the reader to analyse the state of society from a different perspective. Austen also starts her sentence with an assertive tone further supported with her firm word choices, through using the words, ‘…truth universally acknowledged’. These words are important in her building ethos allowing her to deliver her controversial message.
Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is a great example of her works that looks at the role of women in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Austen shows us the gender roles inflicted on women during this time period and how they are perceived. We see the strict gender roles that women were adhered to and the struggle for identity as a woman. Central to this novel is the vulnerability of women and the expectations surrounding gender influence everything and produce define results. Gender definitely determines and structures the world in which these characters live.
First, Jane Eyre’s attributes displays women in our society who are still in search for meaning and love in their lives. Just like Jane’s spirit of passion despite abuse, these women continue to search for respect from other
The author Jane Austen is considered a 19th century feminist, her story characters remain feminine in nature; however maintain a strong independent role model in some of her written works. The character in “Pride and Prejudice,” Elizabeth Bennet; with her modern ideas and intellect reminds us how this young lady
Because Austen belonged to the middle-class, I noticed the details of life which she contoured so well; as a result of her gifted writing of depicting society and characters, each one of her novels has several film adaptations which prove the relevance of her
Jane Eyre is a novel where a modern view on gender roles get in the discourse of the traditional Victorian social hierarchy and patriarchal
Jane Austen lived in a period at the turn from the eighteenth century to the nineteenth century, which was a period of mixed thoughts, which conflicted all the times. Among all the conflicts, the most important one was the disparity in social status between men and women. Not only men’s status was in the center of the society but also common people thought it was right that men were much more important than women were. In those days girls were neither allowed nor expected to study much because they did not have to work for a living. They were supposed to stay at home and look beautiful in order to get suitable husbands.
Jane Eyre, published in 1847, by focusing on its protagonist’s, Jane’s personality, dependency and self governance. The aim of this study is to look into Jane’s development and analyze her identity with the help of a theoretical framework drawn from psychoanalysis and developmental psychology, and within the context of the Victorian era. The novel focuses on Jane’s experiences and psychological growth from youth to adulthood. Psychoanalytic criticism adopts the methods of "reading" employed by Freud and later theorists to interpret texts or writings.