The Transformation of Emma into Clueless
...luenced by their political contexts: Austen by the French Revolution and Heckerling by the campaign for legal equality between races and genders. Emma and Clueless both support a hierarchical society. In each text, this is cleverly communicated through the language. Emma’s wit and Mr Knightley’s unfailing courtesy mark their breeding, while Mrs Elton’s vulgar familiarity – ‘Mr E’ and ‘Knightley’ – suggest her coarseness and inferiority. In Heckerling’s film, the characters’ wit and ability to comprehend jargon likewise marks their social position. Cher’s “full-on Monet” and Dionne’s “our stock would plummet” acts as a stark contrast to Tai’s “You guys talk like grown-ups.” Despite the emphasis of society on money, Austen and Heckerling convey disapproval of materialism and consumerism. In Emma, this is achieved through satire, for instance, juxtaposing Mrs Elton’s comments about white satin with “the perfect happiness of the union” of Emma and Mr Knightley. Clueless uses contemporary allusions and stereotypes, such as Dionne’s reference to the “cheap K-Mart hair extension.” Heckerling censures those characters who measure others by possessions. While the plot of Emma is driven by marriage, Clueless focuses on relationships and foregrounds sex. This reflects the different contexts. Marriage was a financial imperative for women in the early nineteenth century, but by the 1990s, women had economic autonomy. Instead, Heckerling portrays weddings as an opportunity to make a fashion statement. Therefore, attitudes to marriage and physical chastity change dramatically. Emma and Clueless idealise relationships founded on social, intellectual and financial compatibility. However, male authority within these relationships is an ideal sustained by both texts. Both Emma and Cher capitulate to the values and figure of the male hero. However, the v...