analysis of 'emma'
...efore she likes her for being impressed with her - which Emma takes as “good sense”. Austen explains that Emma’s commitment to Harriet “would be interesting, and certainly a very kind undertaking; highly becoming her own situation in life, her leisure and powers.” (pg 24) in improving Harriet’s manners, opinion and introduce her into a good society. One of the main faults that Emma possesses is that she is extremely class conscious and somewhat manipulative. Robert Martin is immediately dismissed because of his social class, where Emma is only interested in people who are in her social class or so far beneath her that she can take on a position of superiority. Take Harriet for instance, whom Emma lies to in order to manipulate her into disregarding Mr Martin saying that “he is very plain, undoubtedly - remarkably plain - but that is nothing compared to his entire want of gentility” (pg 32) when she really thinks that Mr Martin’s “appearance very neat and he looked liked a sensible young man” (31). Another instance of Emma’s manipulation of Harriet is when she convinces her to reject Mr Martin’s proposal, where Harriet believes that Emma only has her best intentions at heart and of not wanting to influence Harriet’s behaviour. Mr Elton’s riddle is a prime example of Emma’s success in her manipulation of Harriet; Harriet is completely hopeless - and Emma is able to decode the riddle immediately. Harriet is completely unaware of the conscious calculated nature of Emma’s influence - however discernible to the readers. Emma’s conversation with Mr. Knightley, in Chapter 8, about Harriet and Mr. Martin, Austen may offer an implied criticism of what men look for in a wife. While Knightley suggests that good sense is the quality that men most value, Emma points out that most men would be content to have a wife as beautiful and good tempered as Harriet. When Emma comments, “I am very much mistaken if your sex in general would not think such beauty, and such temper, the highest claims a woman could possess,” we may hear a slight bitterness in her words. Though the novel rewards good sense as the most important human virtue, Austen is aware that the marriage market often rewards more superficial qualities. The novel also showcases the danger posed by ornate speech—it is likely to be misunderstood. Though Emma is constantly searching for subtext because of her own calculating nature, she is not as good as she believes at reading between the social lines. She continually misreads Mr. Elton’s behavior, to such an extent that we are tempted to question all of the insistence on Emma’s “cleverness.” Though Emma is often correct that there is more to situations than meets the eye, Harriet’s simplicity sometimes makes her see obvious truths that the too-clever Emma misses. For instance, Harriet rightly perceives that Emma is more Mr. Elton’s type than is she is, commenting, “You and Mr. Elton are one as clever as the other Mr. Knightley and Mrs. Weston make Emma seem more likable than she makes herself seem. Because Knightley shows himself to have good sense, and also because he is the one character willing to find fault with Emma, he is the nove...