Tolog Review: Emma

Emma
by Jane Austen
reviewed by Julieanna Gonzalez

Renowned author Jane Austen weaves a meaningful tale of a misguided but good-willed heroine who dabbles in the endeavors of love, while ironically ignoring her own feelings, in the classic novel Emma. Emma Woodhouse is a frivolous and privileged young woman, who is especially proud of her self- proclaimed match-making skills, after the successful elopement of her childhood governess and Mr. Weston, whom Emma had “matched” together. With new confidence in her abilities, she is determined to help her newfound friend Harriet find a suitable partner, albeit Harriet’s obscure family background and her lower social status. Emma believes Harriet deserves a true gentleman, however in Emma’s naiveness, she causes Harriet to spoil the chances for an engagement to a man she has feelings for, to pursue the ultimately snobbish Mr. Elton. As Emma tries amend Harriet’s romantic situation, the handsome and intelligent Mr. Knightley, whom Emma will later deny feelings for, makes her realize that her own personal desires have made her lose sight of reality, and she decides that she will no longer meddle in the romantic lives of others. However, the recent arrival of Ms. Jane Fairfax and Mr. Frank Churchill, cause an unexpected chain of events in the small town of Highbury as every character becomes interested in one another and confusion and misconceptions ensues. As the characters attempt to piece together who is romantically involved with each other, a hidden truth about the newcomers is revealed, which ultimately leads to a surprising twist in the end. Though it is a romance novel, Emma is a triumphant, yet light-hearted and comedic masterpiece, saturated in Jane Austen’s trademark satire and humor with intricate characters and important lessons about reality and relationships that are still relevant to this present day and age.

Jane Austen is excellent at creating characters who seem slightly one dimensional in the beginning, yet are so full of depth and experience a profound lesson or character arc through the course of the novel. For, example In Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy is portrayed as proud and haughty, but as the novel progresses, he shows a more tender side of himself once he falls in love with Lizzie Bennet. In the beginning of Emma, Emma Woodhouse is very sheltered and spoiled young woman and her main flaw is that she thinks too highly of herself and her “romantic abilities”. In reality, her idea of love is skin-deep and she believes love is like plaything, which she can use to satisfy her own shallow and unrealistic fantasies of love. Emma is oblivious of the havoc she wreaks, and enjoys paying mind to the lives of others, instead of acknowledging her own. But after a series of failed matchmaking attempts she begins her character progression and comes to realizes the mistakes of her naiveness and personal desires, which causes the downfall of her friend Harriet’s romantic situation. After her revelation, Emma grows significantly more mature than her old self, but still remains infatuated with romance. Though Emma comes off as childish and ignorant at first, she was actual inspired by Jane Austen herself as she states that Emma was written to closely resemble herself. Austen has an impeccable skill of integrating varying degrees of satire and in her works, ranging from witty observation, to scathingly sarcastic remark on some aspect of society. Sarcasm, satire and irony are staples of Austenian literature, and her famous ironic and humorous writing style is present in Emma in the dramatic irony of Emma’s want to aide others with their romantic problems, yet ignoring her obvious romantic feelings for Mr. Knightley, which creates some kind frustration and suspense that keeps the reader hooked. Jane implements parts of her own personality and views throughout her novels which makes her characters more human and realistic and allows her to effortlessly weave her thoughts or opinions about a certain subject into the storyline.

Nowadays, Emma along with other timeless classics have lost the interest of younger generations, as they believe these classics are too dry or pretentious, but I wholeheartedly enjoyed reading Emma, as I found it relatable and surprisingly humorous. I extremely recommend this novel because, it is a highly layered, yet pleasant romance novel with a slightly suspenseful plot and masterful usage of humor and wit, which keeps readers avidly engaged. I especially recommend Emma to students who are learning about the Victorian era, as Emma was written before the onset of the Victorian Age, and is a prime example what the of the society was like during the time. Jane Austen pokes fun at the marriage expectations, the social lives, the concept of love and the role of women with in her trademark writing style, which adds food for thought and illustrates the culture and issues of time period that the novel was written in. Though the novel may seem a bit lengthy, it is an extremely well written romance, full of Austen’s well crafted humor, witty social commentary and a myriad of complex but relatable characters, which make for an enjoyable and rewarding classic read.