Emma by Jane Austen (Book Analysis) E-Book

Bright Summaries

• Herausgeber: BrightSummaries.com
• Kategorie: Bildung
• Serie: BrightSummaries.com
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 29

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Unlock the more straightforward side of Emma with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Emma by Jane Austen, which centres around the title character, an attractive and intelligent young woman. In spite of her considerable charms, Emma has no interest in attracting a suitor for herself; rather, she focuses her attentions on matchmaking for those around her, including her young friend and protégé Harriet Smith, with frequently disastrous results. This blinds her to other people’s true intentions, including those of George Knightley, whose gentlemanly demeanour and willingness to criticise her mask the depth of his feelings. Emma remains one of Austen’s most loved works, and has inspired numerous adaptations.

Find out everything you need to know about Emma in a fraction of the time!

This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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Leseprobe

JANE AUSTEN

ENGLISH NOVELIST

Born in Steventon in 1775.Died in Winchester in 1817.Notable works:Pride and Prejudice (1813), novelMansfield Park (1814), novelPersuasion (1818), novel

Jane Austen was born in Hampshire in 1775, the daughter of an Anglican rector. Although the Austens had a modest income, Jane and her siblings were encouraged to read widely. She wrote her first spoof novella, Love and Freindship (1790) – misspelling deliberate – when she was just 14. Jane apparently read excerpts of the work aloud to her family, developing a writing style characterised by social observation and wit.

In 1801, Jane moved from Hampshire to Bath with her parents and sister Cassandra. Their life in the city was cut short, however, when her father died in 1805. Jane, her mother and Cassandra finally settled in the village of Chawton, where Jane wrote her most famous novels: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion. In 1816, at the age of 41, she became ill and died the following year, possibly of Addison’s disease. She continued to write until the very end and is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

EMMA

A COMEDY OF MANNERS

Genre: novelReference edition: Austen, J. (1966) Emma. London: Penguin.1stedition: 1816Themes: youth, class, romance, conceit, marriage, matchmaking

Emma was the last novel Jane Austen saw published in her lifetime; Persuasion, written in the months before her death, was published posthumously in 1818. While preparing to write Emma, Austen declared: “I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like.” Indeed, her eponymous heroine is far from flawless, with the novel following Emma’s disastrous attempts to matchmake those around her.

The novel, perhaps surprisingly, is dedicated to the Prince Regent, the future King George IV. He was a huge fan of Austen who, for her part, could not stand him. The dedication is notoriously unenthusiastic: “To his Royal Highness, the Prince Regent, this work is, by His Royal Highness’s Permission, most Respectfully Dedicated by his Royal Highness’s Dutiful and Obedient Humble Servant, the Author.” It is a dedication dripping with the irony that characterises Emma itself.

SUMMARY

THE MATCHMAKING BEGINS

The novel opens with a description of Emma Woodhouse, who is “handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition” (p. 37). She seems to have every advantage, except that she is used to “having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself” (ibid.). Because her mother is dead, Emma and her sister Isabella have been brought up by a governess, Miss Taylor, alongside their loving but querulous father. When Isabella gets married, Emma and Miss Taylor – who rely on each other’s company – become close friends. However, as the novel begins, Miss Taylor has just got married herself. Mr Woodhouse dislikes change and considers Miss Taylor’s moving in with her new husband, Mr Weston, a loss for everyone involved.

The evening after the wedding, Mr Woodhouse and Emma are visited by Mr George Knightley, the brother of Isabella’s husband. He is intimate with the family, soothing Mr Woodhouse’s worries and gently reproaching Emma when she claims credit for the marriage between the Westons. Emma believes she has a talent for matchmaking and announces her intention to marry off the local rector, Mr Elton.