Preview

Knightley Vs Emma

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
565 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Knightley Vs Emma
Mr. Knightley and Emma are opposites for most of the book in many ways. Emma is fake happy and thinks she does nothing wrong. “The real evils indeed of Emma's situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself; these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments.” (Austen 2). Emma thinks she can be truly happy by doing whatever she pleases. She also has no awareness of where social bounds are and often crosses them as Mr. Knightley points out, “How could you be so unfeeling toward Miss. Bates?” (Austen 201). Mr. Knightley is very conscious of these social bounds that Emma continuously crosses and he calls her out on it more than just when she hurt Miss. …show more content…
Mr. Knightley is also quite gloomy and always thinks the worst possible outcome will result from Emma’s meddling. After he hears about Emma persuading Harriet to refuse Mr. Martin's proposal he tells Emma what he thinks will become of Harriet, “...till she grow desperate, and is glad to catch at the old writing-master’s son” (Austen 34). Lastly Emma loves to control every situation she can instead of letting other people decide for themselves, such as when Mr. Martian proposes to Harriet for the first time. Emma does not let Harriet say yes even though it is clear that Harriet wants to. Emma instead convinces her that she should wait for someone better like Mr. Elton. Mr. Knightley is the opposite in the sense that he lets people talk to him but he never tries to persuade them. He listens to Mr. Martin tell him about wanting to propose to Harriet, but never does he try to persuade him to propose or not to propose. He is a listener and does not try to control the situation like Emma

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Some of you may have heard of the classic novel Emma, by Jane Austen. However, have you ever considered that Emma is Clueless?…

    • 1174 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    PB: The values and attitudes that Austen has chosen to explore in Emma address the strict nature of social classes and the consequence of self-awareness.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Amy Heckerling’s Clueless is a cinematic reconstruction of Jane Austen’s 19th century classic Emma and perfectly encapsulates the idea that the issues of a time, change and adapt with the changing of context. The contemporary text Clueless takes the rustic values placed on courtship, dating and ultimately marriage as well as the social/class distinctions in Regency England and successfully transforms them to better suite the new context of a contemporary audience and less rigid society.…

    • 944 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    determined by family lines and inheritance. It is in the upper class of society that Jane Austen places her protagonist, Emma, “handsome, clever and rich…with very little to distress or vex her”. Emma’s desirable situation had led her to possess a self indulgent attitude towards life, as Austen intends her audience to identify with the cynical remark that she has “the power of having rather too…

    • 847 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Regency England displays Emma’s naivety in which her pride and vanity causes her to meddle with other characters, blindsided by her own wrongdoings. The omniscient voice “The real evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself…” aligns the reader with Emma encouraging her own imaginative mind and vanity where her actions cause her to act in problematic ways other characters. The repetition of personal pronouns, “I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry…I never have been in love…I do not think I ever shall.” explores Emma’s belief that her wealth allows her to be financially secure with reassurance that others will not treat her like Miss Bates for her decision to remain single. The use of narrator’s anthypophora in “Why she did not like Jane Fairfax...she saw in her the really accomplished young woman, which she wanted to be thought herself.” exhibits Emma’s jealousy as she sees Jane as a threat to her ego because she may carry more accomplishments than herself which leads to her initial dislike of Jane. The prominence of pride and vanity creates problems as a consequence as it blindsides one’s better judgement. One’s importance of materialistic items continues to be a main feature in the modern…

    • 1033 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A value which Austen conveys through her text Emma is the importance of marriage in relation to “climbing” the social ladder. This can be seen through the determination of Emma in finding a man of a higher social status for Harriet, and dialogue, when she describes Mr Martin as “A young farmer (Mr Martin), whether on horseback or on foot, is the very last sort of person to raise my curiosity” and would therefore not be suitable for Harriet who should be aiming for a man of higher social status. In contrast, marriage is conveyed as a less important value in Clueless, as in the 20th century, women have been able to live independently, although relationships are still highly valued. Since marriage has become an option for women, virginity is portrayed as a highly valued aspect of women, which can be seen through Cher’s white dresses that she wears, and dialogue, when she states that she will not have sex “until I find the right person”, romance is alluded to in the novel but there is no overt physical displays of emotion, Austen just hints at it.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Emma And Clueless

    • 1921 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The notion of the necessity of romantic love, marriage and the expectation of woman are all equally important themes in both texts. Although, these themes are evident throughout both ‘Emma’ and ‘Clueless’, they have been transformed from Emma’s context to suit the audience and the context of ‘Clueless’. The themes that are evident in both texts are constantly defined by gender. Austen’s narrative characteristic for the novel ‘Emma’ is an ironic and amused commentary conducted by the narrator when describing the character’s actions. In Austen’s novel, an early description of Emma’s character, narrated from Mrs Weston’s perspective, in fact is an ironic publicity of Emma’s faults. “She could not think, without pain, of Emma’s losing a single pleasure, or suffering an hour’s ennui, from the want of her companionableness: but dear Emma was of no feeble character; she was more equal to her situation than most girls would have been” The irony of this part of text is that while Emma ultimately does not have any trouble finding new companions in her social group, her idea of companionship is to manipulate others into advantageous marriages. Furthermore, shown with this example is Emma’s obsession with marriage which subtlety makes socially related comments on the unequal status of women. This originally descended from the cultural status of…

    • 1921 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Emma and Clueless

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The main characters, Emma and Cher are representational products of their society and parallels can be drawn in the opening scenes, particularly in relation to self-knowledge. The Bildungsroman progression from delusion to social awareness is a universal value in both texts despite their differing contexts. Emma is introduced as “handsome, clever, and rich” who had “a disposition to think a little too well of herself.” Austen’s satirical tone as the omniscient narrator alerts the responder to Emma’s inability to understand her position in society. Furthermore, while Emma successfully matches Mr. Weston and Ms. Taylor, her motives are superficial as she sees it as “the greatest amusement in the world!” She also believes Harriet’s beauty “should not be wasted on the inferior society”, and it would be “interesting and highly becoming” to “improve her”. Austen employs verbal irony through Emma’s dialogue, which exposes her flaws of arrogance and shallowness. However, Emma eventually develops self awareness as shown when she realizes her mistake of matching Harriet with Mr. Elton and influencing her to refuse a suitable marriage with Mr. Martin.…

    • 1106 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The actions of Emma lead to the emotional pain that Harriet went though. She gave a poem to her from Mr. Elton, convincing herself and Harriet that it was a marriage proposal.(88) When Emma broke the new of Mr. Eltons true love to her, she was heartbroken. Harriet later got over the pain and found a new love. She confessed to Emma her love for Mr. Knightly.(471) Unfortunately for Harriet, Emma also loves Mr. Knightly. This is a dangerous situation for Emma because she does not want to hurt Harriet anymore than what she already had. Emma took the risk and told Harriet the truth of her heart. Again, Harriet’s emotions were hurt. (480)…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The importance of personal growth is an element of humanity which transcends time, and can resonate through any context. Emma lacks life’s experiences, with “little to vex her” whilst doing “just what she liked”. Her flawed and spoiled character is overshadowed by her “mutual attachment” to her “mild” tempered governess further exemplified through the authorial intrusion that she “had rather too much her own way”. In contrast, Mr Knightley treats others with respect despite their social standing, acting as a moral voice in the novel when he says that Miss Bates deserves “compassion”, not “ridicule” when Emma insulted her as being “dull” at the Box Hill picnic. He scolds Emma that “it was badly done!” acting as compass to the realisation of her wrongs and “cruel” behaviour which “exposed herself to ill opinion”, indicating the strict social etiquettes of her time. Finally, “she acknowledged the whole truth” which metaphorically “darted through her, with the speed of an arrow” that she was in love, consequently leading to her realisation that she had been “inconsiderate”, “indelicate”, and “irrational” towards others, and how with “insufferable vanity she had believed herself in the secret of every body’s feelings”. This marks a major turning…

    • 1100 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Emma Cluless Essay

    • 1414 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Emma embodies the value of social class by the determination of individuals status through family background, reputation and wealth in the micro of Highbury. Austen employs authorial intrusion to secure and characterize Emma in the first line 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’ to establish Emma’s social class but to also mock Emma as she views herself as above others. Emma abuses her power of wealth and status and views herself as an excellent matchmaker, however she is too naive and her observations are misplaced as Emma attempts to raise Harriet out of social oblivion. The situational irony ‘do not take to match making. You do it very ill” mocks Emma and the hilarity of her attempt to bring Harriet Smith to an equal social level as herself. Austen asserts that she is not an appropriate member of high society and would never be accepted if it were not for Emma’s influence. Mr Elton, when aware of Emma’s plans to attach him to Harriet, expresses his incredulity through hyperbole “I never thought of Miss Smith in the whole course of my existence…never cared if she were dead of alive…” He vehemently opposes any notion of romantic attachment to a social inferior, offering a satirical insight into the shallowness and inflexibility of the post industrialization class.…

    • 1414 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    "Pardon me for interrupting you, madam," cried Mr. Collins; "but if she is really headstrong and foolish, I know not whether she would altogether be a very desirable wife to a man in my situation, who naturally looks for happiness in the marriage state. If therefore she actually persists in rejecting my suit, perhaps it was better not to force her into accepting me, because if liable to such defects of temper, she could not contribute much to my felicity." Pg.…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Austen’s speaker presents his proposal as if he is describing a business agreement, and lists ways that will benefit him rather than his intended. Mr. Collins arrogantly assumes Elizabeth will agree to his proposal, and doesn’t consider her feelings. Collins views the marriage as something that will…

    • 510 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The characters within Emma are related by kinship or common social duties. In Highbury society the people are inhibited by a strong sense of rank and social duty. We find through the course of the novel that there is no real violation of rank perpetuated. As a person 's rank changes in relation to the Woodhouses, a distance is seen. The vicar is not close, the schoolmistress is received, and the poor are…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    A Lesson Before Dying

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages

    | This statement proves how much she loves her godson. That she would do almost anything to make him happy. Miss Emma is incredibly humble and wants nothing more than to make Jefferson see his worth. She demonstrates her strength and faith in the Lord to help her godson.…

    • 441 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays

Related Topics