June Austen's Setting Off of Emma

June Austen's Setting Off of Emma

Jane Austen creates a new type of heroine in Emma, compared to the other Austen's heroines. Emma enjoys a superior position in her community; further, she is an endearing heroine, although she seems to be conceited and makes several mistakes. Austen makes Emma to be a prominent character to the reader by focusing on the limited setting. Centered on domesticity in Highbury, Austen creates comparatively weak male figures to set off Emma. Mr. Woodhouse is portrayed as a ridiculous character in his absence of parenthood; he is unbelievably passive and only strives after his basic comforts. Mr. Knightley is not exempted from his role in setting off Emma. He is respectable, but he provides no tensional progress to the story. Emma's freedom from economic hardships enables her to be independent from a wealthy hero, and such a plot makes Elton looks smaller, too. Austen's narrative technique, which leads the story mainly through revealing Emma's version, is another tool to set off Emma. Although the reader knows Emma's faults, she still holds the reader's attention and draws out sympathy. For this reason, Jane Fairfax becomes a minor female character despite her worthiness in several respects. Austen's regulation of a limited viewpoint is more effective when Emma makes mistakes in her relationships with Harriet and Miss Bates; Emma's misjudgment regarding Harriet's birth is too prominent to be acceptable, and her impertinent remark to Miss Bates is forgivable by the reader because of shared feelings. The fact that Emma marries Mr. Knightley and their decision to live in Emma's place, Hatfield, is a significant conclusion of the story to set off Emma. This conclusion is not a typical perspective in Austen's novels which generally adopt a somewhat like Cinderella plot for the heroines at the end. Thus, through Austen's artistic skill, Emma remains an attractive, lovable heroine all along.