Emma as an Unusual Heroine of Jane Austen

                       NAME: NASREEN ILYAS

                       CLASS: M.A FINAL

                       SUBJECT: NOVEL

                       TOPIC: EMMA

                       SUBMITTED TO: MADAM NUDRAT

                       DATE: 14TH DEC 2016

# Emma as an unusual heroin of heroin of Jane Austen

Jane Austen created the most imperfect heroin in the realm of a perfect novel. A heroin “whom no one but myself will much like”, Jane called her eponymous heroin when she was writing Emma. It may not be as popular as Pride and Prejudice but it has become the novel that critics consider to be a masterpiece. Emma the character of the novel due to her complexity is not entirely imperfect but also perfect. No other Jane Austen heroin is as complex as Emma. She is the unique combination of good and bad to an extent that no other Jane Austen character is. It is evident that Austen was experimenting with creating a unique character that was an exceptional combination of good and bad, which somehow managed to keep that balance and brought forth something memorable. Emma is also an exceptional heroine from various other points of view. She absolutely stands out of the circle of Austen heroines. She is different from all of them for example, because of her physical attractiveness, outstanding intelligence, artistic capabilities, financial situation, social status and most of all, her power position, which is the source of most of the evil she causes. It is important to emphasize that she is a well-meaning person, and every terrible thing that she does or say, when she causes harm to other people, it is not the result of her ill-intention but of improper management of her power and capabilities.

There are certain differences that distinguish Emma from Austen’s other heroines.

“Emma woodhouse handsome, clever and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her”

Austen usually does not create a physically attractive, outstanding or beautiful heroin. Generally the heroines themselves are more or less pretty or good-looking, but mostly not even that for example Mr. Darcy says about Elizabeth Bennet that “she is tolerable; but not handsome enough to temp me” and Catharine in Northanger Abbey who is a tomboy and an absolutely hopeless case concerning feminine matters. Emma is precisely called pretty and beautiful.

Another attribute of character is intelligence or cleverness. The Austenian heroines are usually not dimwit and they are generally quite or relatively intelligent but they are never concretely called clever or strikingly intelligent, but Emma is.

“Emma is spoiled by being the cleverest of her family. At ten years old, she had the misfortune of being able to answer any question which puzzled her sister at seventeen. She always quick and assured Isabella slow and diffident.”

Artistic skills and excellence in arts are always shortcomings of Austenian heroines. The Bennet sisters were not properly educated the Marianne in Sense and Sensibility is a good musician but cannot draw or paint and Catharine of Northanger Abbey is a very simple girl who“never could learn or understand anything before she was taught”. Emma however is quite good at painting as well as drawing; this is acknowledged from the painting of Harriet’s picture or the singing at the Coles’ party. Still the most outstanding differences across the heroin arise from the financial situation, social status and power. The financial situation is usually the most strenuous trouble of Austenian heroines. These young women are always financially challenged and are always in need of loveable, proper yet wealthy husband although they never strive to catch someone only for money. Austen seems to be always strict about this that never to marry solely for money because that brings misery, love has to come first always in marriage but income also has to be taken under consideration because poverty destroys families’ bliss.

Emma was Austen’s first heroine who was free from financial concern. Her other heroines view marriage as a financial necessity; Emma expresses no interest or desire in marriage in the majority part of the novel. She is different in this aspect also because she is aware of the fact that the Woodhouse family is one of the richest families, if not the richest one in their region, thus she does not have to worry about her livelihood. She says to Harriet “And I am not only, not going to be married, at present, but have very little intention of ever marrying at all”. After disclosing the possibility of love that she does not presume as a probability in her case, she adds: