Jane Austen's Emma | A Study in Character Relationships
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- Опубліковано 25 чер 2024
- Here we are! This week's video is a little different - another classics discussion. It's been a while. I'm talking about Jane Austen today, and one of my favourite books of hers; Emma. I realised during editing that my synopsis is far too long (30 mins) compared to my analysis (15 mins), but you know, I got carried away.
My analysis is a study of the character relationships in the book, or at least the most important ones in my opinion. Having layered characters and complex relationships is so important when writing, which is why I think us writers can learn so much from looking at examples where this really works.
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If you wish to skip ahead or jump around, here are some timestamps:
0:00 Intro
30:55 - Analysis
31:00 - 1. Emma & Mr Woodhouse
33:29 - 2. Emma & Harriet
35:39 - 3. Emma & Mr Knightley
40:18 - 4. Emma & Jane Fairfax
42:55 - 5. Mrs Elton and people in general
#janeausten #reading #classics
Enjoy!
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Emma is a friendly, charming version of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, constantly in other people's business.
That's so true! 😅
I thought that everytime I read the novel. Emma is such an early Lady Catherine in my mind. And I think both Mr.E and Mr.Collins would find company in each other. However their wives would not be great friends 😅
Interesting observation thanks!
I'd never thought about that.
I shall ponder on it 🤔
That made me cackle 😂😂
It amazes me how many times Jane Fairfax's name appears through out the book. She's forever being dangled in our face and still retains a back seat ( I'm 2/3 through the book) she's a bit of a mystery character for ever being referred to but never quite takes the stage. This is some very clever writing. Jane Austen is playing with us....
I agree, Jane Fairfax is an amazing creation. She has no fortune, but she has beauty, character, and talent. Emma is rightly envious, but only to a degree. Emma is the spider in the middle of the web, after all.
Mr. Knightly is clearly taken with Jane, too, but he also sniffs out (or at least suspects) the hidden relation between Jane and Frank Churchill. The way the novel works out is very satisfying, however.
I think Emma is the most realistic of all JA's heroines. I won't say that Emma is my favorite (I've read P&P more times), but it is the most nuanced, clever, and layered work. It is a masterpiece.
I also like that Emma, as a person, learns and grows. She is not the same person she was at the beginning. We can rightly esteem her.
My husband was the same age as my older brother. They were 17yrs my senior. I was 21yrs old when we married. It was his death that parted us. We were married 48yrs.
This is one of my favorite books, a true comedy of errors, and the characters are so vivid and many of them so endearing that I re-read it regularly. Plus, I could probably listen to you talk for hours ;)
Ahh thanks Nicole! :) And you're right, Emma is a delight to re-read, and one of my favourites as well!
I wonder if Oscar Wilder read Emma before writting THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST.......
Only three years late but I want to comment on the "in love with her since she was thirteen" thing (36:53). During the scene in which Knightley and Emma reveal their feelings for one another there's a section of free indirect discourse which by its content the reader can only understand as Knightley speaking to Emma:
"He had been in love with Emma, and jealous of Frank Churchill, from about the same period, one sentiment having probably enlightened him as to the other. It was his jealousy of Frank Churchill that had taken him from the country.-The Box Hill party had decided him on going away. He would save himself from witnessing again such permitted, encouraged attentions.-He had gone to learn to be indifferent.-But he had gone to a wrong place. There was too much domestic happiness in his brother’s house; woman wore too amiable a form in it; Isabella was too much like Emma-differing only in those striking inferiorities, which always brought the other in brilliancy before him, for much to have been done, even had his time been longer."
So just like Emma he was not really aware that his feelings for her were romantic until the possibility that she might be in love with someone else was put before him.
The line about being in love with her since she was thirteen comes from a later passage in which Knightley and Emma are flirting and teasing one another. He says:
"It was very natural for you to say, what right has he to lecture me?-and I am afraid very natural for you to feel that it was done in a disagreeable manner. I do not believe I did you any good. The good was all to myself, by making you an object of the tenderest affection to me. I could not think about you so much without doating on you, faults and all; and by dint of fancying so many errors, have been in love with you ever since you were thirteen at least."
This isn't to be read as an actual declaration of the duration of his romantic interest in Emma; he's teasing her for having been a brat and making fun of himself for having constantly lectured her about it, so much so that one might suppose he loved her because she gave him so many opportunities to lecture her ("by dint of fancying so many errors"). Obviously by our standards joking about a grown man being in love with a thirteen year old is shocking and disgusting but clearly it wasn't in Austen's time -- and it _is_ only a joke.
It is rather funny how you mention this, as most of the time people don't look at how old a video is before commenting. But I appreciate your input all the same! And yes, I do see that now. Having read a lot more older works since this video, I realise that "in love" was not always intended as a romantic phrase. Sometimes it's difficult to let go of our modern perspective and simply view the story through the lens of the time period in which it was written.
I have my exam on this tomorrow and it's so helpful... thank you .
It will be great if you could make a video on Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe .
I'm so happy you found it helpful! :) And I might do Robinson Crusoe one day, it certainly is a classic worth looking into!
@@ArnellaHobler pls makree Robinson Crusoe
Great analysis Arnella, very interesting. Thanks a lot!
Many thanks for this video. I enjoyed Mansfield Park and Persuasion but was having a great deal of difficulty keeping track of who was who in Emma. This has been very helpful.
This was a very relaxing and calming video to watch and listen!! Thank you for the video
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed :)
you're so cute. this video was really helpful for my exam thankyouuu
Thank you Arnella, I have an exam in next 4 hour, and your video has helped me alot. Much appreciation and love. Take care.
Glad you found it useful!
A very good analysis of the characters' relationships. It was a pleasure listening to you. It's going to help me write in my exam.
Thanks and keep it up 👍
I realize Im quite off topic but does anyone know a good site to stream newly released tv shows online?
@Bjorn Kieran Flixportal :)
@Orion Franklin thank you, signed up and it seems like a nice service =) I appreciate it!
@Bjorn Kieran no problem xD
Thanks for this video
It was a great fun video. It didn’t seem that long. I enjoyed it very much, thank you 😊
Thank you! Glad you liked it 😊
So underrated! I loved the vibe of this video with the tea and your adorable dog. I am studying Emma for my final exams and I took notes throughout your whole video. It was very insightful and accurate - I feel like I've found a hidden gem! Emma has been my introduction to Austen, but I'm thinking I might pick up Pride and Prejudiced once my exams are over!
Thank you so much! So happy you enjoyed both Emma and my video. :) I highly recommend P&P, my favourite Jane Austen novel! I will do a video on that one day as well. Thanks again and good luck on your exams!
@@ArnellaHobler Don't know you'll read this but I just had my birthday, and by coincidence, was gifted the most beautiful version of Pride and Prejudice! I couldn't help but think of our conversation. So strange how the world works! Very keen to read it and looking forward to your eventual video!!! :)
@@carlylavings6636 Happy belated birthday! And what a wonderful gift :) I hope you will enjoy it!
@@ArnellaHobler Thank you! ^^
Thank you so much for this video, it was really well made and helped me a lot :D
Aww thanks! I'm glad it helped you! :)
Thank you! I love your channel!
Aw, thank you so much!
Hello! New subscriber here! This was a very enjoyable video! My favorite Jane Austen book is Persuasion, followed by Northanger Abbey, but my next favorite is Emma! It's been a while since I re-read it, so I had fun listening to your synopsis and character breakdowns. I'm going to watch every video you have! Keep up the great work, and can't wait to see your next video! 😊
Hello and welcome! Thank you so much 😊 I'm glad you enjoyed it. Persuasion is definitely on the shortlist for upcoming videos so I hope you'll enjoy that as well!
Your best video yet!
Yay! Thank you so much!
Emma is my favorite Austen. I am currently rereading. Great video!
Emma is always a nice re-read. Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Aww so sweet. Btw thanks for the video
Great video! Now I want to go back and reread Emma. Jane Austen was so brilliant at characters. Also in regards to Mr. Knightley and Emma being a normal age gap, I always read that while it was slightly more normal back then but it was still usually considered a gold digger wedding like we would consider such an age gap today. Which always makes me wonder why Jane Austen wrote that if that reputation of marrying older men for their money has been around since the 13th, 14th century (maybe even earlier). I loved how you pointed out how every character is so flawed, yet so lovable. Especially with Emma’s dad. Flaws are oftentimes missing from protagonists in modern day literature, and even my own writing at times, and it’s something we can all learn from the queen herself, Jane Austen hahah.
Thank you so much :)
I think in regards to Emma and Knightley specifically, it might not have been considered a typical gold digger wedding since it was a love match, and both parties were wealthy. In the book, there are a few sentences about this where the narrator says that some people saw Knightley as the "settler" whereas an equal amount of people saw Emma as being the one who settled. I think Jane Austen might have been trying to point out that this wasn't seen as a gold digger wedding. Indeed, it does seem strange that she would write Knightley as that much older in the first place. But then again, complexity is what makes it interesting, I suppose :)
@@ArnellaHobler That is true. I think I might need to go reread Emma with that mindset in mind now. Jane Austen is amazing at creating complex characters!
@@ArnellaHobler I think Knightly was written as older so that the fact that he could be a potential love interest is removed from the reader's mind, and even the other characters, and it then catches you by surprise.
The book always dangles Frank Churchill as being the potential match with Emma because that was the reality back then. As long as you're both young, both single, both agreeable and in the same social class, it's a match. And that's also what makes Knightly aware of his love for Emma and made his jealousy even stronger, and the fact that it was always either subtly hinted at or blatantly spoken of annoyed Knightly further and was meant to blindside the reader even more.
Maybe, (and this is a stretch even for me) it was also meant to be a liberal way to show readers that love can come in different forms, and not all people marrying older men were gold-diggers. 🤷
Your aesthetic is so calming and beautiful 😭
Thank you! 😊
@@ArnellaHobler I wondered, have you seen the 2020 film of Emma? I wondered if you enjoyed it? I loved it and hence why I’ve been watching videos analysing the book which I think I’ll have to revisit now. I enjoyed your video a lot!
I actually haven't seen it yet - although I'm planning on it! Will definitely make a review video once I do!
@@ArnellaHobler oh brilliant! I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I first read Emma as a teenager. I wanted her to get Frank Churchill ! I was shocked when she married Mr. Knightley, didn't see that coming. He was old, her father's friend. And for the life of me I couldn't see anything wrong with Mrs. Elton.
Oh I loved her and Frank Churchill too on my first read! I thought it was a perfect match since her old governess was married to Frank's father, which would have made her Emma's mother-in-law had they married. I can't say I agree about Mrs Elton though, haha. I found her a bit of a mean girl!
It's really grateful and very helpful for me that I listened
Glad you enjoyed it 😊
@@ArnellaHobler could you please share a lecture on tom Jones and great expectations
Just Subscribed💕
Thank you so much young lady. 🤭😚🥰
BTW I watched every second of your video, it was very helpful and I'll probably watch it many times more. I am reading this at college.
If you are interested in plays I would love to hear your study of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Xoxo 💕
Thank you! 😊💕 It really makes my day to hear that people enjoy my videos. And yes, I have actually thought about doing Shakespeare at some point!
I'm here to understand d novel but instead 😆😆😆😍 I can't stop staring at ur smile N i can't leave without saying I LOVE U😆😍😍😍
Emma is my favorite Austen.. Followed closely by Sense and sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice 🤗
We have the same top 3 then! 😊
thank you...this was super helpful because I have an exam on this novel tomorrow
Good luck with your exam! 😊
Very well explained. The story was interesting, however when my teacher was explaining this novel she mentioned that it was both Emma's and Mr Knightley's idea to send Harriet and Mr Martin to spend some time in Her sister house for reconciliation, while you explained that she was send off so Emma can figure out this whole thing. A bit confusing but truly thank you for explaining❤😊
It has been a few years now since I read it so I'm not 100% certain on this detail. I remember them talking about this but I can't be sure of who it was that came up with the idea. Just to be clear, this is a very long book summarised in about 30mins so a lot of details will be lost for the sake of time. Thank you, I'm glad you liked the video! 😊
@@ArnellaHobler yep and I'll be watching more of your videos from now on.
Excellent work! You are looking und talking like a true Jane Austen fan. And tea and the small dog und the dress - a real Austen lady! Great
Hello I love your talks very much gave you checked out the Cardiff book talk Emma the one I'm talking about is one hour and 29 minutes and very interesting indeed. I think you too might find it quite fascinating. I would be so curious to hear anything you had to say on the discussion. I found it most intriguing and really showed me how little I know, and the great many depths there are to J.A's novels. She is quite scholarly and so much does not at once meet the eye. Wow is what I say after hear these panel of professors give there points of views and insights! I'm in Oregon and there are many here that just adore dear Jane
You are quite right, there are so many things in Jane Austen's novels that are worthy of discussion. I'm glad you're enjoying my videos! And thanks for the tip :)
Knightley s speaking so frankly to Emma is no different than a family member who had known one for their entire life
do the expedition of Humphry clinker please.
I love how this girl looks like she came right out of the novel itself.
I was looking for some discussions on Jane Austen's characters and could not find any satisfactory. I liked your analysis of the various relationships. I wonder if you would make a video on the particular flaws of the different characters in the book. Of Frank Churchill's flaws the reader is made very well aware, but of Mr and Mrs. Weston's not so. I liked how you out Mr. Woodhouse's flaws up so well, and even Mr. Knightleys. But I would love to hear your take on the supposed "ill-bred" behaviour of Mrs. Churchill when Frank Weston Churchill's behaviour to her and his immediate relations was far more 'ill-bred'. I like how Austen puts forth characters of varying degree of selfishness - Woodhouse so worried about his own health, will selfishly assume everyone else to be of equal disposition, and his particular flaw makes him even loved and read as an endearing character. Whereas Frank Churchill seems selfish for his own sake that he was often disrespectful of his loving father, his loving step-mother, and even seemed very ungrateful to his Uncle and Aunt who had raised him and whose fortune was to be his by their will. I also felt Mr. Weston was very like Miss Bates in his genial gossiping, and Mrs. Weston was equally blind in her love for Emma and overly indulging at points.
Highlighting the flaws of the characters is an interesting angle. It wasn't intentional on my part when I made this video but I enjoy discussing that, their flaws are what makes them feel relatable and genuine. I will revisit the topic of Emma at some point, and it's not impossible that I'll talk some more about these interesting characters. And you are quite right about Mr and Mrs Weston!
Thanks for watching and I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Excellent video, madam!
You could do a review of the newest adaptations directed amazingly by Autumn de Wilde
I plan to do reviews of some adaptations! Emma in particular would be fun, I think :)
Nice ma'am. A nice lecture by a beautiful lady.
Honestly, I only read the first few chapters, then watched your video. I called Emma and Mr. Knightly being together after their first interaction in the first introduction of his character. Am I the only one that felt their interaction seemed very flirtatious?
Yes, the sad thing about classics (and Jane Austen's novels in general) is that they are indeed very predictable - because over the centuries since they were written, authors have used the tropes she created to the point where we can smell them from a mile away. Like here, long-time friends to lovers is so over-used that we immediately suspect it and start looking for the signs. Their interaction is a little flirtatious, yes, but mostly because it is familiar and teasing. Austen was great at writing different kinds of relationships through dialogue. I don't mind it being predictable though, and would still recommend reading it even if you know what happens. But I know it's not for everyone :)
@@ArnellaHobler Oh, don't get me wrong. I don't mind predictable either. You will find me watching every romance movie, even if they're basically the same story over and over. I just found it funny how I had a feeling she'd end up with him at the end, not reading the book :)
Miss Bates belongs Emma's circle because of her social status. She may be dirty poor, but lack of money cannot delete her place in society. That's the explanation why, as you say, "wealthy people (like Emma) for some reason socialize with her though she's poor". It was a time when social class meant more than money, or at least equally important.
Strictly speaking this is not my opinion, but I know many who would tell Emma is blessed among the women of her time because she doesn't need to marry. She's wealthy, her father doesn't force her to marry or leave the house - in times when marriage was arguably the best prospect for women (in the sea of bad prospects); young woman perfectly capable of spending entire life without man to obey and/or without fear about financial security - is a rare bird. Her father was not the only one who didn't want Emma to marry - in fact, there's a great chance Emma put that idea in her father's mind herself. SHE doesn't want to marry, and she explains why (though not such blatantly): because unmarried, and with a weak father she can wrap around her finger - she can be totally free to do whatever she pleases.
And that's Emma's only wish: to do whatever pleases her.
And, her father is not simply selfish. He's a sick man, a hypochondriac. Besides some small inconveniences, Emma has no problem with it. Why should she? There's always someone (apothecary, Miss Bates, Mrs. Weston etc) to keep her father company when she's too sick and tired doing it. And for doing it, she gains enormously. Her father is practically non existent and she has no mother and no husband - Mrs. Weston never stands in her way and even Mr. Knightley is just small obstacle - Emma doesn't need to listen anyone except herself. There are many women today who are in a worse situation.
Emma is not very likable character. She's manipulative, she thinks (without much real arguments, in fact) very highly of herself, she's a snob etc. She's petty towards Jane only because Jane is the only young woman in their circle that is able to challenge Emma's beauty, manners and intelligence. Half of the book she dislikes poor Jane without any Jane's guilt - just because of Emma's own vanity and pettiness. (And with a touch of jealousy.) I know Emma made hundreds of "reasons" for her dislike (Jane is cold, Jane is this, Jane is that) but they are just excuses for that shameful pettiness of her.
Then, of course, that haughty idea of meddling with other people's lives because SHE thinks she knows better - she's landed gentry, she's wealthy, she's beautiful. she's smart, her father, her loved ex-governess and Mr. Knightley adore her - it must mean she knows everything, and all the best, right? In fact, Emma is spoiled brat. The way she plays unfortunate Harriet is abysmal. With her stupid, ignorant, totally oblivious meddling she almost ruined girl's happiness forever. Emma made Harriet so confused that at end of the book poor girl doesn't even know who's she in love with anymore. Why did Emma even try to change Harriet's life? Not because she has some great love for the girl, but because Harriet is her "project". Project! Emma is bored, it's stated clearly at the beginning of the book; and she need some fun. Harriet is her fun, and that's, to put it mildly, debatable character trait. The only reason why people don't think of Emma as awful person is because she's pretty, wealthy, has social status and everyone (except Knightley and even he is tolerant because he's in love with her) share common blindness. Blind, they allow her charm to mask all her problematic traits and antics.
Even when Knightley scowled her because of Miss Bates, she doesn't feel remorse or guilt about her cruelty and rudeness - she's ashamed because Knightley witnessed her bad behaviour. There's nothing to admire about that, quite the opposite.
In the other hand, I forgive Emma myself, though I cringe every time I read the book. It's funny how many people love her unconditionally and are able to find excuses for every alarming thing she does. I don't think Austen meant for Emma to be - good person. Didn't she say, herself, that she will write a heroine no one will or could like? It's common thought Austen was talking about Emma exactly. And, if it's true, I totally can believe. I don't think Emma is any good - not really - but I forgive her, because she's so unbearable charming. Spoiled, ignorant, vain - but so charming.
Apologize for this essay and my bad English.
I do agree that Emma is Jane Austen's most flawed heroine. She's not supposed to be likeable, but we end up liking her anyway because of all the strange and comedic situations she ends up in. Or at least, that is my retrospective opinion as it has been a few years now since I last read the book. As you say, spoiled, ignorant and vain - but charming is probably the perfect way to describe her. Thanks for sharing! (And as mentioned before, your English is excellent.)
To defend Mr. Knightly he did wait til Emma was 21 yrs old to ask her to marry. Thank you for this video :-)
That is true! :) thanks for watching!
Yes i m here... 46:27 hahaha... Can't resist my eyes...
And promote ur channel u deserve more views and subscribers... It was an amazing experience with u... See u soon.. Bye💕
you are more beautiful than Emma 😂❤❤
I feel like the movie Clueless was heavily „inspired“ by this story
Indeed it is, I believe it's supposed to be a modern re-telling of Emma actually.
I didn't like the way Mr. Elton behaved after Emma rejected him. He is supposed to be a clergyman. I know they are human, but I expect better from them. And he even got his wife hating Emma. Emma didn't do anything to her. I would have reminded Mrs. Elton that she wouldn't be married to Mr. Elton if Emma hadn't turned him down.
He was indeed very petty about it, which I suppose is understandable in most cases but as you say, he is a clergyman and should have held himself to a higher standard.
Who else is here for their exam? 😂
Emma is really selfish and I do not see her as having some character development. She is a very unlikeable character and she got on my nerves all throughout the book.
She's definitely what I would describe as "an acquired taste"! I feel that movie adaptations (especially the one from 2020) do a good job of giving her some more development, which is quite refreshing.
@@ArnellaHobler im on it! Almost towards the end of the adaptation! I will be sure to check out your review of the movie right away 💞