Miss Augusta Hawkins, who becomes Mrs. Elton in Jane Austen's Emma, is an interesting character, in that she is unquestionably the most distinct persona in the novel. The fact that she is a new member in Highbury is not an issue for her because she wastes no time in trying to solve other people's personal problems and making their lives her business. In doing so, Jane Austen has created a character that the reader loves to hate.
Augusta Hawkins is constructed so that the reader is torn between completely despising and loving her when she is in the scene due to the spiteful comments she makes and the social lives that she `improves'. Much of the dislike that the reader has towards Augusta is due to the fact that we are seeing her as portrayed through the eyes of Emma. Before the two characters meet, Emma clearly shows resent towards her and decides that she does not care for Mr. Elton's fiancé. She even prematurely states that he must have settled rather than chose Augusta as his bride. These comments made by Emma also cause the reader to be biased against her before she first appears in the novel.
Miss Hawkins makes her first appearance in Highbury through conversations between other Highbury residents. Miss Bates being a busybody is distraught that Mr. Knightley was the first to inform others of the news of their engagement, but she is otherwise quite excited about the new match. There is a mixture of opinions on Augusta and Mr. Elton's engagement: Jane Fairfax displays little concern in the engagement, Mr. Woodhouse feels that Mr. Elton is too young to settle and is convinced that marriage removes people from his life, Harriet conceals her true emotions and shows modest attention to the news. Since few people of High...
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...ore of a rebound companion than a true love. Another instance is when Mrs. Elton takes Jane as her protégé, comparable to Emma taking Harriet as hers. The two of them are constantly making judgements both good and bad about others in Highbury, showing that Emma is really no more grown-up than is Mrs. Elton. Emma has a personality that is comparable to Mrs. Elton's and that is too difficult for Emma to cope with, since Highbury is only big enough for one self-centered, wealthy, and insulting woman.
Every good story has a good villain, or a character that makes the reader love to hate them: Mrs. Elton is that character in Emma. She gives Highbury and Emma the match that is needed. Her amusing and gritty comments give the novel an exciting and egotistical flare. Mrs. Elton is a character worth detesting but she is also most definitely worth remembering.
Elton. During this visit, one of the first things that strikes the reader as Mrs. Elton begins to speak is her style of conversation which displays thoughtlessness and self-absorption. Austen has peppered Mrs. Elton's sentences with commas and dashes that border many interjected phrases. This gives Mrs. Elton's sentences a choppiness that indicates that she is speaking very fast - too fast to think about how to properly construct her sentences. The thoughtlessness of Mrs. Elton's chatter is also reflected in her many repeated phrases; she obviously wants to be the one talking and will repeat herself just to keep control of the conversation. She does this so well that during her conversation with Emma that Emma only manages to say a few sentences. Not even the tone of Mrs. Elton's voice is pleasant. Mr. Woodhouse complains that "she speaks a little too quick. A little quickness of voice that hurts the ear". This shrillness is reflected in Austen's generous sprinkling of exclamation marks throughout Mrs. Elton's
Emma goes through life being selfish, obsessive, and unloving. In her search for passion, love and sensuality, she destroys the lives of her husband, Charles, and her daughter, Berthe. Sadly, Emma honestly believes she would find passion, bliss, and the love spoken about in the romantic novels she read. If she stopped searching for her fantasy life, and accepted her reality life with Charles and Berthe then she could have found happiness within those two relationships.
Emma increases in humility throughout the novel. In Volume 1, Emma is saddened that her friend Miss Taylor has recently gotten married, because now she will have no one to talk to. She is happy that she made a match for Miss Taylor but admits that “the want of Miss Taylor would be felt every hour of every day” (2-3) . This attitude of selfishness diminishes as Emma matures, and by the end of the novel Emma’s focus is more on others than herself. Emma’s newfound selflessness is evident in Volume 3 when she is trying to decide if she should accept Mr. Knightley’s proposal. She carefully considers the effects of her decision on her father as well as Harriet, wanting to “guard the comfort of both to the utmost” (285). Emma does not want to hurt her relationship with Harriet any more than she already has and wishes only to “spare her from any unne...
Emma's arrogance shines through when she brags that she is exceptionally skillful at matching couples. She believes that she is in control of fate and must play matchmaker in order for couples to discover their true love. Austen confirms, "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" (Austen 1). Although Emma is so spoiled and overbearing, she truly doesn't realize this fact.
A total of ten characters are mentioned by name in the first chapter of Emma, though of these only three speak, the dialogue of each of the three serving to reinforce the description of each which is given in the narrative (Austen 362-67). Emma, the eponymous character, is introduced in the first sentence of the novel as being a young woman who is “handsome, clever, and rich,” a character who seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence” (Austen 362). But though the author describes her character with such glowing terms,, she is not ideal, much less perfect: the fourth paragraph opens by saying that “the real evils, indeed, of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think
In her novel, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen portrays Elizabeth Bennet as "strong and intelligent, yet bewitching in a completely feminine way". Elizabeth's possession of these attributes: strength of character and moral integrity, great intelligence, and an attractive personality, make her an admirable person. Yet Elizabeth has faults, which makes her more human. Austen's portrayal of Elizabeth is realistic and masterful, often juxtaposing her with characters lacking her attributes to heighten our appreciation of her.
In Pride and Prejudice Austen establishes several themes in her 1813 novel. However, the theme that stood out to me the most was Elizabeth 's nonconformity. She does not care what others think of her, she is independent, she believes in true love and she is not afraid of speaking her mind.This novel, Pride and Prejudice, is about first impressions; Elizabeth’s character is one that was not viewed to be normal, throughout the story she is expressed to be a little different from the rest of the Bennet family.
Main female characters always have a distinct personality that affects their choices and the outcome of their lives. Strong, independent, sarcastic, and witty are all what comes to mind when having to describe Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, the second of five daughters in a middle class family. She is a very intellectual individual who attempts to find romance although surrounded by the limitations and prejudice of social classes. Being raised in a narcissistic society that looks down upon her and family's status, she grew up to have a natural defensive remark to any insults. Her natural defensiveness led to her prejudice towards a very wealthy Mr. Darcy who shared the same impression of Elizabeth. After a realization of his true noble personality, Elizabeth then found true love with Mr. Darcy which cannot be said for the beautiful Catherine Earnshaw, in Wuthering Heights, who is a daughter from a gentry family. At a very young age, an orphan named Heathcliff joined the Earnshaw family. Both Catherine and Healthcliff fell madly in love with one another since then. One would expect them to marry due to their strong attraction for one another but because Catherine has a immature desire for social advancement, she married Edgar Linton, instead of Heathcliff. Catherine is a very spoiled socialite which very well contradicts the honest and virtuous Elizabeth Bennet, but although they make different decisions and are different as a person, both these free-spirited women want to choose their own future that satisfies their desires.
This feeling intensifies when Mr. Brocklehurst arrives to take Jane away to Lowood School. Her aunt is pleased to see her go, but manages to influence Jane's life even after Jane is settled in at the charity school, by informing Mr.
In one of Jane Austen’s most acclaimed novel, Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is her sassy independent protagonist. However, is she the ideal woman? Feminism in the Regency Era was defined by women wanting education and an equal position in family and homes. In this era, the ideal lady had to be modest, dutiful, beautiful, and rich, especially to gain a wealthy husband. With this narrow, cookie cut definition, not many women fit this criteria. This is greatly highlighted in this satirical novel of the upper class. Elizabeth Bennet is a feminist wanting equal positioning in society, but does not fit the mold of the ideal woman according to the Regency Era.
...f society and the desire to marry into a higher class, she is able to expose her own feelings toward her society through her characters. Through Marianne and Elinor she displays a sense of knowing the rules of society, what is respectable and what is not, yet not always accepting them or abiding by them. Yet, she hints at the triviality and fakeness of the society in which she lived subtly and clearly through Willoughby, John Dashwood and Edward Ferrars. Austen expertly reveals many layers to the 19th century English society and the importance of having both sense and sensibility in such a shallow system.
She is the most beautiful of all her sisters and is a very sweet girl. If not for her kind personality, her character would be rather boring, seen as more of a dramatic individual who is irritating and hard to root for. She sees the best in people, too the point of naivety; this is precisely her problem. While it is a flattering trait of hers, Jane is actually quite oblivious to the real qualities of many of the people she encounters. As Elizabeth says, “she never sees a fault in anyone”. For example, up through the first thirty chapters of the book, Jane is the only one who refuses to believe that Mr. Darcy is a self-entitled, high standard wanting, elitist fiend. She insists that he is a good man who has deeper qualities than anyone cares to admit. Meanwhile, Darcy says that she “smiles to much”. Another example of her naivety is when she finally accepts that Miss Bingley is trying to separate her from Mr. Bingley, as insisted by Elizabeth. Upon reflection of the matter, she states, "I do not at all comprehend her reason for wishing to be intimate with me; but if the same circumstances were to happen again, I am sure I should be deceived again". She even admits it! She is sweet, but she is a little blind. Her sister Elizabeth, on the other hand, is much more witty. She is beautiful, kind, smart, and not so oblivious. Of the sisters, she is the most sensible and
Jane Bennet is the eldest daughter in the Bennet family at 23 years old and is deemed the most beautiful of all the daughters and of all the ladies of Hertfordshire. She is amiable, and her “sweetness and disinterestedness are really angelic” (132). She never wishes to think shamefully of anyone as long as she can help it. Her modesty is strong enough that those who do not know her may believe her to be reserved. Elizabeth and Jane have opposing dispositions yet their relationship is vital as they balance each other out. Jane brings out the benevolent qualities of others for Elizabeth while Elizabeth keeps Jane weary of ill-intent.
...children to search for spouses, meanwhile, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst endeavor to persuade Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley not to marry women from lower social classes. Nevertheless, the reader learns to ignore the satirized characters of Mrs. Bennet, Mrs. Hurst, and Miss Bingley and true love prevails when Elizabeth marries Mr. Darcy.
In Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth is the protagonist and the story written revolves around her life as single women who’s mother is pushing her to be married to a wealthy man in the area. She lives in the Victorian era when society placed a high value on appearance, etiquette, and social class. Elizabeth and her sisters attend many events such as balls where men court them. Catherine Earnshaw is the protagonist of the fir...