Emma

Recently I read Emma, by Jane Austen, for the first time. It was the first time that I ever read anything by Jane Austen. I have seen movie renditions of her work in the past, but for someone who loves to read, it's surprising that I've waited so long to read a work of a much beloved author.

It is a great book! No movie has done it full justice, though a recent version starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeremy Northam was very enjoyable. (Unfortunately they changed quite a few plot points to favor Emma's character, which was questionable in many parts of the book). Emma was a gossip, a meddler, and quite arrogant in her position as the daughter of the wealthiest man in town, but due to the love and guidance of both a mentor and her closest friend, her character improves, she realizes the errors of her ways, and she finds true love.

The book begins with Emma feeling very confident in her abilities to matchmake. She spends afternoons deciding who should marry who, whether or not her targets feel the same way. The disastrous results, manifested in the havoc she wreaks on the heart of her friend, show her how wrong she is to presume to know the desires and best interests of others.

She also gossips about others, which the movie starring Gwyneth Paltrow minimizes or altogether assigns to another character. She not only spreads rumors, she discovers later that her assumptions were all extremely wrong and potentially damaging. Her long time friend Mr Knightley gently and repeatedly points this out to her after each time she is proven incorrect.

At many time she feels her wealth and position entitle her to liberties and options other do not have. She even shames a dear family friend for sport, and many of her party support her... except for the same Mr. Knightley, who loves her and is offended by her low character. It is toward the end of Austen's witty and enjoyable tale that Emma realizes she is wrong in almost every way, and begins to mature and improve.

There are several parts of this book I particularly enjoyed. Mr. Knightley plays an ideal man. He is compassionate, responsible, moral, hardworking. He guides his friend Mr. Martin in his affairs, he shows kindness to Miss Bates, and he stands up to Mrs. Elton in a firm but polite manner. Jane, a young woman Emma sees as a sort of rival, is a self-contained, tender, and lovely girl who does not verbally fight injustices done to her, but rather removes herself from offending parties in a self-protecting way. And finally, Mr. Martin, who loved Harriette a great deal, did not give up simply because he was turned down in his written proposal. He seemed to understand the heart of the (confused/misled) woman he loved, was patient, and continuous in his hopes and pursuits for her.

I am beginning to read "Pursuasion" by Jane Austen, and will write about that book in the future.