Category 1 – Personal Response

1. What has been the most enjoyable aspect of studying this text?

One of the most enjoyable aspects of studying Jane Austen’s EMMA was witnessing Emma's
character growth throughout the novel.

From the beginning, Emma appears as a confident, well-intentioned character, yet as the novel
progresses her flaws of snobbery and vanity reveal themselves. Piecing together these
imperfections provides an intriguing outlook on human nature and serves as a lens of reflection
for me to analyse my own shortcomings.

Furthermore, a central aspect of Emma’s growth and development is her eventual realisation of
love and understanding of her own heart, explored through the theme of marriage. This
represents the culmination of her immense character growth shown through the stark
differences in her personal outlook from the start to the end of the novel.

Therefore, one of the most enjoyable aspects of the novel is witnessing Emma's character
growth.

2. What was your initial impression of ‘Emma’ when you first read it? How has that perspective

developed or changed?

Upon reading Jane Austen’s EMMA for the first time my initial impression of the novel was that
the text seemed extremely slow-paced and lacked action, a complete opposite of the novels I
prefer. I also found it hard to make a connection between any character or the plot itself
because of the several pages of seemingly endless dialogue and overly formal tone.

However, as I read further into the novel, I found that the tone of the novel was fitting and I
developed a further appreciation for it. Additionally, the 2020 film of EMMA contributed further to
my understanding after I read the book as it provided further insight into the humour and
behaviour between characters, hence giving me a deeper level of appreciation for the novel.
3. What conclusions about the text did you reach by the end of your study?
By the end of my study, I came to realise that Jane Austen’s stylistic choices in her novel EMMA
were highly evident due to her consistently complex characters and her use of irony and free
indirect discourse.

Learning how Austen adopted these techniques to form her signature style led me to
understand why Emma is so admired across generations.

Additionally, I uncovered how Austen used her text to criticise her Regency-era context using
characters and setting. Her masterful use of language, including the ingenious ways she uses
the names of settings and characters lead me to an understanding of her criticism on marriage,
social class and love.

This has allowed me to conclude that the text has transcendental value due to the importance of
Austen’s contextual critiques.
Category 2 – Text Construction, Content, Language and Ideas
1. What aspects of settings and/or characters in the text did you find the most interesting? Why?

I found it interesting that Austen used the protagonist of EMMA to highlight the loneliness of the
upper class in her era. Her critique is most interesting due to its appeal to the universal human
condition of loneliness.

This is evident through Miss Taylor’s departure from her role as Emma’s governess, where
Austen invokes a catharsis of sorrow shown, through the personification present in, “Sorrow
came — a gentle sorrow.”

This highlights the profound emotional impact Miss Taylor’s departure left on Emma, despite her
privileged societal position. The irony in the situation lies in the fact that despite Emma’s social
standing, she still experiences a deep sense of loneliness, representing the realistic nature of
loneliness present in Austen’s contextual society.

As she grapples with her emotions, Austen foreshadows that Emma is “now in great danger of
suffering from intellectual solitude.” However, juxtaposing this inherent solitude, Austen
introduces the character of Harriet Smith to fill her emotional ‘void’, which happens to be a
“beauty … which Emma particularly admired.”

Ironically, Austen’s use of free indirect discourse where Emma says that she had “not struck by
anything remarkably clever in Miss Smith’s conversation,” represents Emma’s longing for a
companion.

In Austen’s depiction of Highbury, she employs a deliberately slow pace, utilising the technique
of pathetic fallacy, representing the slow, cold emotions Emma is experiencing. This is evident in
the narrator’s observation “The same weather continued much the same all the following
morning; and the same loneliness, and the same melancholy, seemed to reign Hartfield.”

This illustration provides the sense of isolation that propagates across Emma’s world, whilst
hinting at her longing for connection, emphasised by critic John Murray's statement of the idea
that the “setting is an extension of Emma's consciousness”.

Through these ideas, Austen critiques the loneliness present in the upper classes of her era,
providing me with an interesting perspective, inviting me to reflect on the universality of the
human desire for genuine connection.
2. What do you think is most significant about Austen’s use of language in the text? Why?

One of the most significant aspects of Austen’s use of language is her revolutionary use of free
indirect discourse, allowing her to blend her character’s thoughts and feelings with her voice.

This creates an ability for us, as readers, to grasp the minds of her characters and the capacity
for Austen to impose herself into the story in a clever and meaningful way. In turn, Austen’s use
of free indirect discourse fits her purpose of portraying the challenges of human relationships
and social dynamics in Highbury.

Austen’s use of free indirect discourse is instantly evident as shown where Emma is described
as "Handsome, clever, and rich.” Through allowing the heroine to describe herself, Austen’s
method of developing a relationship between the characters and the audience is revolutionary
for her time.

Her use of free indirect discourse allows her to plant seeds of perspective in her characters that
unveil themselves as the text progresses, setting the audience up for the rest of the novel.

One of the most significant times Austen employed free indirect discourse was used to humiliate
Emma, allowing Austen to critique her character from their own mind. This is evident through
Emma’s questioning “How could she have been so brutal, so cruel to Miss Bates! How could
she have exposed herself to such ill opinion…” Austen shows how Emma is making fun of Miss
Bates by parodying her speech patterns. It reveals a meanness in Emma and furthers a level of
sympathy for Miss Bates.

Free indirect discourse is masterfully used to humble Emma, allowing Austen to superimpose
herself into the mind of Emma, transferring the focus and control away from Emma for one of
the first times in the text.

This emphasises her critique of the privileged social class in Regency England to her audience,
as the reader can now reflect with Emma on her entitlement, highlighting the significance of free
indirect discourse in Emma.
3. Identify and explain one significant theme that this text is exploring.
Austen's novel EMMA uses its protagonist to highlight and explore the relationship between
marriage and social class in the novel.

This exploration serves as a critique of Austen’s Regency England, where women of her context
were often barred from owning property and faced significant limitations in finding employment.
This caused marriage to become particularly critical as both the expected social norm and the
often necessary means of financial security.

Austen’s purpose is clearly revealed through her character Emma’s motivations, where Emma
states she has “very little intention of ever marrying at all,” and that “Fortune I do not want;
employment I do not want; consequence I do not want.” Emma's understanding of her social
standing and her rejection of a husband are emphasised through Austen's use of a tricolon,
creating the distinct impression that she views love as unnecessary to her fulfilment.

Moreover, Harriet’s bewilderment as to this idea is shown as she states “Ah! … I cannot believe
it.” Emma’s decision to remain single and Harriet’s exclamatory response illustrates the social
stigma attached to those who were unable to marry.

Austen furthers her critique when she utilises aphorism in Emma’s speech, where Emma states
that “a woman is not to marry a man merely because she is asked, or because he is attached to
her.” Emma actively denies the stereotypes and conventions of marriage of her time, believing
that women should have higher levels of social mobility.

However, her actions are contradictory as she wants Harriet to marry Mr Elton, who truly has no
romantic interest in Miss Smith. Here, Emma takes social status as eligibility for marriage, rather
than the merit of character. Emma’s actions uphold the social convention of marrying for social
gain, particularly as Elton is of a higher social class than Harriet. However, this serves as a
contradiction as she had previously denied the prevalent stereotypes of Austen’s time.

Therefore, Austen’s Emma explores the theme of marriage whilst offering a critique on the
conventions of marriage for status in Regency England.
4. Explain your perspective on whether Austen criticises or upholds societal norms in the text.
Austen's novel EMMA used the protagonist Emma to critique the societal norms of marriage
expectations in her novel.

Women of Austen’s context were often barred from owning property and faced significant
limitations in finding employment. This caused marriage to become particularly critical as both
the expected social norm and the often necessary means of financial security.

Austen’s purpose is clearly revealed through her character Emma’s motivations, where Emma
states she has “very little intention of ever marrying at all,” and that “Fortune I do not want;
employment I do not want; consequence I do not want.”

Emma's understanding of her social standing and her rejection of a husband are emphasised
through Austen's use of a tricolon, creating the distinct impression that she views love as
unnecessary to her fulfilment. This critiques Regency England through breaking the societal
norms of the time.

Furthermore Harriet’s bewilderment as to this idea is shown as she states “Ah! … I cannot
believe it.” Emma’s decision to remain single and Harriet’s exclamatory response illustrates the
social stigma attached to those who were unable to marry.

This further supports Austen’s purpose of the critique of the societal expectations of her context
through opposing Highbury to her contextual norms by allowing her heroine the ability to choose
her hand in marriage. Austen furthers her critique when she utilises aphorism in Emma’s
speech, where Emma states that “a woman is not to marry a man merely because she is asked,
or because he is attached to her.”

This solidifies the notion by the fact that Emma actively denies the stereotype and conventions
of marriage at her time, believing that women should have higher levels of social mobility.

Therefore, from my perspective, Austen uses the protagonist of Emma to highlight and critique
the societal norms of marriage expectations.
Category 3 – Text Composition and Reception
1. What was the most interesting thing you learned about the context of the novel? In what
way/s did it contribute to your understanding of the play?
The most interesting thing I learnt about the context of the novel was the exploration between
the role of women in society and how Austen’s depiction has offered a critique through her
characters.

Women of the time were constantly on an uphill battle for publishing their works as societal
restrictions had been imposed on female authors. Austen had decided to publish her novels
using a middle man, allowing the man to deal with the legal obligations and publish on behalf of
her, providing security and privacy for Austen.

This battle Austen was fighting to simply publish her works is especially apparent in her
exploration of gender roles, portraying her heroine Emma as “clever” from the very first line.
Emma’s apparent freedom and intelligence is a complete contradiction of the social norms of the
role of women in Regency england.

Furthering this contradiction, Austen allows Emma to have no intention of being married, stating
that “it is not my way, or nature; and I do not think I ever shall.” Repetition of personal pronouns
“I” and “my” illustrates her distance from the societal expectations imposed onto Austen’s
contextual female audience.

Austen’s exploration is furthered through Mrs Elton, who acts as a perfect depiction of the
societal expectations in Regency england. Elton is introduced through her husband, upholding
the gender conventions, as it took a man for a woman to gain social standing. Mrs. Elton
instantly is depicted as “very ignorant, vulgar” and “thinking much of her own importance”
through free indirect discourse.

Mrs Elton is also a notorious social climber, constantly mentioning her husband to gain favour
with others. When offered an opportunity to marry Mr Elton, Mrs Elton accepted after meeting
him for the first time, illustrating the ironic nature of the upper class in the regency era.

Therefore, the most interesting thing I had learnt about the context of the novel was the
exploration between the role of women in society and how Austen’s depiction has offered a
critique.
2. Why do you think this novel has been considered challenging for different audiences since it
was first published?
Emma has been considered challenging for audiences across time because of how it forces its
audience into thinking and reflecting on the warnings and critiques that Austen presents on the
universal themes of social class and marriage.

These themes, present in Austen’s Regency era and contemporary society, transcend time and
relate directly to the human condition, as people will always have hierarchies of social class and
marriage. During the Regency era, books were only affordable to the wealthy, meaning that only
the upper class could access Emma.

When Austen released Emma, it was met with mixed reception due to the fact that her audience
was the one subject to the strongest criticism throughout the novel. The challenges this
audience faced forced them to reflect on their class-based privilege, with a key example of this
being the relationship between Emma and Jane Fairfax.

Emma and Jane’s situations are purposely contrasted by Austen to critique the social prejudice
that comes with wealth. The two characters are both accomplished, clever young women, but
Emma “could never get acquainted with her,” claiming it's due to her “coldness and reserve,” but
in reality Emma was a reflection of the social prejudice prevalent in Austen’s context.

Additionally the commentary Austen offers on marriage and how it relates to social class
continues to challenge contemporary audiences, as the warnings presented are universal. This
idea is best portrayed when Emma stops Harriet from marrying Mr Martin. Despite Martin’s letter
having “warm attachment, liberty, prosperity, even delicacy of feeling,” Emma could not overlook
the fact that the letter was short and used simple language.

Through the use of free indirect discourse, Austen is able to articulate a reflection of Mr Martin’s
social standing and the prejudice Emma held against him, exemplifying the privileged prejudice
that comes with wealth.

This shows a contextually transcendent struggle on picking between true love and wealth,
something that is prevalent as ever in modern society, illustrating how Austen’s text continues to
challenge its audience.
Category 4 – Perspectives of Others
1. Briefly outline one view of the text you agree with. Explain why.
Rachel Grate’s thesis of the “Transformative Male Gaze” in Emma, argues that the heroine uses
the ‘male gaze’ to insight change in relationships, which is a view that I agree with.

Grate’s view highlights Emma’s belief in her superiority and independence, fostered by her living
situation and lack of judgement from her father. This is directly concentrated against the
objectification within the marriage market, in which Emma is withdrawn from.

Austen critiques the patriarchal norms of the Regency era through the reversal of the ‘male
gaze’, giving it to Emma. Initially Harriet Smith is the subject of Emma’s ‘male gaze,’ shown in
an attempt to transform her beauty with the aim of empowering and raising her class status.

Emma first describes Harriet as “a very pretty girl … short, plump and fair, with a fine bloom,
blue eyes and light hair,” where Austen uses visual imagery and characterisation to establish
Harriet as an object of Emma’s gaze. However, juxtaposing this with the initial description of
Emma, where she was depicted as “handsome, clever and rich” illustrates the lack of detail and
depth between the two characters, representing Emma’s gaze and aims of empowering Harriet
to a higher class status.

This is shown in action, where Emma utilises her abilities to match Harriet and Mr Elton with the
intention of matching Mr Elton’s high social status with Harriets.

However, Emma’s gaze is not always pointing to others, where this is illustrated when Mr
Knightley confronts Emma about the comments she made towards Miss Bates, stating her to be
“insolent in her words and actions.” His critique of her actions, leads Emma to gaze upon
herself, effectively transforming her own character.

This represents the transformative ability of her gaze, illustrating the power it holds to transform
people and relationships. Hence I agree with Grate’s view of the ‘transformative Male Gaze,’ as
Emma uses her gaze with motivation to empower the social class of women in her society.
2. Briefly outline one view of the text you disagree with. Explain why.
Over the course of its lifetime, Austen’s EMMA has been the subject of extensive critical debate,
particularly regarding its classification within the bildungsroman genre.

Critics Ali Abuhassan and Mohd Azmi argue the view that “Emma” does not fit this genre as
Emma Woodhouse shows “no trace of any social or psychological developments”. The
perspective provides this view with differing opinions of scholars such as Buckley, who argues
that Emma does not classify as a bildungsroman as she “fails to exhibit significant psychological
or social maturation” throughout the novel.

However, I believe this interpretation fails to appreciate the complexity of Emma's character
development as her journey is marked by significant internal growth, primarily her increasing
self-awareness and understanding of her own flaws and prejudices.

This idea is supported through Emma’s declarative statement, “I hope so because at that time I
was a fool” exemplifying her capacity for introspection and growth as she acknowledges her
past mistakes and begins to lessen her self-pride and confidence. Through this, Austen signifies
a profound personal maturation within Emma that aligns with the genre's emphasis on character
growth.

Furthermore, through Austen’s use of free indirect discourse in “She was proved to have been
universally mistaken” and “she had done mischief” Austen furthers the notion of Emma’s ability
for self reflection and growth. The free indirect discourse is able to provide insight for us as the
audience to realise, at the same time Emma does, her shortcomings and downfalls.

In addition, I believe that the view the critics hold fails to align with Austen’s purpose of critiquing
the upper-class as I think Austen has utilised her heroine’s character growth and maturation as
an exemplar on how her class can have social reform, regardless of their social status.

By focusing on Emma's increased self-awareness and empathy, as well as Austen's critical

examination of Regency society, the novel exemplifies traits of the bildungsroman genre,
therefore leading me to disagree with the critic.
Category 5 – Appreciation

1. What aesthetic qualities of the text do you find the most significant and why?

One of the most significant aesthetic qualities of Emma is Austen’s masterful use of language
through her use of satire and free indirect discourse as a vehicle of critique for her context.

Her clever use of satire through her characters and setting is pivotal in her warnings on themes
including, love, marriage, social class and gender roles by consistently over-exaggerating
various situations and her use of irony to emphasise her critiques.

Another significant aesthetic quality is Austen’s revolutionary use of free indirect discourse that
provides an insight into the thoughts of her characters, as well as a medium to impose her
purpose through her characters. This key aspect of providing insight into the thoughts of
characters is invaluable in creating the aesthetic of Emma, as it is one of the foundational
aspects of why this novel is groundbreaking.

Therefore, Austen’s use of satire and free indirect discourse serve as vehicles for critique
regarding warnings about themes present in her contextual society.

2. How effective is Austen at creating textual integrity in ‘Emma’? Justify your response.

Austen is highly effective at creating textual integrity as she employs an exploration of universal
themes and presents warnings to her contextual audience.

The discussion Emma created around its plot, style and textual integrity has given the text a
lasting impact still talked about today. Austen’s thoughtful and impactful exploration of universal
themes including love, marriage, social class and gender roles in Emma are contextually
transcendent and remain applicable to any society since the novel's initial release.

These universal themes are especially prevalent in today's modern society as people continue
to grapple with ideas surrounding gender roles and marriage.

Furthermore, discussions surrounding Austen’s revolutionary style, in particular free indirect

discourse and irony, have served as inspiration for writers beyond the initial context of Austen.
Through these ideas, the significance of her ability to masterfully create textual integrity in her
work can be seen.
3. What value does ‘Emma’ still hold for modern society?
Austen’s “Emma” still holds a significant value for contemporary society due to the contextually
transcendent warnings she presents to her audience, covering modern prevalent issues.

Furthermore, the discussion Emma created around its plot, style and textual integrity has given
the text a lasting impact still talked about today. Austen’s thoughtful and impactful exploration of
universal themes including social class, marriage and gender roles in Emma are contextually
transcendent and will remain applicable to any society.

These universal themes are especially prevalent in today's contemporary society as people
continue to grapple with ideas surrounding gender roles and marriage.

In addition, discussions surrounding Austen’s revolutionary style, in particular free indirect

discourse and irony, have served as inspiration for writers beyond the initial context of Austen
and even today.

This highlights the significance of her ability to create work that transcends its original context,
allowing “Emma” to remain valuable for our contemporary society