How Does Jane Austen Present Emma As A Heroine

Emma Woodhouse, the heroine of Jane Austen’s Emma, is handsome, perceptive, and affluent, and had “lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.” This description of Emma, one of the most famous opening lines of Jane Austen, if not all classics, has served to paint the picture of a character who, if judged purely on that description, seems to be the sign of the typical privileged Victorian girl living in that era. As Jane Austen herself said, “I am going to make a heroine which no one but myself will much like.” While it seems that there might not be much in the character of Emma to interest the average reader, a careful study of her behavior and the nature of her relationships can illustrate that she

Emma’s mother died when she was very young; consequently, she and her older sister Isabella were brought up by the competent governess, Miss Taylor. Emma’s father is affectionate, yet disposed to fits of melancholy, described as “gentle selfishness” by Austen, and trusts himself to the care of Miss Taylor and Emma—even more so when Isabella marries John Knightly, and Emma is the new mistress of Hartfield. On the whole, Emma’s situation was exceedingly comfortable, and she was raised in a friendly, loving environment. The only drawback in this happy arrangement was Emma’s “disposition to think a little too well of herself” and her ability to have her way more frequently than perhaps she should. Apart from this, she is a sweet-tempered, vivacious young woman determined to be helpful to those around her by using her self-acclaimed talent: matchmaking. Since Emma’s triumph in securing a match for Miss Taylor, much to Mr. Woodhouse’s dismay, she considers herself to be a seasoned matchmaker, whose calling is to now see every unmarried person in Highbury safely married. She has many spirited discussions with the family friend and brother-in-law, Mr. George Knightly. Described by Austen as “one of the few people who could see faults in Emma Woodhouse, and the only one who ever told her of them…,” he does not seem to think much of Emma’s abilities as a matchmaker, and frequently tries to dissuade her from further matchmaking mischiefs. However, she does not heed his wise counsel, and the story that follows is an entanglement of the lives of Frank Churchill, Harriet Smith, Jane Fairfax, Mr. Elton, and Mr. Knightly and Emma herself. Now that the family situation and the basic plot of the story has been examined, it is time to turn the attention to the actual actions that Emma takes in various situations. There are several things that Emma does that speak about her character