"Emma herself should never be taken seriously, and only those who have not realized this will be "put off" by her absurdities, her snobbery, her ingenuities misdirected mischievous “Do you agree? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on 'Why violent video games should not be banned'? Get the original essay In Jane Austen's Emma, ​​the eponymous heroine is "beautiful, intelligent and rich", but she also suffers from arrogance and of self-deception. With Mr. Knightley's good judgment and her own examination of herself, Emma experiences a psychic shift, from arrogance and vanity, to the humiliation of self-knowledge, to through clarity of judgment and fulfillment in marriage. The tone of the novel and of Emma's self-deceiving episodes shifts from the light comedy of Mr. Elton's bravery and eventual mortification to the dark depression of Emma's conviction that she has ruined her own chances of happiness in reuniting Mr. Knightley and Harriet. Although the reader is sometimes able to laugh at her mistakes, as she moves slowly and uncertainly toward self-knowledge and maturity, the reader, like Mr. Knightley, comes to take her seriously, because in the novel serious moral and social issues are addressed. , questions that concern her directly. Even if we can be “put off” by her errors and her illogical flights of fancy, it is also these qualities that endear her to us. Perhaps the only character in the novel who takes Emma seriously is Mr. Knightley. As the moral center of the book, he is an example of good judgment and Emma's moral guardian. He has Emma's best interests at heart and sincerely cares about her moral development. Not blinded by selfishness or vanity, honest in all his dealings with her, Mr. Knightley exposes Emma's faults as they are and helps the reader to see them. Under his influence, Emma becomes aware of her own errors and blunders and finally reaches the maturity necessary to be able to flourish in marriage. Although she repeatedly challenges him, she has a "sort of habitual respect for his judgment" and his willingness to be guided by good principles helps him reform. Mr. Knightley is "put off" by Emma taking Harriet as a protégé. because she is simple-minded and ignorant. He doesn't take her matchmaking powers seriously "you made a good guess; and that's all that can be said", and tries to discourage her from pursuing matchmaking, knowing that "Elton won't do the job." 'affair". He is very mortified that he recommended Mr. Martin propose to Harriet and angry that Emma intervened in the matter. He tells Emma that she should try harder to be kind to Jane Fairfax, a more suitable companion for her than Harriet, because she equals and even surpasses Emma in talent. Mr Knightley is also "put off" by Emma's inappropriate behavior with Frank Churchill at Box Hill. Here, Emma and Frank have been "flirting excessively", breaking social conventions, and because Mr. Knightley takes Emma seriously, he believes that she is in love with Frank. Emma's cruel remark to Miss Bates, prompted in part by Frank's good humor, elicits a sharp reaction from Mr. Knightley, who chastises her for it because Miss Bates is poor and has declined in social circumstances . This shows his strong sense of duty and good judgment. Miss Bates also takes Emma seriously, but has the generosity and “candor” to forgive her. Although at the time Emma says it was done in jest, she later feels Mr Knightley's rebuke "in her heart" and is able to respond by visiting Miss Bates the next day to atone for her cruelty . Frank Churchill uses Emma as a veneer tohis clandestine affair with Jane Fairfax, and it's because he doesn't take her seriously. He can see that she is not willing to be in love, and so he can affect to pursue her and deceive others. He is not “put off” by her snobbery and erroneous judgments; in fact, he encourages them. He puts the word "Dixon" in front of Jane to provoke her, a secret shared between him and Emma. She expresses her opinions about Jane Fairfax, unaware that he is actually engaged to her. He supports her suspicions by criticizing Jane and fueling Emma's imagination that Mr. Dixon gave Jane the piano and was in love with her. The reader has the privileged observer's view of everything that happens: we can see the mistakes she makes, able to laugh at her mischievous plots, while she ignores her mistakes. However, as the novel progresses, the reader comes to take her seriously, due to the nature of the issues addressed in the novel, and although at times we may be "put off" by her snobbery and pretension to omnipotence, Austen wrote in such a way as to secure our sympathy for her. Emma is not a character good enough to be uninteresting, nor cruel enough to lose our sympathy. By presenting things from Emma's point of view for most of the novel, the reader is able to gain insight into her inner thoughts and unexpressed feelings. Although Austen said she would create a heroine "whom no one but myself should like very much," the reader loves Emma in the end, or at least we appreciate her ability to change for the better. But even though we may laugh at her vows to never match again, or her viewing of "the lovers", Mr. Elton and Harriet, at certain points in the novel the reader is forced to take her seriously. When she blames herself for her blindness and encouragement of Harriet's affection for Mr. Elton, we appreciate her concern for Harriet: "could the effects of her errors have been confined to herself." While we are “put off” by her snobbery towards the Martins and Coles, Emma learns a lesson and comes to regret her actions. Emma's encouragement of a romance between Mr. Elton and Harriet almost destroys the future marriage between Harriet and Mr. Martin. , the match that is socially fair. The aura of illegitimacy surrounding Harriet encourages Emma's imagination that Harriet is the daughter of a wealthy aristocrat; Mr. Knightley, like the narrator, knows that Harriet is "Somebody's natural daughter", and he is happy that Mr. Martin does not object. When Emma is happy that Harriet finds a partner in Mr. Martin at the end, the reader knows that this happiness is genuine: because Emma's scheming almost prevented this from happening. When Emma returns home in a carriage in tears after Mr. Knightley's reprimand at Box Hill, she now decides to act more rationally, and recognizes that "with common sense, I'm afraid I had little to do ". This is the culmination of her moral education, and now that she has become aware of her "unbearable vanity" and her "unforgivable arrogance", she can judge correctly and act effectively. The reader can appreciate her honesty with herself, her willingness to reform, and we take her self-examination seriously. Like Mr. Knightley, where "his eyes received the truth from her, and all that had passed of good in his feelings was both captured and honored," the reader takes his attempts at repentance with Miss Bates and Jane sincerely, because they are welcomed with sincerity. without the self-satisfaction and complacency of before. Although we may sense that Emma lacks tenderness and social prudence when she makes this cruel remark, and we are put off by her snobbery, the reader also feels that she demonstrates genuine.