Emma: Novel Review By Grace Bertram
Jane Austen’s Emma is an ongoing delight today, just as when it was penned two centuries ago and first published in 1816. Snugly fitted into the novel genre, EMMA’s various subgenres are proof of the writer’s multi-talented genius. Ronald Blythe described EMMA as “the happiest of love stories, the most fiendishly difficult of detective stories and a matchless repository of English wit.”
The narrative structure of Emma is strictly linear - from start to finish, we see events unfold in a chronological order. As with all Austen’s works, the brilliance of the story lies in the strength of character development. It’s been said that the reason why Jane Austen’s books have stood the test of time is because they are more about the people than the events - events change, but people are still the same. This means that her character arcs, poignant messages, witty irony and humourous satire are largely relevant even today. We can all learn something from Austen’s characters - and be thoroughly amused by her stories at the same time.
Austen’s narrative voice as the omniscient narrator dips in and out of the contemplations of her main characters, including the occasional lapse into a smooth and seamless flow of consciousness (the literary technique known as stream-of-consciousness). While all her characters have their purpose and their say, the lens is focused mostly on Emma Woodhouse, the novel’s heroine. Austen uses free indirect discourse to reveal characters’ inmost thoughts and this greatens the impact of mysteriousness in the novel’s themes. Often one character will be considering a matter in a view that is completely concealed from the other characters. Dramatic irony ensures the reader knows things the other characters don’t, encouraging the reader to read on until the satisfaction of seeing everyone equally in the know has been reached. EMMA has more layers than only this, however: thanks to the mysterious clues dropped and detected throughout the novel, the reader and the characters are occasionally on the same page in terms of future prediction. Readers are swept along in the exciting journey of discovery and encounter surprises along the way. Such a complex plot must involve twists and turns, but in the final chapters the ending couldn’t be displayed more happily ever after. Squeals of delight accompanied contented sighs as I read the unforeseen yet stylistically consistent denouement.
The story comprises of three couples, the leading heroine of which is Emma herself. While Austen keeps us unaware of who will end up with who throughout the entire novel, she brings to light the clear and gradual incorporation of significant changes in her main character. Readers watch as Emma turns from being downright snobbish to the kindly beloved sort of character we want to leave in blissful comfort upon closing the final page. Her arc is shaped by the influence of unfolding plot, personal growth, lessons learned and surrounding characters.
Something that has always amazed me in Jane Austen’s novels is her outstanding ability of combining her story’s themes with its characterisation. Sense and Sensibility consists of two leading sisters - one with plenty of sense, the other guided thoughtlessly by her sensibility. By the end of the novel, we see the sisters have struck a satisfying balance - each theme complements the other as Elinor opens her cocoon of reserve and Marianne learns to remove her heart from its habitual place on her sleeve. It revolves around emotion: one has learned to comfortably reveal it, the other has learned to sensibly conceal it. That is, not all of it - just how to keep a lid on the bubbling overdose. In Pride and Prejudice, we see Lizzy and Mr. Darcy overcoming giant obstacles that take the shapes of pride and prejudice - themes apparent in both character arcs and overcome in different ways until at last, the “hero saves the damsel in distress” and one of the happiest romantic couples in English literature are united on a glorious wedding day. Similarly in EMMA, readers are granted the sheer pleasure of this final phrase, “… the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.” Ahhh.
Austen’s settings are key to the story, too. Emma Woodhouse’s adventures are based in and around the fictional village of Highbury. Austen’s exceptional use of subtle diction creates significance in the names attributed to her settings. Hartfield - Emma Woodhouse’s home - is a place at which many issues of the heart are addressed. Highbury: Emma is buried in this corner of the world she knows so well and she hasn’t travelled beyond it. However, there’s always an eventful supply of excitement livening up the village’s high-spirited inhabitants and visitors. Donwell is the abode of the novel’s hero: a character who has done well. (Spoiler alert: very well, indeed). These threads remain consistent throughout the novel and draw attention to the deftness of the writer’s talents.
This masterpiece of a novel has deserved thorough and careful thought when being reviewed, which is why I reluctantly conclude by saying bravo to an authoress I very much admire… now - in a current time period so drastically different to her own. Yet in spite of this, her novels still teach, entertain and inspire.
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