Social class was important in the early eighteen century. Life functioned on what class a person was in. Marriage and economic stability also were guided by class. In Jane Austen’s, “Emma,” social class is the central theme. All of the characters interacted based on their class. The marriage between the central characters were based either on social reasons, economic reasons, or true love. Jane Fairfax was, like Harriet, poor and an orphan. However, unlike Harriet, she had an excellent education, as stated in Emma (Austen 2002) “To earn a respectable subsistence hereafter” (p. 148). Also, in contrast to Emma, Jane’s heart and understanding had received every advantage of discipline and culture. Nonetheless, these qualities would not prevent
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Restraint from her behavior was absent in her early life: “Doing just what she wanted.” Though she was sympathetic to those lower in class than she was, there were times when she held herself in superiority. This is especially evident when Emma persuades Harriet not to marry Mr. Martin. “It would have grieved me to lose your acquaintance, which must have been the consequence of your marrying Mr. Martin” (p. 46). However, she soon realizes her faults in her blindness and lack of true charity. By marrying Mr. Knightly Emma learns the true meaning of charity. Mr. Knightly is the wealthy owner of Donwell Abby. In contrast to Emma, he is able to see into a person’s character truthfully. As Peter Leithart (2004) puts it, “He is careful to form a judgment and forms it on the basis of reality, rather than projecting his imagination onto people” (p. 154). In this way he is a suitable guide to Emma. As a whole, the marriage of Emma and Mr. Knightly is perfect. Emma would have someone to guide and restrain her, and Mr. Knightly would have someone to love and care …show more content…
Knightly and Harriet and Mr. Martian. Both marriages were in the constraints of social expectations. They married within their class. In contrast, the marriage between Jane Fairfax and Mr. Churchill is different in the way that he, with all of his wealth would marry the woman he first laid eyes on. Yet, it was also still in the bounds of social status, especially when the one person who would have refused such an arrangement died. In the end, Austen’s Emma embodies the social status and the marriage that a person’s social standing would provide in the eighteenth
Restraint from her behavior was absent in her early life: “Doing just what she wanted.” Though she was sympathetic to those lower in class than she was, there were times when she held herself in superiority. This is especially evident when Emma persuades Harriet not to marry Mr. Martin. “It would have grieved me to lose your acquaintance, which must have been the consequence of your marrying Mr. Martin” (p. 46). However, she soon realizes her faults in her blindness and lack of true charity. By marrying Mr. Knightly Emma learns the true meaning of charity. Mr. Knightly is the wealthy owner of Donwell Abby. In contrast to Emma, he is able to see into a person’s character truthfully. As Peter Leithart (2004) puts it, “He is careful to form a judgment and forms it on the basis of reality, rather than projecting his imagination onto people” (p. 154). In this way he is a suitable guide to Emma. As a whole, the marriage of Emma and Mr. Knightly is perfect. Emma would have someone to guide and restrain her, and Mr. Knightly would have someone to love and care …show more content…
Knightly and Harriet and Mr. Martian. Both marriages were in the constraints of social expectations. They married within their class. In contrast, the marriage between Jane Fairfax and Mr. Churchill is different in the way that he, with all of his wealth would marry the woman he first laid eyes on. Yet, it was also still in the bounds of social status, especially when the one person who would have refused such an arrangement died. In the end, Austen’s Emma embodies the social status and the marriage that a person’s social standing would provide in the eighteenth