Authors like Austen and Shakespeare create works with several layers within them requiring the reader to study and sift through the text to fully understand the ideas presented. Readers use different subject based lenses, for example historical context, wealth, marriage or others to dissect the elements pertaining to a work in pursuit of discovering the opinion displayed in the piece. The lens of marriage within Austen’s work of Emma reveals the aspects of wanting advancement in social class, security to maintain social status and turning individuals into objects of monetary value attached to the concept of marriage in this time period. Emma’s lens of marriage is able to provide a rationality behind actions committed by characters in other
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Mr. Knightley divulges the attachment of security to the lens of marriage through his conversation with Emma regarding Mr. Elton and Harriet “ I am convinced that he does not mean to throw himself away” (Austen 101). This passage illustrates that Mr.Elton would be putting the security of his social status in jeopardy if he were to consider marrying Harriet because he doesn’t stand to gain anything as Harriet isn’t the heiress of some royal family or a large dowry meaning he would only be lowering himself instead of advancing in society. Mr. Elton, ensures to focus on advancing himself in society through marriage by putting his focus on Emma instead of Harriet. Emma might be training Harriet to become a version of herself, but she is without “a comfortable home” and is not “the heiress of thirty thousand pounds” specifically needed to attract potential suitors like Mr.Elton as they aren’t looking at the individuals themselves, but rather at their surroundings in effort to better themselves (Austen 55,153). Whether Mr. Elton’s affections towards Emma are genuine the response to the proposal brings up the aspect of objectification in the lens of marriage as Emma believes Mr. Elton only wants to “aggrandize and enrich himself”, but he isn’t worthy of obtaining an object of her value and should rather be content with an …show more content…
Hamlet, has decreed his love for Ophelia in letters, but through using the Emma’s lens at Laertes dialogue it unveils the attachment of monetary value to marriage as Hamlet is not able to do the same as “unvalued persons” explaining Polonius’ scolding of Ophelia as he views it as Hamlet attempting to take advantage of his daughter through the use of the potential advancement in society she would get “Affection, Puh! You speak like a green
Mr. Knightley divulges the attachment of security to the lens of marriage through his conversation with Emma regarding Mr. Elton and Harriet “ I am convinced that he does not mean to throw himself away” (Austen 101). This passage illustrates that Mr.Elton would be putting the security of his social status in jeopardy if he were to consider marrying Harriet because he doesn’t stand to gain anything as Harriet isn’t the heiress of some royal family or a large dowry meaning he would only be lowering himself instead of advancing in society. Mr. Elton, ensures to focus on advancing himself in society through marriage by putting his focus on Emma instead of Harriet. Emma might be training Harriet to become a version of herself, but she is without “a comfortable home” and is not “the heiress of thirty thousand pounds” specifically needed to attract potential suitors like Mr.Elton as they aren’t looking at the individuals themselves, but rather at their surroundings in effort to better themselves (Austen 55,153). Whether Mr. Elton’s affections towards Emma are genuine the response to the proposal brings up the aspect of objectification in the lens of marriage as Emma believes Mr. Elton only wants to “aggrandize and enrich himself”, but he isn’t worthy of obtaining an object of her value and should rather be content with an …show more content…
Hamlet, has decreed his love for Ophelia in letters, but through using the Emma’s lens at Laertes dialogue it unveils the attachment of monetary value to marriage as Hamlet is not able to do the same as “unvalued persons” explaining Polonius’ scolding of Ophelia as he views it as Hamlet attempting to take advantage of his daughter through the use of the potential advancement in society she would get “Affection, Puh! You speak like a green