Nobility and Growth in Jane Austen\'s Emma PDF

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An essay on Jane Austen's Emma which argues that Emma's arrogance in the novel ultimately helps her growth as it creates lessons for her to learn from....

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Chapter 16: “To Mr. John Knightley was she indebted for her first idea on the subject, for the first start of its possibility. There was no denying that those brothers had penetration. She remembered what Mr. Knightley had once said to her about Mr. Elton, the caution he had given, the conviction he had professed that Mr. Elton would never marry indiscreetly; and blushed to think how much truer a knowledge of his character had been there shewn than any she had reached herself. It was dreadfully mortifying; but Mr. Elton was proving himself, in many respects, the very reverse of what she had meant and believed him; proud, assuming, conceited; very full of his own claims, and little concerned about the feelings of others. Contrary to the usual course of things, Mr. Elton's wanting to pay his addresses to her had sunk him in her opinion. His professions and his proposals did him no service. She thought nothing of his attachment, and was insulted by his hopes. He wanted to marry well, and having the arrogance to raise his eyes to her, pretended to be in love; but she was perfectly easy as to his not suffering any disappointment that need be cared for. There had been no real affection either in his language or manners. Sighs and fine words had been given in abundance; but she could hardly devise any set of expressions, or fancy any tone of voice, less allied with real love. She need not trouble herself to pity him. He only wanted to aggrandise and enrich himself; and if Miss Woodhouse of Hartfield, the heiress of thirty thousand pounds, were not quite so easily obtained as he had fancied, he would soon try for Miss Somebody else with twenty, or with ten.”

Nobility and Growth in Jane Austen’s Emma Nobility is a prominent theme which is explored in Jane Austen’s Emma. Emma’s perception of proper conduct is often an influential factor to her actions; one instance of this being her reaction when she discovers Mr. Elton wishes to marry her. In this essay I will show how Emma’s arrogant and hypocritical response to Mr. Elton’s proposition is an example of how her attitude has been shaped by her noble upbringing, and in the wider context of the novel it can be seen that the theme of nobility is a utilised by Austen to guide the development of Emma’s character. Emma’s arrogancy reveals fault in her personality and allows for the climatic growth and improvement of her as a person, pertinent to the development of the plot and showing this chosen moment to be significant to the novel as a whole. Emma’s noble upbringing can be seen to have influenced her arrogant response through the association she makes between her sense of self-worth and her wealth. This is shown through her representation of herself as “Miss Woodhouse of Hartfield, the heiress of thirty pounds”,

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and as being “not quite easily obtained as [Mr Elton] had fancied.” The specification of her affluence as being the reason she is unattainable to Mr. Elton shows she considers this a defining factor to her value as a person. While it may seem superficial by modern standards to define yourself in terms of wealth, being born into a noble family in the nineteenth century could be seen to be a significant shaping force to the character of a woman. Wealthy women, like Emma, had the freedom to choose whether to marry or not, while other women were compelled to marry to establish financial stability, as there were very few acceptable professions for women to work in. Because of her financial freedom, Emma has an agency and autonomy over her life that most of the other women in the novel do not possess. Many of the key characteristics of Emma’s personality arguably reflect this autonomy; she is independent, confident and headstrong. This is expressed in her staunch and resolute reaction to Mr. Elton’s advances; that she thought “nothing of his attachment” and would not even “trouble herself to pity him”. Insight into the security of her situation is shown through her response; she did not feel inclined to even consider his proposal, thinking “nothing” of anything he could offer her. Had Emma been in need of financial support, she presumably would have given the decision more thought, signifying that the confidence Emma had in her decision to dismiss Mr. Elton with such arrogance is due to the advantages of her noble upbringing. Emma’s arrogance also leads her to be over-assured in her beliefs and behave hypocritically. She is wrongly convinced of her speculations around Mr. Elton’s affection for Harriet and his intention to marry her, despite having been forewarned otherwise. Emma remembers “the caution [Mr. Knightley] had given” against Mr. Elton’s intentions, which she ignored out of her own confidence to discern the situation. Regardless of her recognition that she overlooked these warnings, she seems unaware of the hypocrisy of her labelling Mr. Elton as “assuming” and “very full of his own claims”. Furthermore, Emma also shows hypocrisy in her

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accusation that Mr. Elton only wanted to marry her to raise his social status. She questions the integrity of Mr. Elton’s confession of affection, claiming he had no true feelings for her but chose to propose because “he wanted to marry well”. While it may be true that Mr. Elton “only wanted to aggrandise and enrich himself”, it is ironic that Emma criticises this as she has influenced Harriet to have these same values, advising her to use marriage as a means to climb the social and economic ladder. However, despite the hypocrisy, there is a glimpse of Emma’s capacity to take responsibility for her actions in the admittance that she should have heeded Mr. Knightley’s caution, and the indication of shame she shows when she “blushed to think how much a truer knowledge of his character had been shewn [by Mr. Knightley] than any she has reached herself”. Yet, this slight acknowledgment of her wrongdoing is still overshadowed by the immaturity reflected in her overconfident behaviour and the way she lashes out at Mr. Elton’s proposal with arrogance. This is indicative of the slow and intricate way Austen develops Emma’s character over time; each event marking a new stage in Emma’s growth but still communicating the ways in which she is yet to improve; these areas being her arrogance and hypocrisy as revealed by the influence of nobility. In the wider context of the novel, Emma’s nobility creates contrast between her and other women in the plot, reiterating her privilege and arrogance. While Emma is able to easily reject Mr. Elton’s proposal without reproach, the matter is not as simple for others. When Harriet declines Robert Martin’s offer of marriage, Mr. Knightley criticises the choice, saying Harriet “is the natural daughter of nobody knows whom, with probably no settled provision at all, and certainly no respectable relations.” This alludes that because Harriet’s family are not notable or wealthy, she is not in the position to reject a marriage proposal. Although Harriet does have the right to deny Robert Martin, it was arguably against her best interests financially and socially to do so as it meant she had to remain at the school and continue to withstand society’s judgement of working women. This speaks to the oppression of women in

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the nineteenth century; the little control they had over their fate in terms of marriage was mostly a fallacy as many women had no choice but to marry for financial means anyway. Emma does not experience this oppression in the same way due to her affluent upbringing and dismisses Mr. Knightley’s objections with the retort that “it is always incomprehensible to a man that woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage.” The tone of this reply suggests that Emma advised Harriet to reject the proposal for symbolic reason rather than practicality; to send the message that women can be independent and exert their power of choice in marriage. This reasserts Emma’s arrogance and selfishness in the way that she is arguably using Harriet to take a stand against the institution of marriage. While Emma may believe she is helping Harriet to express her independence, she does not consider that independence comes at the cost of a better lifestyle for Harriet. Emma shows lack of perception; she is unable to look past the security of her own life and recognise the disadvantages her friend faces, showing how her noble upbringing has instilled her with a self-centered and arrogant perspective. The establishment of Emma’s tendency towards arrogance and hypocrisy is fundamental to the novel. Highlighting Emma’s flaws helps to develop the plot; which is centred around her self-improvement. Emma’s rejection of Mr. Elton happens early in the story line, revealing Emma’s faults and setting the precedent for her to change and mature, showing it to be important to the journey of her growth. As is in the instance of her dismissal of Mr. Elton’s proposal, Emma’s noble upbringing often dictates her choices. This makes the concept of nobility a means for Austen to prompt the reader to question Emma’s behaviour and what it shows about her in important moments, using proper conduct as a point of comparison. Another example of a pertinent moment in the novel when her nobility guides her actions is when she quarrels with Mr. Knightley. After Emma and Mr. Knightley argue about her influence over Harriett’s decision to reject Robert Martin, Emma decides she must reconcile

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with Mr. Knightley to create the outward appearance that she has approached the disagreement with proper conduct and manners, as she had been raised to do. Although Emma is adamant “[s]he had certainly not been in the wrong, and he would never own that he had”, her “sense of right” influenced her to decide to “appear to forget that they had ever quarrelled”. While Emma could be seen to show maturity in overlooking her argument with Mr. Knightly, her refusal to compromise her pride and admit any wrong reveals her immaturity. The way that her noble upbringing drove her choice of action in this situation, as it influenced her rejection of Mr. Elton, shows the way that the theme of nobility is a structural tool for Austen to create tensions around Emma’s character and, as a result, room for her character development. Emma’s rejection of Mr. Elton is a significant moment in the novel because it marks the first time her tendency to meddle in others’ lives comes back to affect her; revealing her own immaturity to be the antagonistic force of the novel. The theme of nobility helps the reader to explore the role Emma’s upbringing has played in forming this immaturity and identifying and the flaws in her character she will need to overcome to prevail as a protagonist, which further reflected in Emma’s arguments with Mr. Knightley. Emma only reaches the end of her path of growth when she is able to accept Mr. Knightley’s advice and become a match for him in maturity.

Works Cited: Austen, Jane. Emma. Edited by Fiona Stafford, Penguin Books, 2003....