(Blog 7) Why is Emma the way she is?

      

Emma is certainly clueless at times (whether unintentionally or willfully so), but she is also clever, confident, condescending, and exhibits a great deal of power. Whether that power is real or perceived is up for debate and may change from situation to situation throughout the novel. So how did Emma get to this point? What was it in her childhood that led to her intense sense of self worth and her denial to perceive herself as part of the marriage market? I think Emma’s parents or lack thereof play a great deal.

Emma’s mother died before she truly got a chance to meet her or learn from her. While she has other female figures (her sister Isabella and her governess Miss Taylor), they do not necessarily provide her with an example of a motherly figure who might encourage the normative gender roles of wifehood and motherhood. Therefore, Emma values time spent with the people around her (her family and friends), but she values their attention in a selfish way. She is not concerned with starting a family of her own. She enjoys being the center of attention with the people she already has.

Not only did her mother die early, but her father is a needy and sickly person who needs caretaking and looking after from his daughter. Whenever he begins to panic about some illness or situation, Emma is there to calm him down and to remind him of the logical solutions to dispel his concerns. “His spirits required support.” And Emma supports him in many ways. She organizes dinner parties for him so that he does not get lonely or bored, she calms him down when he is worried about safety concerns, and she deals with his hypochondriac tendencies. Because of this, Emma and her father switch the traditional parent (caretaker)/child (cared for) roles. Having to take care of her father forces her to be the adult of the house from an early age which gives her power (at least within her family and household) and encourages her “in charge” personality. Emma believes that things should go her way because things went her way growing up. At one point Knightley says that “ever since she was twelve, Emma has been mistress of the house and of you all.”

Knightley also mentions that Emma “is spoiled by being the cleverest of her family. At ten years old, she had the misfortune of being able to answer questions which puzzled her sister at seventeen.” Emma’s intelligence and cleverness in relation to her family has also contributed to her personality. Emma is very bright, smarter even than her immediate relatives; growing up she had no one to challenge her. Her opinions and her words were therefore always right. Over time, this developed into her manipulative behaviors, because she believes that her ideas and decisions are incontestably the best ones.  

Emma’s view of herself in relation to the marriage market is also indicative of her father’s influence. Chapter 1 describes Mr. Woodhouse: “He was a nervous man, easily depressed; fond of every body that he was used to, and hating to part with them; hating change of every kind. Matrimony, as the origin of change, was always disagreeable.” Mr. Woodhouse is easily depressed and enjoys the company of others. He is particularly soothed and contented by Emma’s company. He does not look favorably on the thought of his daughters’ marriage as other Austen parents might. Instead, he loathes the idea of change and the thought that he will not get to see his daughters anymore. This is a possible factor in Emma’s decision to not be part of the marriage market; she does not want to leave her father depressed and lonely. Emma cares deeply for her father and wishes for him to be happy. If her presence is the thing keeping him happy, then she will have to remain at Hartfield.