Jane Austen’s ‘Emma’: How Austen Writes an Independent Woman

“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich” (1) ¹. So begins Jane Austen’s novel Emma, the last to be published in her lifetime. It is also the only novel by Austen named after its heroine, and Emma Woodhouse is certainly unique among Austen’s array of characters. She is beautiful, well-educated, and the youngest daughter of a wealthy father introduced as “affectionate, and indulgent” (1). Unlike Austen’s other heroines, who face social and economic barriers to their happiness, Emma is only concerned about evading boredom. Indeed, Austen writes that Emma’s only “real evils” (1) are her pride and often misplaced self-confidence. The domestic setting of the novel, alongside the wealth of everyday details that Austen provides, caused readers at the time of publication to criticize it for being boring. Some contemporaries argued that there was no story at all ². Despite this, the novel has captured the imagination of readers for over 200 years, with a wide variety of written adaptations, and four popular films.

The novel takes place in the village of Highbury, among a small social circle made up primarily of wealthy families. Emma, while having no interest in getting married, believes herself to be highly skilled in reading people and manipulating social situations, particularly when it comes to matchmaking. The only character who sees issue with Emma’s interference with others is her long-time friend and quasi-mentor, Mr. Knightley. Emma ignores his advice, trusting her own judgement above his.

The novel starts with her lamenting the loss of her governess, Miss Taylor, to her new husband, though Emma celebrates that she spotted the potential match and introduced the couple. Her sights quickly move onto a new target, a young woman named Harriet with uncertain parentage, whom Emma is determined to set up with a gentleman. She persuades Harriet to turn down a marriage proposal from a farmer with whom Harriet is obviously enamoured in pursuit of a more advantageous match. Several potential matches are approached, though none prove successful and Emma’s efforts result in poor Harriet’s heart breaking more than one time. At the end of the novel, Harriet declares her love for Mr. Knightley, which causes Emma to realize her own feelings for him. Emma and Mr. Knightley are married and Harriet ultimately ends up with the farmer she turned down at the beginning of the novel. The last sentence is Emma and Mr. Knightley’s marriage, and “the perfect happiness of the union” (381).

Emma is a heroine that the reader loves to hate. Snobbish, entitled, and sporting an unwavering penchant for sticking her nose into other people’s business, it’s easy to see why. She overcomes her selfishness near the end of the novel, when she realizes that she is in love with Mr. Knightley and agrees to marry him. Viewing someone else as her equal, and acknowledging that she is in love, is a significant step in Emma’s emotional maturity. Yet, many critics are disappointed by her marriage to Mr. Knightley. On the surface, her marriage appears to be a “taming of the shrew,” where an independent and headstrong woman surrenders to her feminine instincts and puts herself under the control of a man. For those who are not enchanted by Mr. Knightley’s romantic confession, this leads to a disappointing conclusion. It also raises questions about Austen’s intention with Emma. Why would Austen write a strong, independent woman, only to put her under the control of a man right at the end?

Yet, this interpretation of the text results in the reader missing a great deal of the strength of Emma’s character. It is also a fundamental misunderstanding of the effect Emma’s marriage to Mr. Knightley has on her independence and social status. Emma’s marriage to Mr. Knightley isn’t a submission to the patriarchy. Rather, it’s a way for Emma to grow past her headstrong faults and find happiness, without compromising her beliefs or surrendering her freedom.

Emma as the Traditional Woman

It’s not hard to see how Emma could be read as an anti-feminist text. Though Emma is wealthy, none of the wealth is hers. She is completely beholden to the indulgence of her father. Though his character dotes upon Emma to an almost comical degree, if he suddenly became less lenient, Emma would have no financial alternative. Her life in Hartfield is very circumscribed, and she hardly leaves her home. When Miss Taylor is married she moves “only half a mile away” (6), and yet daily visits are unrealistic and the loss of her company is deeply felt. Similarly, Emma’s sister “was much beyond her daily reach” (7) in London, sixteen miles away, though Emma has access to a carriage and several male characters make day trips to London throughout the novel. Emma also resorts to petty remarks towards women who she sees as her competition – namely Miss Jane Fairfax, a beautiful and talented young woman who draws attention away from Emma whenever they are together. Putting these elements together paints Emma as a highly controlled, financially dependent young woman who tears other women down. It certainly isn’t a flattering portrait.

However, the main issue critics have with characterizing Emma as a strong and independent woman is her eventual marriage to Mr. Knightley. Throughout the novel, Emma’s actions are wholly independent. She places her own judgement above advice from others in every situation, often to her own detriment. To finally agree to marriage, to an older man (Emma herself being just shy of twenty one and Mr. Knightley close to forty years old) who acts as a mentor throughout the novel no less, seems to backtrack on Emma’s independent character. Being married would necessitate a certain submission to her husband. To have an independent woman choose marriage, particularly when she has absolutely no need – financially or socially – to marry, seems odd. It also seems to go against Emma’s own values. In Volume I, Emma laughs when Harriet mentions her surprise that she has not yet been married. Emma replies:

I have none of the usual inducements of women to marry. Were I to fall in love, indeed, it would be a different thing! […] And, without love, I am sure I should be a fool to change such a situation as mine. […] I believe few married women are half as much mistress of their husband’s house, as I am of Hartfield. (68)

Reading this, the natural conclusion for the reader to draw is that Emma comes out at a net loss when she gets married. She doesn’t gain wealth or social status, and her freedom would be restricted. And, to add insult to injury, Emma is marrying the only character in the entire novel who criticizes her openly. At face value, it seems to be a very poor outcome for Emma indeed.

Emma as Feminist

Yet Emma is not, as some argue, a novel about “the necessity of female submission for female survival” ³. This analysis comes from viewing the novel through a contemporary feminist lens. Viewing the work this way, ignorant of its historical context, prevents the reader from understanding the nuances of Emma’s character and her relationship to Mr. Knightley.

Emma was first published in 1815, and Jane Austen herself died in 1817, years before first-wave feminism would take off. This is not to say that nothing was feminist before the formalization of the movement. Women have always acted in feminist ways. Rather, Emma, alongside Austen’s other novels would be considered proto-feminist, a term used to describe works that explored themes of gender equality before today’s idea of feminism existed ⁴. Emma, though set within the constraints of what was easily imaginable for a woman of wealth at the turn of the 19^th century, shows the heroine conducting herself in a way that promotes gender equality, without touching explicitly on the subject.

Thematically, Emma is considered a female bildungsroman, a novel which covers a character’s formative years or spiritual development. While a male bildungsroman typically shows growth from separation – through, for example, a quest or adventure – the female version focuses on growth via connection with others, often in domestic spaces. It is within these domestic spheres that Emma shows the most need for personal growth. This is in part because the turn of the 19^th Century was when “ladyhood” transformed from merely a class ranking – being a Lady to a Lord – to a classification of behaviours ⁵. Faced with peers who only encourage her, in a social and economic position that leaves her wanting nothing, Emma must learn, essentially, how to get along with others. Thus, Emma Woodhouse experiences character growth much the same as a man would in an adventure novel, but within the realistic domestic limitations that would have been possible for a woman of her class at the time of writing. Indeed, Austen’s portrayal of life in England at the turn of the century is filled with such rich detail – the very same detail that made contemporary readers yawn – that it seems absurd to critique the main character for also existing within realistic circumstances.

Emma’s existence within these realistic domestic settings are the grounds for her to exercise her unique independence. At the beginning of the novel, Emma cannot see anyone in her life suitable to be her husband. Even when she is flattered by a man’s attention, that of the handsome and wealthy Mr. Frank Churchill, she does not see him as a serious potential match. This begs the question of why Emma would fall in love with Mr. Knightley, her realization coming “with the speed of an arrow” (320), which is perhaps the fastest decision she makes throughout the whole novel. The answer lies in his role as a mentor in Emma’s life.

Mr. Knightley never pushes his guidance onto Emma, but he makes it clear that he believes she could improve upon her attitude. From the very start of the novel, he criticizes her sense of ownership over her governess’ match with her new husband, asking her if she truly put in any work or merely had a lucky guess. Throughout the novel he continues to resist her in ways that no other character does, discouraging her interference with Harriet’s love life and defending Miss Fairfax from her disdain.

Yet the climax of their disagreements occurs when their group attends a picnic where Emma publicly insults Miss Bates, a sweet spinster whom Emma finds dull. Mr. Knightley pulls her aside and reprimands her for using her influence in the group to openly humiliate someone of a lower position. At first, Emma tries to laugh it off, but as he explains how disappointed he is in her cruelty, she finds herself weeping. This marks the first time in the novel that Emma realizes that her actions were unkind, and she further reflects that “she had been often remiss… scornful, ungracious” (296) towards others. The next morning she pays Miss Bates a visit to make amends, the first time that Emma acknowledges her wrongdoings and tries to fix them in a way that does not merely benefit her. Her acceptance of Mr. Knightley’s guidance on this issue is not an acknowledgement of him as her intellectual superior, but rather as her equal. Mr. Knightley is the only character who sees past Emma as “handsome, clever, and rich” and instead expresses a desire to see her grow. He loves her for who she is, headstrong and all, and her self-reflection and change in behaviour stem from the realization that she is not perfect, and her subsequent desire for personal growth.

Emma’s marriage to Mr. Knightley demonstrates her ability to remain independent within traditionally gendered spaces. She is not, as many argue, submitting to the patriarchy. Rather, she is fulfilling her promise to Harriet earlier in the novel to only marry for love. The most remarkable element of Emma’s marriage is Mr. Knightley’s agreement to move to Hartfield, her father’s estate, to live with Emma and her father, an arrangement that would have been extremely unusual at the time. He also agrees to her terms that she will continue to call him “Mr. Knightley,” rather than by his given name, as long as she likes, because it makes her more comfortable. These two elements combined mean that if anyone’s place in society is impeded by this marriage, it is Mr. Knightley’s. But his willingness to accommodate Emma outweigh his pride.

Feminist icon or not, the element of the novel that gives Emma the most strength is her imperfection. As she grows throughout the novel, she overcomes her personal hurdles. She is allowed to make mistakes and grow, as any young person should. The reader learns to love Emma despite her flaws, and Emma learns to put those flaws aside and love others. Whether her independence is superficial or not, Emma is a novel about a young woman who is allowed to develop on her own, following her heart and principles above anything else. And, perhaps, that is all that is needed to be a strong woman.

What do you think? Leave a comment.