A Discovery

In reading Emma by Jane Austen, I have discovered a few things; one is that I hate Emma and that Austen uses Emma to represent that self-centered and self-fulfilling in all of us, which I learned during our seminar. Three things; I have already said this but I really hate Emma, I hate her because she is a character that Austen has made so that no one likes. Emma is a gossip which I already don’t like, but what really makes me upset is that she does things, but they are not for the person she does it for, she does it for herself. When Emma decides that she is going to match Harriet with Mr. Elton, she does it because she wants to bring Harriet up in society and then she can take the credit for it. So basically she masks self- interest with a seemingly altruistic demeanor. He thinks that by setting them up Harriet will be raised in her social standings and then Mr. Elton will then receive a wife who is very impressionable.  Not only that but she told Harriet to end it with Mr. Martin, whom she really actually loved and wanted to be with but Emma thought that wouldn't be in good taste for her reputation. Emma wanted the credit of putting someone else together so that she could obtain some sort of creditability and some sort of accomplishment in Highbury other than she is one of the highest ranked people in the town and also has a lot of money. She wanted to be accomplished like Jane Fairfax , who even though is in a lower social rank because she is poor and was adopted, basically, by the Churchills is way more pleasant and talented. Jane caught the eye of Mr. Knightly, who admires her deeply and whoever it was that sent the piano. Which is actually weird when you think about it because if you were going to send a present to your secret admirer why would it be something as big as a piano? I was thinking that you but something that is easier for a person to be able to bring through their own doors. I also see a little bit of Emma in myself, which makes it hard to hate her because by admitting that I don’t like her because she is selfish is to admit that I hate the general population, and myself because of the fact that we are a little selfish. Emma is that person, the one who will do whatever it takes to make herself look accomplished, but then there will always be a Jane Fairfax, one who will always beat us by half an inch and we will never be on the same level as her. Emma represents that person who is always the runner up. Like on American Idol there are always two people in the finale, one of them will be the runner up and the other will actually win it all. One person is the person that you think will win it all; they have the look of a star, the voice, and the personality to make it there, then when they announce the winner it’s the other person and you’re confused as to how that person one because they didn’t seem nearly as good, but in some way they are better and they are obviously more appealing to a majority. That is Emma and Jane Fairfax.