Intentions Destined for Misinterpretation: Emma by Jane Austen
Anna Caldwell
26 April 2012
ENG 230-012
Intentions Destined for Misinterpretation
In a novel overflowing with misconstrued romance, “Emma” by Jane Austen succeeds in misleading the readers, as well as the actual characters on the matter of who is really in love with whom. Although it is teeming with romantic dialogue, the characters have a tendency to misunderstand confessions of love, as well as comments made in passing concerning the secret feelings of others. Through forms of narration and dialogue, Jane Austen forces the reader to interpret these subtexts and draw conclusions concerning the actual romantic intensions of her complex characters, while also deceiving readers on an adventure of romantic deception. One of the main relationships that becomes misconstrued is the “romance” between Harriet Smith and Mr. Elton. As Emma fancies herself to be a matchmaker, she derives the idea of setting up the mismatched couple and misinterprets Mr. Elton’s feelings for Harriet. These misunderstandings are introduced in the first paragraph of Chapter 6, as the narrator refers to Mr. Elton’s actions through Emma’s point of view, “He talked of Harriet; and praised her so warmly that she could not suppose anything wanting which a little time would not add.” (Pg. 33) This narration observes Emma’s thoughts on the topic, which can be very misleading to the reader. The narrator is sometimes assumed by the audience to be an omniscient character, and although the narrator is simply construing Emma’s thought patterns and concerns, it encourages the reader to assume it’s the truth at first glance. By writing in this manner, Austen gave the reader a subconscious option of accepting Emma’s thoughts and feelings as truth, or looking deeper into the text and using evidence to determine the true intentions of the other characters.
This relationship is continually drawn out in Chapter 6 when Mr. Elton is observing Emma paint a portrait of Harriet. He makes the comment, “No
26 April 2012
ENG 230-012
Intentions Destined for Misinterpretation
In a novel overflowing with misconstrued romance, “Emma” by Jane Austen succeeds in misleading the readers, as well as the actual characters on the matter of who is really in love with whom. Although it is teeming with romantic dialogue, the characters have a tendency to misunderstand confessions of love, as well as comments made in passing concerning the secret feelings of others. Through forms of narration and dialogue, Jane Austen forces the reader to interpret these subtexts and draw conclusions concerning the actual romantic intensions of her complex characters, while also deceiving readers on an adventure of romantic deception. One of the main relationships that becomes misconstrued is the “romance” between Harriet Smith and Mr. Elton. As Emma fancies herself to be a matchmaker, she derives the idea of setting up the mismatched couple and misinterprets Mr. Elton’s feelings for Harriet. These misunderstandings are introduced in the first paragraph of Chapter 6, as the narrator refers to Mr. Elton’s actions through Emma’s point of view, “He talked of Harriet; and praised her so warmly that she could not suppose anything wanting which a little time would not add.” (Pg. 33) This narration observes Emma’s thoughts on the topic, which can be very misleading to the reader. The narrator is sometimes assumed by the audience to be an omniscient character, and although the narrator is simply construing Emma’s thought patterns and concerns, it encourages the reader to assume it’s the truth at first glance. By writing in this manner, Austen gave the reader a subconscious option of accepting Emma’s thoughts and feelings as truth, or looking deeper into the text and using evidence to determine the true intentions of the other characters.
This relationship is continually drawn out in Chapter 6 when Mr. Elton is observing Emma paint a portrait of Harriet. He makes the comment, “No
Cited: Austen, Jane. Emma. Chawton: John Murray, 1816.