The Importance Of Motifs In Jane Austen's Emma

The motif is a recurring element tends to explain the central idea in a literary work, it could be an image, sound, action or other figures that have a symbolic significance and contributes toward the development of theme. Jane tends to present the life of people in her time in her novel by using the motif . For example, Visits the main events of the novel take place through visits between the characters, and the length of each visit indicates the intimacy between characters, such as Frank's visits to Emma in order to show that he is close to her. Also Mr. Knightly visits to the Woodhouse's house they indicates his affection for Emma. Moreover, Emma advices Harriet to limit her visits to the Martin' family into fifteen minutes to show that her interest of them has been lost. Another example of motifs that shown in the novel is: Parties, they are social interactions that make the novel as a whole, and they are organized around social conventions more than around individual attachments. Emma organizes a hosting dinner party for Miss. Elton, even she doesn't like her. Also, there are other important parties in the novel, such as the Christmas Eve party at Randalls, the dinner party at the Coles’, the dance at the Crown Inn, the morning party at Donwell Abbey, and the picnic at Box Hill. In each occasion many misunderstandings happened that cause problem in the novel. Besides the events and the parties there are the conversational subtexts, which means multiple meaning of character speeches. As Mr. Elton comment about the portrait of Harriet, he says: “I cannot keep my eyes from it", Emma thinks he means Harriet while he compliments her.
Knightly Mr. Knightley proposes to Emma, Emma says, “I seem to have been doomed to blindness,” Knightley believes she speaks of her blindness to Frank’s love of Jane, but she actually refers to her blindness about her own