Emma's Evolution
~Blog post #5~
Topic B
May 14, 2015
By Emily Edicola
From the beginning to the end of the novel, it is evident that there is a major change in Emma. An example of the growth her character depicts is when she transforms from an ignorant matchmaker to a caring, cautious bystander. In the beginning, she states that she was "introducing her to good company" when trying set up Harriet and Mr. Elton (129). Emma's does a bit of meddling to get them together because she believes that what she's doing is the best choice for everyone involved. Though her intentions are good, Emma oversteps because of her ignorance towards the ways Mr. Elton has tried to show his true feelings. Once Emma realizes his true feelings are for her and not Harriet, she finally starts to see that it was "foolish" and "wrong" to be so involved in setting them up (128). This is the first time that Emma is beginning to recognize that getting so involved in other peoples' business is not the best choice. She even comes to the eventual conclusion that she will "do such things no longer" (128). As the novel progresses on, Emma is faced with deciding her feelings for Frank Churchill. Emma begins analyzing a statement he made about Harriet and thinks for a second about matching them together. Instead of immediately making up her mind, she thinks through her decision and is reminded of what happened with Mr. Elton. She decides to "not dwell upon it" because she understands the effects of "indulging such speculation" (250). It's significant to note that Emma turns away the opportunity to go back to her old ways and to what may seem comforting to her because she is now taking her past experiences into account. She is viewing the world around her for what it really is, instead of seeing what she wants to and trying to make "everything bend to it" as she had before (126).
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