Emma, ​​Jane Austen's most comical and lively novel, is well received for its lively characters and gripping narrative. In another story of society versus sensibility, Austen weaves together myriad episodes to illustrate how youthful presumptions can distort the bigger picture. In a way, the plot of events hides the true plot of the novel, which is dedicated to showing how experience is the master of maturation. Austen's deeper purpose, then, is to demonstrate that the journey of self-discovery is completed through many forms of education. The education of Emma, ​​the kind-hearted but closed-minded heroine, is notably based on a combination of lessons that improve her social understanding and awaken her personal awareness. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay On the surface, it seems that Emma Woodhouse is the blessed child. Austen first describes her as "beautiful, intelligent, and wealthy, with a comfortable home and a happy disposition" (3). She never met anyone she couldn't charm, she never encountered anything that could "distress or irritate her" (3). Despite her good nature and attractive persona, Emma suffers from "the ability to have her own way too much" and is also prone to "thinking a little too highly of herself" (4). His main problem, however, is that he is as insensitive to these character flaws as he is comfortable with his life situation. All things considered, it's pretty clear that Emma's world needs to be rocked because her complacency will be removed. This earthquake comes when Emma's housekeeper, Miss Taylor, gets married. Emma's first and perhaps most challenging lesson, then, is to learn to subdue her addiction to company and get used to the greatest loneliness she has ever known. Austen suggests that independence is the most fundamental education one can have. This concept of solitude may be Emma's first lesson, but it is also the most important on her path to maturation. Until she no longer has the constant company of her former housekeeper and best friend, Emma will be blissfully unaware of her fear of being alone. She is similarly unaware of her desire for a husband. In good spirits, she admits that love leads her to marriage, but the idea of ​​her falling in love is as absurd as sunbathing in Siberia. Laughing at the idea, Emma heartily declares to Harriet "...I have never been in love; it is not my way, or my nature; and I don't think I ever will" (78). What Emma fails to say is that she also embodies what she lives in horror of: being powerless. As Bruce Stovel deduces, "Emma fears love because she considers it blind. Emma is exquisitely reserved: the idea of ​​losing control, of losing her will in the throes of passion, disturbs her." Strangely, it is Emma's perception of love and marriage, the ultimate forms of companionship, that obscures her estimate of their intrinsic value. “If I were to marry,” he says, “I must expect to regret it” (78). Any penance on her part comes once the veil of puerile selfhood gives way to her feelings for Mr. Knightley, the man destined to be her husband. Before Emma can admit that she wants and needs a husband, she must realize the social consequences. consequence of the marital state. According to her, she will always be so valued that she will not get anything desirable from a marriage. Therefore, he focuses his attention on the improvement of young Harriet Smith. Harriet, unlike Emma, ​​is "not intelligent" and, although she is pretty and good-natured, has no idea of ​​her family connections, meaning she has no relationshipmale to establish his position in society. Emma is initially attracted to Harriet by her beauty, but also by Harriet's impressionable character. More than anything, Emma seems to be in love with the idea of ​​having a protégé of her own for whom she can "form her own opinions and good manners" (20). The friendship she instigates, then, is Emma's expression of her desire for control, as well as her desire to be an irreplaceable person. Beyond that, Harriet's role in Emma's enlightenment is instructive because it opens Emma's eyes to her own inaccurate assumptions. Through Harriet's attachment to Mr. Elton, the young vicar of Highbury, Emma reaps the consequences of her foolish encouragement. Harriet's affections. This is a great example of how Austen uses the power of influence as a form of education for her heroine, who gains a very acute awareness of how she can hurt others, despite any good intentions she may have. The debacle also teaches Emma about barriers of the social hierarchy. Mr. Elton's high hopes for social exaltation are palpable to almost everyone except Emma and Harriet, who has absolutely no rights in society as he says: "Every body has its level... I need not despair so totally of an equal alliance, as of addressing Miss Smith!" Emma's frustration overshadows her meticulous sense of rank. Once her disappointment in Harriet has subsided, however, she can think of nothing but Elton's impertinence in confronting her. She is almost offended that he "should think himself equal to her in relation or mind" (125) and is convinced that "he must know that in fortune and consequence she was far superior to him" (126). In other words, Emma sees an impassable gulf between their social ranks, much like the one she perceives between him and Harriet. Her presumption is, in many ways, just as pitiful as his. This similarity is yet another form of teaching that Austen uses for her disgruntled student. Surprisingly, Emma does not realize the significance of this experience until she sees it as a reflection of her own misconceptions. As Bradbury says, "Emma learns...by analogy." In his moment of enlightenment, he begins to understand how "If he had so misread [Mr. Elton's] feelings, he had little right to wonder that he, with self-interest blinding him, should have misunderstood his" (126 ). Tutoring is another form of education that Austen imparts to her heroine. Mr. Knightley, the wealthy gentleman who owns the grand estate of Donwell Abbey, best fills the role of Emma's current advisor. With his "sensible" nature and good judgment, Mr. Knightley is the only person who consistently forms accurate opinions about the people around him. It is Mr. Knightley who foresees the trouble that Emma could cause for Harriet, despite her good intentions, and it is also Mr. Knightley who first suspects the secret relationship between Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. Mr. Knightley is a really good mentor, because "he is one of the few people who could see the flaws in Emma Woodhouse, and the only one who ever told her about them" (8). As Emma jokes, "Mr. Knightley loves to find fault with me" (8). This joke couldn't be further from the truth, however, because Mr. Knightley is as gracious with his criticism as he is discerning of his flaws. Miss Taylor has given her principles, but Mr Knightley gives Emma conviction. As he says, “I will tell you the truth while I can, satisfied to prove myself your friend by very faithful counsel” (347). Mr. Knightley is, at any rate, devoted above all to the cause of perfecting the moral character of his beloved Emma. The final tutorial and more.