Blog #21

After recently finishing Volume II of Emma by Jane Austin, I decided to dedicate this blog to my thoughts of the novel thus far. The first volume of the novel was interesting mostly because of the fact that it was set in the regency era, a time period that I find personally intriguing. However, once the initial excitement about the setting of the book and the lavish descriptions of the settings and parties involved within I began to grow bored of the slow moving pace that the book followed.

I guess I should not have been so surprised that a novel written during such a leisurely time period was to include a pace that reflected the every-day activities of the people within the book; however I was pleasantly surprised with volume two. Volume two still followed the same leisurely pace as that of volume one but I came to understand that with each detailed description of an engagement or a dance I came to understand that the description contained an underlying meaning that added to the overall feeling or even in some case humor to each situation. For example, the description of the initial meeting and relationship between Emma and Frank Churchill, the encounter between the two is surrounded by the extensive description of elements within their environment that at first glance may be interpreted as superfluous and not necessary of such vast description.

However, at a closer examination these descriptions can be beneficial in determine the longevity of the relationship between the two and perhaps even the specific views of such particular characters as Emma and her true feelings behind the relationship between her and Frank Churchill. A particular example, would be when Frank and Emma meet. Their initial relationship is fueled by the idea that Mr. and Mrs. Weston have decided that a match between the two would be extremely beneficial for both parties. This blatant observation is beneficial to this interpretation of the relationship, but much subtler actions such as when Frank Churchill leaves for London just to get a haircut.

 When I first read this I was astonished at the superficiality of such an action, who would travel hundreds of miles, especially at a time when a horse drawn carriage was the primary mode of transportation. However, the tools I have learned from this fabulous AP Literature class in which I have learned to look deeper into the meaning of the text allowed me to draw a different conclusion. Within this situation, Frank Churchill had met with Jane through subsequent callings on her; the result of these callings is that Emma has been won-over by the charm of Frank.

His abrupt departure could be viewed as a smaller version of the departure of other important elements in Emma’s life such as the death of her mother and the departure of her childhood governess. The return of Frank can be representative of the future of Emma’s personal relationships in which she is rewarded with the longevity of a relationship rather than the abruptness of one.