January242012

Happy studying! 

emma jane austen gwyneth paltrow miss bates mr. knightley media 

January232012

I chose this clip because of Emma’s facial expression after Mr. Elton remarks about the stars in the beginning. It is a perfect example of satire and of how Jane Austen can satirize the stupidity of marriage proposals. It seems as if the insincere proposals in her novels are always completely ridiculous and contrasts the clumsy proposals of true affection.

Hopefully this will bring you guys back a few weeks! Happy studying!

-Amanda

emma Mr. Elton jane austen media marriage 

January52012

Blossom

Through a majority of the novel Emma never considers the feelings of others and believes everything she says is correct. By doing so she closes off the rest the world’s opinions (except Mr. Knightely of course) just like the bud of a flower. Suddenly, Mr. Knightely, like the spring season, comes around and gets Emma to think and open up to the fact that she is sometimes wrong. After the Box Hill incident, Emma realizes her pushiness toward others and changes in a beautiful flower.  

-Kai

art Emma Jane Austen blossom flowers beauty revealing flashy 

January42012

Over break I watched Mamma Mia and I found a character comparison of Sophie and Sky to Emma and Mr. Knightley. From the very start of Emma, Emma tries to play her matchmaking game instead of focusing on her own love life. Likewise, Sophie starts the story by sending three invitations to her wedding to three men who are all potentially her father. As the story unfolds, Sophie is overwhelmed by the wedding ordeal and her three possible fathers. In comparison, Emma becomes frustrated with her failed “projects” and complains to Mr. Knightley who becomes her voice of reason. As a parallel, Sky helps Sophie get back on track with the scene I linked above, lowering her stress and helping her focus on more important things, like her relationship with him, just like Mr. Knightley focuses Emma’s attention from her friend’s love lives to her own.

Please don’t mind the watermark over the scene, it was the only way for me to post it.

-Christine

media movie movie scene mamma mia emma 

10PM
Ever sat first class on a long plane flight? Well, when I’ve traveled abroad—though I’m so lucky and grateful to have done so—I have never sat in that prestigious first class cabin. They have roomier seats, if not little beds to stretch out on. Back in economy, in row 30, we’re smushed three-across in seats just over a foot wide that recline a mere 3.5 inches… that is unless you’re unlucky— sitting in one that doesn’t work and forces you to sit upright at 90 degrees the entire flight as if you are on a backboard. Enjoying that assortment of mixed nuts? Well, back here all we have are overly salted pretzels. You get drinks in mini wine glasses, we get flimsy plastic cups. We are forced to fight over inadequate overhead storage space, and chances are we have to look four rows ahead of us to see a movie playing on an overhead television.  If you have flown first class, you’re probably rolling your eyes right now as I blab on and on about my views of luxuries of that first chamber. But what I’m doing is helping demonstrate that division between “us and them”. What you’re experiencing is that same feeling Emma and her fellow upperclassmen feel towards the other Englishmen ranked lower in society, be it by money, family name, or a misdeed. In Highbury, status is such a crucial element of life, and the richer classes are always peering down their noses and their subordinates. For example, Emma constantly struggles with Harriet’s match because she is worried about finding her a husband of the highest possible rank, constantly telling Harriet that she deserves better than her “orphan” status gives her. Social status and marriage are so synonymous in the novel, as they are always trying to marry someone who either equals their own status or is ranked higher. Whether it is a relatively unspoken division like the class system in Highbury, or that literal division created when they close that curtain after we reach takeoff, social status is an element of life that neither the residents of Highbury nor ourselves can ignore. ALLIE

Ever sat first class on a long plane flight? Well, when I’ve traveled abroad—though I’m so lucky and grateful to have done so—I have never sat in that prestigious first class cabin. They have roomier seats, if not little beds to stretch out on. Back in economy, in row 30, we’re smushed three-across in seats just over a foot wide that recline a mere 3.5 inches… that is unless you’re unlucky— sitting in one that doesn’t work and forces you to sit upright at 90 degrees the entire flight as if you are on a backboard. Enjoying that assortment of mixed nuts? Well, back here all we have are overly salted pretzels. You get drinks in mini wine glasses, we get flimsy plastic cups. We are forced to fight over inadequate overhead storage space, and chances are we have to look four rows ahead of us to see a movie playing on an overhead television. 

If you have flown first class, you’re probably rolling your eyes right now as I blab on and on about my views of luxuries of that first chamber. But what I’m doing is helping demonstrate that division between “us and them”. What you’re experiencing is that same feeling Emma and her fellow upperclassmen feel towards the other Englishmen ranked lower in society, be it by money, family name, or a misdeed. In Highbury, status is such a crucial element of life, and the richer classes are always peering down their noses and their subordinates. For example, Emma constantly struggles with Harriet’s match because she is worried about finding her a husband of the highest possible rank, constantly telling Harriet that she deserves better than her “orphan” status gives her. Social status and marriage are so synonymous in the novel, as they are always trying to marry someone who either equals their own status or is ranked higher. Whether it is a relatively unspoken division like the class system in Highbury, or that literal division created when they close that curtain after we reach takeoff, social status is an element of life that neither the residents of Highbury nor ourselves can ignore.

ALLIE

emma life airplanes social status 

10PM

“Now there would be great pleasure in her returning; everything would be a pleasure; it would be a great pleasure to know Robert Martin” (347).

I think this quote is a good example of how much Emma has changed in the novel and emphasizes her newly found maturity. It is an example of free indirect discourse in Emma’s point of view. It states that she is happy to have Harriet returning, which is evidence of true feelings towards Harriet, showing that Emma cares for her as a true friend and no longer treats her like a pawn. It also says that Emma would enjoy meeting Robert Martin. Not only does Emma wants to meet Robert Martin, but is happy about his and Harriet’s union. Emma shows no sign of being angry that she was wrong in the first place about their relationship. This quote also indicates how in love and happy Emma is by the repetition of “pleasure.” How cute! In the end, Emma truly matured and found love. 

-Gabby

quotes emma jane austen maturity friendship 

9PM

“She felt that, in quitting Donwell, he must be sacrificing a great deal of independence of hours and habits…”

In this quote, Emma is thinking about having Mr. Knightley move into her house rather than his and she starts to feel bad about him leaving all his possessions. I chose this quote because it shows how much Emma has changed, how Mr. Knightley goes against all conventions, and the complete irony of the statement. Emma has changed from not caring about the feelings of others to her trying to work out situations to accommodate their emotions. She even sends Harriet away to London so that she will not have to bear the pain of the loss of Mr. Knightley. The fact that she is concerned about Mr. Knightley giving up his independence to be with her shows her development. Even though she is concerned about his feelings, Mr. Knightley shows no apprehension about moving in with her which just gives the reader more evidence of his unusualness in their society. Usually it is proper for a woman to move in with her husband when they get married, not the other way around. Mr. Knightley has been very different in his opinions about Frank Churchill, Harriet Smith and Jane Fairfax but he has always been right. He is a very unconventional man but that just adds more to his attractiveness as a character. The statement is also very ironic because Emma has always avoided marriage because she does not want to give up her independence to a man, but in this situation it is her husband that gives up his independence. Instead of Emma losing “everything”, it’s Mr. Knightley that sacrifices his independence. Poor Mr. Knightley.

-Amanda

Emma Jane Austen Mr. Knightley quotes 

9PM

Romantic or creepy?

After finishing the novel Emma, once one has gotten over the charming Mr. Knightley and the change that Emma has been through. And everyone is now happily married, or in Mrs. Eltons case has made a very uncomfortable bed and now must sleep in it. I must start to question Mr. Knightley and how he fell in love with Emma. This happened when she was 13 years of age, so there is a significant age difference between the two. Also Mr. Knightley was a great friend of her father, but throughout the book he would be left alone with Emma to talk. Looking at this relationship from the view of a 21st century teenager I would be a bit sketched out if my fathers’ friends kept hitting on me, and one day told me they were in love with me.

If this what society now thinks of relationships that at one time period were acceptable? How have we changed from the days of Emma in our problems with different ages? Does ages really matter, if not why are there laws in place that make it such a big deal?

age now present emma media society what we think 

6PM

“Harriet, necessarily drawn away by her engagements with the Martins, was less and less at Hartfield, which was not to be regretted. The intimacy between her and Emma must sink; their friendship must change into a calmer sort of good-will; and, fortunately, what ought to be, and must be, seemed already beginning, and in the most gradual, natural manner.”

Emma allows society’s strict social distinctions to influence her relationships with Harriet. Knowing of the identity of Harriet’s father as a tradesman, Harriet loses a sense of nobility and esteem in Emma’s eyes, along with the rest of society. Emma’s acceptance of withdrawing and distancing herself from Harriet reveals Emma’s submission to the expectations of society and her value of social norms. Emma takes their friendship for granted and easily accepts that their differing social positions mean that they must give put their intimacy. Showing no signs of rejection to their disassociation suggests that the need to adhere to social conventions overwhelms the affection that Emma has for Harriet. -Kelsey McCormick 

Emma frienship jane austen social class 

2PM

Dirty Little Secret

By the end of the novel, Emma has grown into a better person she still has not completely finished her transformation.  Emma never divulged all of her secrets, for example she never told anyone that Mr. Elton proposed to her or how she planned on setting Frank Churchill and Mr. Knightly up with Harriet.    Just like the line in the song “Dirty Little Secret” by the American Rejects, Emma feels that she’s “the only one that needs to know her dirty little secret [and she] won’t tell anyone.”  The song has a very upbeat tone to it, as if to imply that secrecy is a good thing to have.  The last line of the song is “who has to know”, alluding to the fact that ignorance is bliss.  This may be the cause for Emma not telling anyone all of these secrets, which does show her change because she is being considerate of everyone’s feelings.

-Amy 

american rejects dirty little secret secret emma 

December292011
“I do not know whether it ought to be so, but certainly silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. Wickedness is always wickedness, but folly is not always folly. It depends upon the character of those who handle it” (153-154). This passage reveals Emma’s thought process in assessing Frank’s impromptu departure to London just to get a hair cut. In this quote she is rationalizing his actions, explaining that stupid, immature things are okay if done by the right people. Emma’s rationalization of Frank’s silly actions reminds me of how sometimes our society tends to make light of/excuse celebrities and certain people for doing things that are wrong. Such as our acceptance of Charlie Sheen even after it was revealed that he was a womanizer and drug addict. Also, celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan (her four mug shots are pictured above) and her drug and alcohol abuse. There are also multiple instances where celebrities drink and drive yet somehow escape jail time. It is almost as if our society gives a free pass to people in the spot light because of their status and reputation, this is similar to Emma excusing Frank Churchill’s silly behavior. -Courtney

“I do not know whether it ought to be so, but certainly silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. Wickedness is always wickedness, but folly is not always folly. It depends upon the character of those who handle it” (153-154).

This passage reveals Emma’s thought process in assessing Frank’s impromptu departure to London just to get a hair cut. In this quote she is rationalizing his actions, explaining that stupid, immature things are okay if done by the right people. Emma’s rationalization of Frank’s silly actions reminds me of how sometimes our society tends to make light of/excuse celebrities and certain people for doing things that are wrong. Such as our acceptance of Charlie Sheen even after it was revealed that he was a womanizer and drug addict. Also, celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan (her four mug shots are pictured above) and her drug and alcohol abuse. There are also multiple instances where celebrities drink and drive yet somehow escape jail time. It is almost as if our society gives a free pass to people in the spot light because of their status and reputation, this is similar to Emma excusing Frank Churchill’s silly behavior.

-Courtney

Emma Quotes Lindsay Lohan Charlie Sheen 

December132011

Just A Thought…

Why do we tend to sympathize with Emma over Mrs. Elton? Do you think that Jane Austen is trying to humanize the role of the society lady or show that all humans have redeeming qualities? Do you think that Emma and Mrs. Elton are more alike than they are different? Why do we find both girls so annoying when we have admitted to preform similar tendancies? Just some food for thought..

-Clare Schneider

Emma Jane Austen Thought 

10AM

“Young ladies should take care of themselves. Young ladies are delicate plants. They should take care of their health and their complexion” (214).

Though Mr. Woodhouse is primarily concerned with Jane’s health when he utters this quote it does correlate to a task women face in today’s society, the chore of being beautiful.  On average, it takes a woman 15 minutes to an hour and a half to get ready in the morning, meanwhile it takes a mere 20 seconds for a man to throw on a pair of trousers and a tie.  We, as women, are expected to apply makeup, flawlessly shape our hair and wear chic, uncomfortable clothing, while it is acceptable for men to lounge around in sweatpants all day.  The comparison of a young ladies to delicate plants makes the male position on the issue clear, like a beautiful flower a woman must remain stationary and appear gorgeous at all times.  In my opinion, Mr. Woodhouse’s view of women is completely appropriate for the time period but if a man today described our gender as delicate flowers who “should take care of their health and their complexion” I would slap him for setting feminism back fifty years.

-Amy

quotes flower feminism emma 

10AM
Like Emma, the Greek and Roman god Eros (a.k.a Cupid) has dabbled in the area of matchmacking. As a young god, Eros can be seen aiming and shooting his arrow at a couple who he thinks would be perfect together. Eros is a god who establishes many relationships among mortals, and sometimes, those attempts get him into a huge amount of trouble. However as Cupid matures, he finds that he too can love. He discovers that though his matches seem flawless, he has not established one for himself. Eros is represented in Emma because she tries to set up relationships, though they fail, and does not see herself as relationship worthy. Through the book Emma matures and rather than focusing on others, she focuses on herself and her own love life. -Kai

Like Emma, the Greek and Roman god Eros (a.k.a Cupid) has dabbled in the area of matchmacking. As a young god, Eros can be seen aiming and shooting his arrow at a couple who he thinks would be perfect together. Eros is a god who establishes many relationships among mortals, and sometimes, those attempts get him into a huge amount of trouble. However as Cupid matures, he finds that he too can love. He discovers that though his matches seem flawless, he has not established one for himself. Eros is represented in Emma because she tries to set up relationships, though they fail, and does not see herself as relationship worthy. Through the book Emma matures and rather than focusing on others, she focuses on herself and her own love life.

-Kai

Art cupid eros matchmaking love Emma Jane Austen maturity age growing 

3AM
“I never saw any thing so outré!”

(This quote plus the rest of this paragraph; Chapter 26)

This is one of the first real dialogues we get to see of Frank and his interactions with Emma in a social setting.  When I first read this, it seemed that Emma and Frank were made for each other (seeing how easily they belittle people and talk ill of them behind their backs).  However, as the book has progressed, we see Emma slowly begin to grow and find out who she is. We’ve also learned that Frank is actually involved in some form of romance with Jane Fairfax (the young lady he is insulting in this quote).  So, looking back, I view Frank as a sneaky player who says things to Emma to please her.  He is trying to play the field by making Emma happy (he continues on to insult Jane’s dancing in order to praise Emma for hers).  I contrasted this to Emma’s insulting manner.  Emma appears to do it in a far more genuine way (if it’s possible to insult someone genuinely…) and less agenda-oriented.  Frank is saying these things to please someone else and appear falsely to Emma.  Emma says rude things because she believes them and finds her opinion important enough to share. This makes me respect Emma more because at least her insults are her real feelings and not for anyone else’s pleasure but her own.

-Annsley

EMMA Quotes insults 

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