"Family relationships are central to the novel; they are the foundations upon which Austen builds her presentation of Highbury

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“Family relationships are central to the novel; they are the foundations upon which Austen builds her presentation of Highbury Society”

In the light of this statement, explore Austen’s presentation of family relationships in Emma.

In her novel Austen depicts a 19th century society and describes the lives of its members from a gentry class in the English countryside. The central plot of the novel is based around a family of the Woodhouses and their relationships with other members of the community. Austen uses the fictional town and characters to demonstrate the lifestyles and attitudes of the higher class during her time. Through the discussion of family issues, Austen focuses on individuals, their needs and duties as well as their constraints within the society. Austen argues the contemporary ideals of both personal and public responsibilities, such as: what and individual owes to society, how society should be structured, what is the role of a woman in a family

Austen uses relationships to demonstrate the role of a daughter in a 19th century society. Isabella and Emma are the main characters used to convey those characteristics. Coming from the same “respectable” family the two sisters have similar ideas about being submissive to their father and prepared to “sit with him” even if it is against their wishes. This shows that daughters in the society respect the expectations of their father. However there is a clear distinction between Emma’s and Isabella’s attitude. Numerous times the reader witnesses how Emma manages to manipulate the situation to her own advantage and persuade her father to allow her to achieve what she wants. This is due to a feminised figure of a father, who had to develop female qualities after the loss of Emma’s mother, this becoming softer and easy to manipulate. When Emma wants to attend a ball and Mr Woodhouse disapproves, she persuades him that it is essential for her to go in order to please the others, as that is what they “expect” of her. It is then that she is allowed to attend. Through this incident in the relationship, Austen demonstrates how important it was to sustain one’s social image even if it required defying personal rules.

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In order to explore the duties and expectations of a mother and a wife Austen depicts Isabella and Mrs Elton. Isabella is presented throughout the book as the perfect material for a mother as well as a wife. Her relationship with Mr John Knightley emphasises that a wife, just like a daughter, should to submit to a man. Isabella is “good tempered” and tries to calm the situation with her typical phrase “every time my love”. This emphasises the importance of a woman to accepting that she has submit to her husband fully. This helps to establish on what ...

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