Jan. 19th, 2021 11:25 am
Finished Emma & Thoughts
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bunnybooHello! I actually finished Emma on Friday, but I got too lazy to post anything about it.
Maybe it was just that I lost my touch with Austen, but it was often hard for me to recognize Emma as satire. It was more... subtle than Northanger Abbey in that regard. That might just be something lost in historical and cultural translation.
I whole-heartedly enjoyed Mr. Woodhouse, who was easily my favorite character. He reminds me a lot of people in my own life who are stubborn, concerned with "wholesomeness," but ultimately receptive of other ideas if they're presented in the right way (and suddenly their stance on the issue changes when it's something they want to do). He's followed closely by Miss Bates. She was absolutely eye-crossingly, slip-off-the-page dull - and I loved it! You could really tell that she was well-meaning and kind - just a little preoccupied with the little things.
Really, that's a theme I noticed throughout the novel - people being so self-obsessed or "blinded" to the outside world and reality. Harriet is naive, Emma ignores every hint and outward sign that men are attracted to her, and the only truly savvy person seems to be Frank Churchill - who manipulates everyone else into believing that he's, uh, "single and ready to mingle" instead of being secretly engaged to Jane Fairfax.
Now the Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill situation - that is exactly the kind of drama I look for in Austen. Little (or not-so little) secrets being revealed, scenes and lines re-contextualized, characters coming to wrong conclusions - I love it all! It's what Austen does best, in my opinion - creating these plotlines and throwing them off course when the truth comes out and the characters' assumptions are turned on their heads.
I can't say I enjoyed it as much as Northanger Abbey - which was greatly helped by the edition with all the lovely footnotes I was reading - but I'd certainly rank it above Pride and Prejudice.
As for my next book, I'm thinking of a little something that starts with "The" and ends with "Hobbit."
Maybe it was just that I lost my touch with Austen, but it was often hard for me to recognize Emma as satire. It was more... subtle than Northanger Abbey in that regard. That might just be something lost in historical and cultural translation.
I whole-heartedly enjoyed Mr. Woodhouse, who was easily my favorite character. He reminds me a lot of people in my own life who are stubborn, concerned with "wholesomeness," but ultimately receptive of other ideas if they're presented in the right way (and suddenly their stance on the issue changes when it's something they want to do). He's followed closely by Miss Bates. She was absolutely eye-crossingly, slip-off-the-page dull - and I loved it! You could really tell that she was well-meaning and kind - just a little preoccupied with the little things.
Really, that's a theme I noticed throughout the novel - people being so self-obsessed or "blinded" to the outside world and reality. Harriet is naive, Emma ignores every hint and outward sign that men are attracted to her, and the only truly savvy person seems to be Frank Churchill - who manipulates everyone else into believing that he's, uh, "single and ready to mingle" instead of being secretly engaged to Jane Fairfax.
Now the Jane Fairfax and Frank Churchill situation - that is exactly the kind of drama I look for in Austen. Little (or not-so little) secrets being revealed, scenes and lines re-contextualized, characters coming to wrong conclusions - I love it all! It's what Austen does best, in my opinion - creating these plotlines and throwing them off course when the truth comes out and the characters' assumptions are turned on their heads.
I can't say I enjoyed it as much as Northanger Abbey - which was greatly helped by the edition with all the lovely footnotes I was reading - but I'd certainly rank it above Pride and Prejudice.
As for my next book, I'm thinking of a little something that starts with "The" and ends with "Hobbit."
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