emma 读书报告

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Emma

is the last work by Jane Austen. It is a novel about the perils of misconstrued

romance. The novel

was first

published in December 1815.

As in

her other novels,

Austen

explores

the

concerns

and

difficulties

of

genteel

women

living

in

Georgian-Regency England; she also creates a lively comedy of manners' among her

characters.

In

the

very

first

sentence

she

introduces

the

title

character

as

Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich.

greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; and she is blind to the dangers

of meddling in other people's lives and is often mistaken about the meanings of others'

actions. Many critics think it i

s Austen’s most mature

work.

Jane

Austen

(16

December

1775

–

18

July

1817)

was

an

English

novelist

whose

works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of

the

most

widely

read

writers

in

English

literature,

her

realism

and

biting

social

commentary

cementing

her

historical

importance

among

scholars

and

critics.

From

1811 to 1816, with the release of

Sense and Sensibility

(1811),

Pride and Prejudice

(1813),

Mansfield Park

(1814) and

Emma

(1816), she achieved success as a published

writer.

She

wrote

two

additional

novels,

Northanger

Abbey

and

Persuasion

,

both

published

posthumously

in

1818,

and

began

a

third,

which

was

eventually

titled

Sanditon

, but died before completing it.

Character Analysis:

First,

I'll

analyze

the

most

important

role

of

this

book

——

the

heroine,

Emma

Woodhouse.

Emma Woodhouse, the protagonist of the story, is a beautiful, high-spirited, intelligent,

and 'slightly' spoiled young woman of the age of twenty. Her mother died when she

was very young, and she has been mistress of the house ever since, certainly since her

older

sister

got

married.

Although

intelligent,

she

lacks

the

necessary

discipline

to

practice

or

study

anything

in

depth.

She

is

portrayed

as

very

compassionate

to

the

poor, but at the same time has a strong sense of class. Her affection for and patience

towards

her

hypochondriac

father

are

also

noteworthy.

While

she

is

in

many

ways

mature for her age, Emma makes some serious mistakes, mainly due to her conviction

that she is always right and her lack of real world experience. Although she has vowed

she

will

never

ever

marry,

she

delights

in

making

matches

for

others.

She

seems

unable

to

fall

in

love,

until

jealousy

makes

her

realize

that

she

has

loved

Mr.

Knightley all along.

Then I'm going to introduce the second main character.

George

Knightley,

about

thirty-seven

years

old,

is

a

close

friend

of

Emma,

and

her

only critic, although he cares deeply for her. Mr. Knightley is the owner of the estate

of

Donwell

Abbey,

which

includes

extensive

grounds

and

a

farm.

He

is

the

elder

brother

of

Mr.

John

Knightley,

the

husband

of

Emma's

elder

sister

Isabella.

Mr

Knightley is very annoyed with Emma for persuading Harriet to turn down Mr. Martin,

thinking

that

the

advantage

is

all

on

Harriet's

side;

he

also

warns

Emma

against

matchmaking

Harriet

with

Mr.

Elton,

correctly

guessing

that

Mr.

Elton

has

a

much

higher

opinion

of

himself.

He

is

suspicious

of

Frank

Churchill

and

his

motives;

although his suspicion turns out to be based mainly on jealousy of the younger man,

his instincts are proven correct by the revelation that Frank Churchill is not that entire

he seems.

Plot:

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and

rich,

although convinced that she herself

will never marry anyone, she imagines herself to be naturally gifted in conjuring love

matches. After self-declared success at matchmaking between her governess and Mr.

Weston, a village widower, Emma takes it upon herself to find an eligible match for

her

new

friend,

Harriet

Smith.

Though

Harriet’s

parentage

is

unknown,

Emma

is

convinced

that Harriet deserves to be a gentleman’s wife and sets her friend’s sights

on

Mr.

Elton,

the

village

vicar.

Meanwhile,

Emma

persuades

Harriet

to

reject

the

proposal of Robert Martin, a well-to-do farmer for whom Harriet clearly has feelings.

Harriet

beco

mes

infatuated

with

Mr.

Elton

under

Emma’s

encouragement,

but

Emma’s plans go awry when Elton makes it clear that his affection is for Emma, not