Emma / Stage 6 - C1

by Jane Austen

Emma is a young lady who lives with her father at Hartfield, Highbury village. She is rich, beautiful, clever, and independent. She seems to have one of the best blessings of existence. She has everything her heart desires – property, popularity in society, and sharp mind. She has everything but a husband. But she does not want to be sealed by the marriage bond. She promises herself never to marry for her father’s sake. She is fond of making matches among her acquaintances. She fancies herself the master of matchmaking and arranges the lives of her friends. She is so engaged in arranging the feelings of the others that she gets confused with her own senses. Moreover, all her matches result in serious consequences for her friends. To her great surprise, she finds herself in love with her old friend. All her predictions turn out to be quite the opposite. She must take a serious decision: whether to break her promise to herself, or to marry a man she loves dearly. Her decision appears surprising even for herself.

‘Emma’ is not just a sentimental story. It is the whole book of human relationships, characters, true feelings, and emotional upheavals.

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2020

About the author

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.

The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but brought her little fame in her lifetime. She wrote two other novels—Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1817—and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, the short epistolary novel Lady Susan, and the unfinished novel The Watsons.
Since her death Austen's novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her reputation occurred in 1833, when they were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series (illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering and sold as a set). They gradually gained wide acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience. Her work has inspired a large number of critical essays and has been included in many literary anthologies. Her novels have also inspired many films, including 1940's Pride and Prejudice, 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2016's Love & Friendship.