I am woman....hear me roar.....
9 years ago
Monday, March 4, 2013
Emma and Harriet
Does
Emma act as a good friend to Harriet Smith? Are Emma's concerns for
Harriet's education and refinement born of an honest desire to help, or
is it something less altruistic? Are Mr. Knightley's criticisms of
Emma's interference with Mr. Martin's marriage proposal justified? Does
Harriet ultimately benefit from Emma's friendship or her attempts to
help her?
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4 comments:
I want to believe that Emma is really trying to be a good friend to Harriet. Emma wanted what she thought was best for Harriet. She just didn't realize that what she wanted was not the best thing. I do think that Emma being used to getting what she wants and having things her own way, and maybe a little out of just needing something to do, were also factors in her efforts with Harriet. But again, I want to see Emma as a basically good person, so I chose to believe she does care about Harriet, and that her intentions are good.
I think Emma thought she was helping Harriet, but she was not a good friend because she was always more concerned about how Harriet's love life would affect her, and not Harriet. She led her away from the man she loved and pushed her at everyone else until Harriet found one that she really liked and then Emma said hands off, and blew off Harriet and her happiness. Harriet was better off without Emma.
I think choosing to befriend Harriet made Harriet feel important and better about herself. But Emma had ulterior motives and they were not good. She was trying to change a person in to something she was not and taking her away from a man who really cared about her. Harriet was so easily manipulated by Emma and was not strong enough to stand up for waht she wanted. Emma used this weakness to try to work things to her desires. I think because she had matched Mr. Weston and Miss Taylor she thought she could do it with others. But her further matchmaking caused a lot of problems and hurt for Harriet. I think Emma liked Harriet but should have liked her as a friend and not to catch a husband for her and try to marry her off to persons above her in rank .
I agree. I think Emma had good intentions and felt like she was helping her. But it wasn't until she could see the big picture and realize what really was the best thing (and man) for Harriet that she realized she had been wrong.
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