American Research Journal of English and Literature

The aim of this paper is to explore the characteristic charisma of Jane Austen’s heroine, Emma Woodhouse who is a social snob and over-sure of her own judgment. With reference to Emma’s nature, Bradley (1851-1935) points out, “She has a generous nature. She is self-confident, and she likes to be first; but she is not vain. She is faultless in her relations with her father; and, though she will not take advice from Knightley, her readiness to take reproof and to make amends for her errors is more than magnanimous.” In Stovel (1941-2007)’s reading of the novel all oppositions finally dissolve as Emma’s education is completed and her ‘desire to be herself, her desire for Knightley, and her desire to be good all…coincide’ in such a way that a vision of ‘harmony, not sacrifice or division, reigns.’