By the end of the novel, the readers get the impression that women are always after something better than what they have. They are portrayed as idealistic, selfish, conceited, fickle, shallow, passionate, manipulative, promiscuous and impulsive. As we see with Emma, she’s a character that not only incorporates all these traits but also, in an attempt to have control over her life and be independent, ends up making things worse in the long run. She is idealistic from the very beginning and then fickle in her commitments. First she is dedicated to religion, then to motherhood, then to her lovers, alternating throughout the book. Then there’s Felicite who begins to get tired of Justin because she was “six years older than he, and Theodore, Monsieur Guillaumin’s manservant, was beginning to court her” (p. 185). Though Felicite may not be to the same degree as Emma, both show women’s fickle ways.
Also, one thing to note is how Emma’s egocentrism is what drives her to extremes. When Charles and Emma are first married we get a glimpse of her concern over appearances. “Emma would sometimes tuck the red border of his undershirt into his waistcoat, straighten his cravat…this was not …for him; it was for herself, for her own ego” (p. 78). Then for the rest of the novel, Emma signs notes that she knows she cannot afford in order to get the absolute best.
Emma’s passion and seeming lack of restraint appear to portray that women have no control over themselves, and need someone to be in control. Her sudden stops at Rodolphe’s start to get him irritated and the extremity of her feelings for both Rodolphe and Leon is what begins to turn them off.
Through Emma’s character, women are also shown to be somewhat base. When it comes to being an adornment to her husband’s reputation, a woman is valued---whether or not she is faithful to him, keeps a tidy household, etc.---yet when it comes to taking charge she is at a loss. She must succumb to promiscuity in order to manipulate and retain a hold on men. Emma does this on various accounts when Leon starts to feel like the relationship is going wayward but then all of the sudden feels overwhelming passion for her due to her seductive tactics. This is also seen in the end when she is trying to conjure up money to pay for her debts.
The portrayal of women’s desire to be independent may have been positive had it not been for Emma’s character tainting it with her abuse of it. In the beginning we all sided with her when she would speak her mind, but towards the end we feel as though she should have been controlled for she is out of control, lying to Charles about the piano lessons, and then beginning to not care about her affairs being exposed. So in the end, we come away reading the book with a negative view of women. Thanks Emma.
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I think that the “old” Catherine is quite similar to Emma. I thought the same thing about Catherine that you thought about Emma: “In the beginning we all sided with her when she would speak her mind, but towards the end we feel as though she should have been controlled for she is out of control”. The first image given of women is that of innocence, reasonability, and strength to speak out for themselves, but yet the final image is much more negative. Women are corrupted by the environment and society rules they are forced to live by.
ReplyDeleteThe “young” Catherine (Cathy) seems to be slightly more responsible and less selfish than her mother. She is calmer and more rationale yet has a good heart and can be compassionate, unlike Emma who spends too much time on self-pity. It must be stressed however, that just like Tess, these women are victims of their fate before anything else, and the fortunate or unfortunate events of their lives are what shapes them. Both Catherines have a more difficult childhood than Emma (Catherine’s father died and her brother abused her love, and Cathy’s father dies and Heathcliff manipulates her to have his revenge) and the impact on (especially Catherine) is more dramatic.
Catherine, just like Emma, is also terribly selfish, passionate and impulsive, egocentric, shallow & greedy (as she marries Edgar only for his money). She is also inclined to self-pitying herself and her death can be seen as a suicide: she stopped eating for three days and did not take proper care of herself ever since she finds out Heathcliff has run away. Both her and her daughter are also influenced by a strong male figure, but Cathy herself does not seek for it. While Catherine likes playing the role of the woman dominated by a brutish man, her daughter does not ask for it. Catherine in fact tries to dissuade Isabella from marrying Heathcliff by pointing out some of his flaws: the same flaws that attract her to him. Just like Emma, she is acts compulsively when it comes to love and it does not bother her that Heathcliff comes to her and Edgars home to make more gooey love declarations. If she had not died so early, it would be probable that she would have had an affair with him and would not even have felt guilty. In fact, some suspect that Cathy is actually Heathcliff daughter (though personally, I wonder if that’s true: when Heathcliff comes back, Catherine is already pregnant with Cathy).
I think that the authors of both novels wanted to convey the effect of social pressures on women, and Emma and Catherine show how women of different characters would be affected. In my opinion, Emma was a weaker character than Catherine, and yet, both were equally doomed, as they struggled to have some control but left themselves vulnerable to the men they loved.
-- Carine