History Of Mary Prince And Emma example essay topic

T.B. English 418 March 19, 2002 The differences between Emma By Jane Austen and The History of Mary Prince By Mary Prince The differences between Emma by Jane Austen, a classical novel, and the autobiographical slave narrative, The History of Mary Prince are many and varied, but what stood out in my mind most prominently was the difference in character development. The novel delved very deeply into the life, character, breeding, make-up, and personality of it's subjects, but the narrative, instead, developed Prince in breadth, not depth. While each approach gave the reader insight into the respective lead characters, one came away with a better understanding of who Emma was and why. A novel is a long work of written fiction. Most novels involve many characters and tell a complex story by positioning the characters in a number of different situations.

A novels chief interest is in the human character as it manifests in society. The individual naming of the characters in a novel gives singularity to each person. Novels tend to be richly detailed and often have an exhaustive analysis of human relationships. In a novel, the writer has the freedom to develop the plot, characters, motifs, and theme slowly.

The novelist can also circle the main plot with subplots that flesh out the tale. Furthermore, novels have numerous shifts in time, place, and focus of interest. Because a novel is a concentrated segment of life, the ending is usually drawn to a pre-designed conclusion. A narrative is the autobiography of one's life experiences and views.

It is usually written in the first person point of view and records a long and complicated journey from one's life experiences. Many narratives are documents of propaganda, which have a clear sense of their audience. The question of identity is often central to the genre in narratives, 2 as many are quests for identity. In many female slave narratives, motherhood tends to be a central theme. Ultimately, narratives elicit sympathy and empathy from their audience and are written to win approval of different actions. I feel that the major differences between a novel and a narrative are characteristic detail and development and the level of interactions between characters.

Furthermore, a novel is a fictional piece of writing which is created by the author, who uses imagination and past life experiences of their life to make the story. In contrast, a narrative is a one dimensional autobiography which is created by the narrator who shares their own personal life story with the reader. After a close-reading of each text, I found both writings to be very different from each other. The context of Emma surrounds the life of Emma Woodhouse, a twenty-year old resident of the prominently white village of Highbury. She imagines herself to be naturally gifted in conjuring love matches. After her success at matchmaking between her governess, Ms. Taylor, and a village widower, Mr. Weston, Emma takes it upon herself to find an suitable 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 friends point of interest on Mr. Elton, the village vicar. Meanwhile, Emma persuades Harriet to reject the proposal of Robert Martin, a well off farmer for whom Harriet clearly has feelings for. Harriet becomes infatuated with Mr. Elton under Emma's encouragement, but Emma's plans go bad when Elton makes it clear that his affection is for Emma, not Harriet. Mr. Knightley, Emma's brother-in-law and trusted friend, observed Emma's matchmaking efforts with a critical eye. He believes that Robert Martinis a worthy young man whom Harriet would be lucky to marry.

He and Emma quarrel over Emma's interference, and as usual, Mr. Knightly proves to be the wiser of the pair. Elton, who is overlooked by Emma and offended by her insinuation that Harriet is his equal, leaves for the town of Bath and marries a women there almost immediately. Emma 3 is left to comfort Harriet while they wonder about the character of a new visitor expected in Highbury, Frank Churchill. Frank is set to visit his father in Highbury after being raised by his aunt and uncle in London. Due to his aunt's illnesses and complaints, Frank was long deterred from visiting his father, and therefore is completely unknown to Emma. Emma finds Frank delightful and notices that his charms are directed solely towards her.

Though she tries to ignore them, she finds herself flattered and engaged in the flirtation with the young man. Another addition to Highbury is Jane Fairfax, who is greeted with less enthusiasm by Emma. Jane is beautiful and accomplished, but Emma dislikes Jane because of her reserve and becomes very jealous of her. Mr. Knightley defends Jane by saying that she deserves compassion because, unlike Emma, she has no independent fortune and must soon leave home to work as a governess. Everyone assumes that Emma and Frank are forming an attachment, though Emma soon dismisses Frank as a potential suitor and imagines him as a match for Harriet.

At the town ball, Knightley earns Emma's approval by offering to dance with Harriet, who had has just been humiliated by Mr. Elton and his new wife. The following day, Frank saves Harriet from being attacked by gypsy beggars. When Harriet tells Emma that she has fallen in love with a man above her social status, Emma believes that she means Frank. Frank and Jane were secretly engaged and were soon to be married. Emma worries that Harriet will be torn, but soon discovers that it is Knightley, not Frank, who is the object of Harriets affection. Emma finds herself very upset by Harriets revelation, and her affliction forces her to realize that she is in love with Knightly.

Emma expects Knightley to tell her that he loves Harriet, but instead he declares his love for Emma. Harriet is soon contented by a second proposal from Robert Martin, which she accepts. The novel ends with the marriages of Harriet and Mr. Martin along with that of Emma and Mr. Knightly, answering the question of who loves whom after all. In Contrast, The History of Mary Prince, is a narrative about the first black British female to escape from slavery and publish a record of her experiences. Prince, a west 4 indian slave, shares with the readers the physical and emotional cruelty which endured a healthy young black slave girl in early Nineteenth Century. In this document, Prince vividly recalls her life as a slave in Bermuda, Turks Island, Antigua, and England, and her rebellion against physical and psychological degradation, and her eventual escape in London in 1828.

Also, the narrative includes an introduction which discusses the history within the context of black writing, explanatory notes, a chronology, and supplementary material on the enslavement and the case of Prince. Prince gives a personal account of the conditions of slavery and the physical and sexual atrocities she and her slave companions suffered. The differences between Emma and The History of Mary Prince vary greatly. When referring to the style of writing, The History of Mary Prince is written in the first person point of view and Emma is written in the third person omniscient view. In Emma, a reader sees things happen through time, including the development of people. Emma is always looking into her past to form the present.

In The History of Mary Prince, on the other hand, the reader sees things happen to the present day as Prince had lived it, not knowing what happened later on in her life, the narrative is left open for the future. Emma attempts to portray a variety of human experience through the entire novel. The Historyof Mary Prince only portrays the personal experiences which Prince lived through. In Emma, the author pays a lot of attention to particular characters in the book, as well as the protagonist.

The History of Mary Prince only concentrates on the protagonist, with small references to the remaining subjects. Like most novels, Emma contains a lot of "everyday details", whereas The History of Mary Prince does not. In Emma, the author names her characters according to their appearance and personality, giving characteristic detail to each individual person. For example, Jane Fairfax is described as fair and beautiful, possessing a kind heart and a reserved temperament. This illustrates how Austen tends to put strong emphasis on her character development. However, The History of Mary 5 Prince uses the true names of real people.

In the village of Highbury, black folk were unheard of, compared to The History of Mary Prince, whereas all the regions which she lived in were prominently black folk. I feel the biggest difference was the development of the characters through time and the relationships among them. Austen delved very deeply into the life, character, breeding, make-up, and personality of her subjects, but the narrative, instead, developed Prince in breadth, not depth. I do not feel that I know a lot about the make-up, personality, or character of subjects in The History of Mary Prince asI do Emma.

I personally felt like I got to know the characters in Emma as if I were therein Highbury with them. As a reader, Emma takes us into the conscience of a person as they are searching for their identity. The narrative is a lot less detailed than Emma in almost every aspect. Austen tends to do an exhaustive analysis of human relationships throughout the entire novel.

It is structured around main events that take place through visits that the characters pay to each other. The frequency and length of visits between characters indicates the level of intimacy and connection between them. This is evident in many of the relationships in Emma including: Emma and Mr. Knightly, Emma and Harriet, Emma and Ms. Weston, Emma and Mr. Elton, and Hari ott and Mr. Martin. The Historyof Mary Prince, on the other hand, does not display many close relationships. Besides the terrible encounters with her masters and mistresses and the physical and sexual atrocities she and her slave companions suffered, Prince had very few interactions.

The few relationships she did have included the slightest interactions between Prince and Mrs. P ingle; who taught Prince the word of God, Prince and her husband Daniel James; which for a long time was a very distant relationship, and lastly, Prince and Miss. Fanny; who taught Prince how to read. Because there was a low level of interactions, I felt that the only real relationships that Prince had was with herself and with God, which she did not speak of, only I have. There were no frequent and lengthy visits between characters, which indicates that there was no level of intimacy or connection between them. 6 As a reader, both The History of Mary Prince and Emma made a tremendous impact on my life. The History of Mary Prince helped to open my eyes to see how wonderful my life is and how much worse it could really be.

All of the little things that I once took for granted in my life, will never be taken for granted again. Emma, although more shallow and superficial than The History of Mary Prince, made me re-evaluate my life and the relationships around me. I feel that I have made a connection with Austen as she convinced me not to interfere in the relationships of others as it is very important for people to make their own decisions. It has also taught me to be patient with myself as the best things in life, mainly love, will come to me with time. 7

Bibliography

Austen, Jane. Emma. England: Penguin Books Ltd., 1996.
Prince, Mary. The History of Mary Prince. England: Penguin Books Ltd., 2000.