Mrs Weston And Emma example essay topic

Jane Austen created families of varying levels of dysfunction so effectively, that even young readers of today can relate to the story. In some, the mother was either deceased, not present, or just not the right person for the daughter to rely on. For example, Fanny, Emma, Elizabeth and Elinor all struggle because the very people who are supposed to be looking out for them prove to be completely unhelpful. These heroines may not be able to rely on their actual Mother (or Father) but there often are parental figures that they can turn to. The mother in Pride and Prejudice is sympathetic, but silly, eccentric and irresponsible.

Mr. Bennett is contemptuous to his wife and younger daughters; except for Elizabeth (his favorite) he spends the majority of his time in his library. In Emma, the mother is dead. She must " ve been clever because where else would Emma get it, but there must have been a lack of discipline of Emma. Mr. Woodhouse is almost a caricature, so he can by no means be accused of giving rational support, but he is 'everywhere beloved for the friendliness of his heart and his amiable temper', and to Emma 'most affectionate, indulgent father'.

I would say that Mr. Woodhouse is always concerned and caring, his only fault as father is being too indulgent. Of course, it would be better to have in a father an intellectual companion as well (Like Elizabeth Bennett). The mother in Mansfield Park, the mother was absent and neglectful having married a poor man who drinks. In Sense and Sensibility - Mrs. Dashwood is loving, but has too much of a romantic sensibility. In Persuasion the mother is dead, but is highly praised. She brought up Anne quite respectably.

Anne is kind and loyal. Lady Russell - she really has a good heart and good sense. Lady Russell is not a fool like Mrs. Bennett but she's not an ideal, she gives good advice totally unsuited to Anne's particular situation. I don't think we are supposed to like her - the reader is glad that Anne has her and appreciate her for that reason. Mrs. Musgrove - simple, warm-hearted, affectionate and unpretentious. EMMA The narrator opens the novel by introducing us to Emma Woodhouse, a girl endowed with "some of the best blessings of existence", including good looks, intelligence, riches, and an affectionate father.

Emma's only disadvantages are that she is slightly spoiled and that she thinks "a little too well of herself". Emma isn't a brat, but is used to getting her way, she does not always have respect for other people, as her continual teasing of Jane Fairfax with her alleged love for Mr. Dixon and her deliberately cruel remark to Miss Bates at the picnic would indicate. Both her father and Mrs. Weston have over indulged her. Mrs. Weston (nee Miss Taylor) is Emma's governess who has basically become a surrogate mother to Emma after the loss of Mrs. Woodhouse. After Emma's older sister, Isabella, was married and moved to London, Mrs. Weston and Emma became best friends. Mrs. Weston has a loving heart and is a real friend to Emma and understands that sometimes Emma did not always listen, but she truly believes Emma has a good heart.

Mrs. Weston has more involvement than that of a normal governess and stays on with the Woodhouse family long after Emma no longer needs a governess. Emma's interferences are well-meaning, but extremely misguided. Mrs. Weston has done as well as she could with Emma, considering what kind of father she has. Mrs. Weston's role has been as a friend and companion to Emma and she is the one to whom Emma can tell anything. Even though she gets married and leaves, Mrs. Weston is still involved in Emma's life. At the beginning of Emma, Austen writes that 'she loved her father, but he was no companion to her.

He could not meet her in conversation, rational or playful'. He is much older than she is, and practically an invalid. He is 'a nervous man, easily depressed... hating change of any kind'. Mr. Woodhouse is like a child that needs to be taken care of and Emma acts like a parent towards her father, rather than the other way around. Mr. Woodhouse, like Mrs. Weston, sees nothing to fault in Emma. Emma loves her father dearly.

The only time friction between them is when Emma realizes that she loves Mr. Knightley. Mr. Woodhouse's view of marriage is that he thinks it is a calamity; he would rather not have Emma marry at all. He objects to Emma's marriage for his own selfish reasons - he is so against change that Emma's marriage is going to cause him pain. Mrs. Weston becomes 'poor Mrs. Weston' because her marriage disrupts his household. Emma doesn't wish to hurt her father, but she wants to marry Knightley. Emma plays to one of her father's weakest spots (his fear of the outside world) to get what she wants by suggesting to her father that he would feel safer from the chicken thieves if there were a younger man in the house.

Only one person sees Emma for who she really is: Mr. Knightley. At an outing at Box Hill Emma makes an impatient and cruel comment to Miss Bates and Mr. Knightley scolds Emma for doing so, since Miss Bates is a poor woman who deserves Emma's pity and compassion, not her scorn. Without him to tell her how badly she behaves at times, Emma would undoubtedly be worse than she is. Emma feels extreme remorse about the cruelty of her actions.

At this moment, Emma understands that her vain pleasure in Frank's attention and her sense of superiority over others have been wrong. She also realizes how much Knightley's opinion means to her. He has been her only source of honesty, and under his authoritative tutelage, she has grown as a person (and wife). ANNE Jane Austen describes the late Lady Elliot from Persuasion, 'She had been an excellent woman, sensible and amiable... though not the happiest person in the world herself had found enough in her duties, her friends, and her children, to attach her to life... '. She loved all three of her children dearly but was closest to Anne; and thus her death devastates Anne the most.

Lady Elliot also instructed her daughters in good principles, which her daughter Elizabeth more or less ignores and becomes almost as vain as her father. Anne, however, learns a great deal from her mother and such lessons provide Anne with the strength to mature despite her father or sister. Following her mother's death, Anne is left with her father, Sir Walter Elliot who is a pompous man who treats his daughter Anne very poorly. Sir Walter is a snob, concerned with nothing more than titles, rank, pedigree, and appearances. He is described as: 'Vanity was the beginning and end of his character; vanity of person and situation. He had been remarkably handsome in his youth, and, at fifty-four, was still a very fine man...

' Sir Walter cares little for Anne or his youngest daughter, Mary. His neglect extends beyond his younger daughters as he proves successful in squandering away his fortune which forces the family out of their home, Kellynch. Following the death of Anne's mother, Lady Russell, the late Lady Elliot's friend, took over as Anne's mother figure, but even that relationship is suspect. Since her father, Sir Walter, does not care for her at all, Lady Russell essentially becomes the only person Anne can turn to.

She is a woman of considerable birth and wealth and as the title of the novel would suggest, persuasion is Lady Russell's talent and is consistent with Austen's initial description of her: 'She was a woman of sound rather than quick abilities... she was a benevolent, charitable, good woman... most correct in her notions of decorum... she had a cultivated mind, and was, generally speaking, rational and consistent -- but she had prejudices on the side of ancestry... ' Anne has felt heartache as a result of breaking her engagement with Wentworth eight years previous. Lady Russell persuaded Anne not to marry Captain Wentworth because he was not of high enough consequence. Ever respectful, Anne doesn't blame Lady Russell for persuading her; she realizes that Lady Russell was only trying to protect her from what she deemed an imprudent marriage. To Anne, defying Lady Russell then would have been tantamount to defying her mother (a connection Lady Russell has exploited). Her past persuasion, however, has inadvertently caused Anne great unhappiness but fortunately, over time, Lady Russell's influence on Anne has lessened and her voice is therefore muted.

At the beginning of the book, it seems to the reader that Lady Russell has destroyed Anne's one chance of happiness, but since Anne ends up happy, Lady Russell seems to be a positive maternal figure. I should mention two other characters that, though not parental figures, still made a positive lasting impact on Anne. Having taken over Kellynch when Sir Elliott could no longer keep it up, Admiral Croft is wealthy and decorated naval officer and his devoted wife travels with him when he is at sea. The Crofts are one of the few examples of a model marriage in any of Austen's novels. Mr. and Mrs. Admiral and Mrs. Croft exemplify true love in a happy marriage that foreshadow the type of marriage Anne is destined to have with Wentworth. FANNY Fanny Price's mother married her husband against her family's wishes.

He is a drunken sailor and together they are unable to raise Fanny. Sir Thomas and Lady Bertram, Fanny's aunt, take her in and agree to raise her at their estate, Mansfield Park. This proves a better environment, but not ideal as Fanny is shy and suffers from poor self-esteem from constantly being reminded that she is the 'lowest and last,' and not a 'Miss Bertram. ' Lady Bertram is indifferent towards both her own children and Fanny, she seems to care only about her dog.

Yet with Lady Bertram, Fanny probably has her closest relationship with a parental figure. The relationship may not be ideal but to Fanny, Lady Bertram is a fairly calm refuge. We know they spend many hours together talking, without being sure what the topic is, but based on the following quote, it's most likely not about behavior or advice: "And you must be aware, Fanny, that it is every young woman's duty to accept such a very unexceptionable offer as this". This was almost the only piece of advice Fanny had ever received from her aunt in the course of eight years. Lady Bertram may in fact have been a mother figure, but not in an active one, however, Fanny loves Lady Bertram, and is comforted with and supported by her companionship. To add further, there is a marked difference in the treatment she receives from Lady Bertram and Aunt Norris, who found in Fanny someone she could dominate.

Mrs. Norris urges Sir Thomas to bring Fanny to Mansfield Park. She implies at the time that she will care for Fanny as well, but Mrs. Norris will not take Fanny into her own home. Also, Lady Bertram stands up when Mrs. Norris refuses to take Fanny in after her husband's death, saying, 'Then she had better stay with us. ' Lady Bertram comes to value Fanny by the end of the novel.

She admits that Fanny is a comfort to have around and is reluctant to let her go when Fanny marries Edmund (even though this makes her a Bertram). Of course, what changes her mind is the fact that Fanny's sister Susan will come to stay at Mansfield Park and take Fanny's place. When Fanny Price returns to her home after eight years of living at Mansfield Park, she is startled by the differences in the two homes. She realizes how fortunate she was in being accepted into the Bertram home. As mistreated as she is by them, things would undoubtedly have been worse if she had stayed at home. To Fanny Price, her parents come as a disappointment.

Fanny's father is a drunk Fanny can see that her mother is a 'partial, ill-judging parent... who neither taught nor restrained her children. ' Mrs. Price simply does not care -- except for William and Betsey. Fanny, since she has been away for so long, is regarded as a novelty, but not as one noticed by her mother for very long. Both parents ignore her, and she spends much of her visit eagerly anticipating when she will be able to return to Mansfield Park. Where the Bertram seemed distant, they are now seen by her as more precious than ever..