An Interpretation of Marriage Views of Jane Austen: A Case Study of Emma

Abstract

Jane Austen is one of the most representative female writers in the romantic Victorian Period. She showed her realism, feminism and her rational marriage views in her works. Because Austen’s marriage views have great impact on modern women’s value orientation of marriage, it deserves our intensive research. Many scholars believe that Emma is Austen’s most mature work and in this book, Austen’s marriage views have been fully expressed.

There is a great deal of research on Emma at home and abroad, some of which focus on the feminism and realism involved in this novel. Additionally, there are studies on Austen’s marriage views in Emma, but these studies don’t refer the practical significance of this point of view. This paper attempts to analyze Austen’s marriage views in the case of study of Emma and put forward realistic significance of her marriage views through text analysis.

This thesis is divided into four chapters. The first chapter briefly introduces the time background and her life experiences. The second chapter briefly depicts the love stories of four couples in Emma. In addition, by comparing the different types of marriage in Emma, this paper also attempts to analyze what kind of marriage is ideal in Austen’s opinion. Finally, try to find two ideal marriages in her other two works -- Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility as evidence of Austen’s marriage views presented by this thesis. Chapter three analyzes the causes of Austen’s marriage views. The fourth chapter discusses the practical significance and influence of Austen’s marriage views. Through the study of those chapters, this thesis aims to summarize Austen’s marriage views in Emma and analyze its practical significance to modern women’s marriage views.

Keywords: Jane Austen; Marriage views; Emma