When I picked up my first Jane Austen book, I was unsuspecting of what I was getting myself into. To set the scene, I was a clueless eighth-grader that discovered English 19th century literature after picking up “Jane Eyre” by chance in the children’s library two years prior. So, little did I understand of the social scope and great wit of the Austen book that was to become my all-time favorite, number one, going-to novel. Even less did I know of the ways in which this book would stick with me and grow on me. You may wonder which book could enact such power over a person’s heart. The answer is evident – it is Austen’s 1815 masterpiece of self- and character exploration, the perfect mix of romance and comedy or simply “Emma”.

Jane Austen is arguably the most iconic and well-beloved writer of the Regency Era. The six complete novels she got to publish range not only between the most important pieces of world literature but most importantly still star on countless book lovers’ favorite lists. Her books may be old – after all, over 200 years have passed since her first book was published back in 1811- but the gripping stories she tells, the intricate characters she illustrates and the sharp wit and mockery she weaves in seamlessly have never grown to become outdated. The simple yet unique reason for the continuous place she holds in many readers’ hearts is that there is something substantially human and deeply relatable in the pages of every Austen novel. As much as her books are an astoundingly detailed picture of a certain time, place, and people, namely the countryside upper class of the early nineteenth century England, Jane Austen’s books have a certain degree of universality. This is especially true when regarding her “Emma”.

This treasure about the nature of human beings and relationships surprisingly enough centers around a young woman called Emma. Believing to have a special talent for matchmaking, the titular heroine strats to meddle with the destinies of her fellow small-towners only to find herself hopelessly tangled up between the messy bonds of love and friendship. Along the way, Emma embarks on a journey of self-discovery and change that the narrator already foreshadows on the first pages but our favorite “handsome, clever and rich” protagonist had no chance of foretelling. At first sight, this story does not seem to have too much uniqueness to it. But in fact, the genius lies neither in the appeal of pomp nor the cruelty of fate of the story but its simplicity and relatability that make it applicable across times and places.

In “Emma”, the eponymous daughter of a wealthy hypochondriac is not as perfect as she herself and most of the people around her think. Beneath her charms and looks she is rather vain and manipulative, looking down on people that cannot meet her high standards. Her self-centeredness leaves Emma with poor understanding of others feelings which is one of the main causes of the chaos she stirs in the otherwise quiet Highbury. Still, throughout the story the reader is easily tempted to grow to like the protagonist not despite but because of her character flaws. It is her outright imperfection, her embodying so many things that oppose the high and lofty ideals set for women of that time that make her human and her experiences deeply relatable. Because let us be honest, who has not ever had their Emma-moment of being mean and trying to get their way by every means? Emma is a character that makes mistakes in her romantic and platonic relationships, experiences the feeling of self-doubt, and goes through bare failure. In this sense, she encounters the challenges life inevitably comes with, making our favorite heroine as human as fiction allows. But what makes her story so extraordinary, is Emma’s response to all the adversaries she is facing: Despite making every mistake and holding up the looks until the very last moment possible, she eventually gets around to self-recognition and is willing to allow herself to change as well as to fix the mess she created. Hence, Emma’s exceptional character arc showcases some of the most important lessons life has to offer: imperfection and flaws are human but it is never too late to change for the better and even though it may be a hard process, it is always worth it in the end.

Another topic we get to experience alongside Emma are the facts that truth is always tainted by personal bias and feelings are the only thing we can rely on when navigating through this world of entangled relationships and connections. These notions become especially evident in Emma‘s mistaken belief that only with the help of her cleverness and matchmaking skills her new and admittedly rather naive friend Harriet can find a worthy partner. Even the very best intentions with which Emma is approaching this new project, cannot make up for her overestimating her own abilities and qualities as well as her attempts to interfere with true feelings. Due to these misconceptions, Emma‘s matchmaking efforts backfire terribly and turn out to cause more harm than good. However, the protagonist is not the only one prone to falling for the trap of mistaking biased judgements for fact-based truth. Take for example Mr. Knightly, Emma’s neighbour and a long-time family friend of the Woodhouses: He has been in love with a special someone for a long time but rather than following these very honest feelings, Mr. Knightly jumps to quick conclusions and lets himself be mislead by personal preoccupations causing a series of misunderstandings further contributing to the overall messy situation between the eligible young people of Highbury. But “Emma“ would not be a Jane Austen book, if the author would not lead the reader through her characters to the eye-opening moment of recognition and understanding – the moment when the true genius of her writing unfolds itself fully. In the final chapters of confessions and resolutions, Austen expresses the notion of a fleeting truth not only implicitly through the characters finding happiness after resolving all the prevalent misconceptions through being honest about their feelings but also puts it quite explicitly in a remarkable quote: “Seldom, very seldom does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken; but where, as in this case, though the conduct is mistaken, the feelings are not, it may not be very material.“ 

With “Emma“, Jane Austen takes the reader yet again on an experience full of self-resemblance and self-reflection that is so typical for her writing. Throughout the variety of topics her characters get to explore on the journey the plot takes them on, Austen creates a special closeness by letting universal human experiences always set the foundation for the thoughtfully crafted ways and arches of each character. This special closeness works in “Emma“ especially good due to the authors tricking the reader into believing the protagonist to be perfect, only to make them discover alongside Emma that the opposite is the actual truth. It is not that the hints are not there but rather, that they are well-hidden on the first glance and hilariously obvious on the second glance. In this way, not only the titular character herself gets forced to question how well one really knows themselves and gets to discover that growing and learning are a process of a lifetime – but the reader is going through a similar process. Therefore, not only “Emma“, the book, but also Emma, the character, are  both very special and extremely unique. Emma‘s imperfection and flaws make her an extraordinary female protagonist – especially when regarding the time of the book’s creation. For her actions and traits it seems easy to see her as a sort of anti-heroine, still, the development she undertakes is something deeply human and even more heroic.

Just as its titular heroine, this marvellous novel is not without its flaws as it is clearly set in a time and place that diverges in many ways from the world as it looks like today. Nevertheless, “Emma“ is as close to perfection as a book about the humanity of imperfection and the subjectivity of truth can very objectively be. In this sense, I wish everybody to have the same experience I had when picking up this masterpiece of a book for the first time: “Then I examined my own heart. And there you were. Never, I fear to be removed.“

Sophia Abegg