EMMA WOODHOUSE: Why is she an unlikeable heroine? — Jane Austen EMMA novel analysis

Why is Emma Woodhouse unlikeable? Jane Austen’s nephew, James Edward Austen Leigh, in his Memoir of Jane Austen (1870) remarked, “She was very fond of Emma, but did not reckon on her being a general favourite; for, when commencing that work, she said, ‘I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like’”. The lecture compares likeable Elizabeth Bennet, heroine of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1813), and (supposedly) unlikeable Emma Woodhouse, heroine of Jane Austen’s novel Emma (1816), and asks why Jane Austen chose to create an unlikeable heroine. Why is it a good thing if Emma Woodhouse is an unlikeable heroine? Follow me on Twitter: CLOSE READING CLASSIC LITERATURE #DrOctaviaCox #JaneAusten #CloseReadingClassicLiterature FOR MORE LITERARY ANALYSIS see my ‘Close Reading Classic Literature’ playlist: KEYWORDS english literature analysis jane