Emma Transformation Quotes Page 3
Citations follow this format: (Chapter.Paragraph)
| Quote #7 A mind like hers, once opening to suspicion, made rapid progress. She touched—she admitted— she acknowledged the whole truth. (47.25) |
For once, Emma’s wit aids in her ability to grasp the reality of a situation. Austen captures the utter confusion of her character’s thoughts during a moment of revelation.
| Quote #8 To understand, thoroughly understand her own heart, was the first endeavour. (47.37) |
Emma’s self-reflection is only prompted when her emotions are directly engaged. Austen seems to suggest, for Emma at least, that rational needs to be accompanied by emotional engagement.
| Quote #9 With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of every body's feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange every body's destiny. She was proved to have been universally mistaken; and she had not quite done nothing—for she had done mischief. (47.40) |
Emma’s self-recrimination, while mostly true, is also incredibly melodramatic – a sign, perhaps, that she hasn’t truly learned how to judge her actions.
