Write an essay on the plot construction of the novel Emma
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Critical Essays Plot of Emma
Some generalization should be kept in mind when one considers the plot of Emma. Perhaps first should be a reminder of the seeming leisureliness with which Miss Austen puts her story together. Practically none of the material is, in the usual sense, exciting — that is, there is little external climactic action, and there is no adventurous action. Primarily the reasons are that it is a satirical novel about social manners and mores and that the satire comes more from the effects of emotion than from emotion itself. However, the novel will appear leisurely written only on one's first reading. Once the reader knows the outcome of events and repeats the novel, he will find that it is one of the most tightly knit works ever done. For, since much of the book is plotted for purposes of irony (which shows the difference between intention and performance or the difference between what a character knows and what others, including the reader at times, know), the repeating reader can relish the minuteness with which Miss Austen has prepared for and then exploits to the full the misunderstandings and the foibles of the people in her provincial community, especially those of Emma. For instance, all that Frank Churchill does and says on the party to Box Hill takes on the meaning of double entendre for the re-reader, who now discovers that it is leisurely only in appearance. Similarly, one can sense the irony in how Emma misconstrues Mr. Elton's gallantry or Harriet's attachment for Mr. Knightley simply because the characters are too mannered to speak directly.
The plot structure of the novel is regulated in part by division into three volumes: In Volume One Emma deceives herself about Mr. Elton and that deception reaches its climax in his declaration in the carriage; Volume Two shows her deceiving herself about Frank Churchill and getting over it in a much less climactic fashion; Volume Three continues her self-deception about people but reaches its major climax in the ultimate revelation about herself and George Knightley. Obviously many other developing facets are involved, but in brief outline these are the three rising and falling stages of action in the novel. Only the last one, however, is final, for Emma throughout is more and more self-deceived, though at the same time she is also moving toward self-knowledge which will let her come to terms with herself and her situation.