Character Development - Mr. Knightley and Josh
By Vicki Unsworth
Mr. John Knightley's character was
a distinguished, wealthy, attractive, older English
gentleman whose brother married Emma's elder sister, Isabel.
He lived close to the Woodhouse residence and often visited with
Emma and her father. He was well liked and respected by other
characters in the novel and it was clear that he and Emma shared
a close relationship. Jane Austen wrote the story in such a way
that her readers do not even think about Mr. Knightley as a match
her Emma. At one point in the story where Emma insulted her poor
family friend Ms. Bates, Knightley scolded her and freely told
her that he was disappointed with her behaviour, "Badly done
Emma". Towards the end of the novel, it became clear that
Mr. Knightley was far from a brother figure for Emma, she was
madly in love with him!
In Clueless, Mr. Knightley's character
was modernized into Josh, Cher's ex-stepbrother. His character
appeared early on in the film as the geeky, annoying, flannel
wearing, political activist. He visited Cher and her father occasionally
and the audience quickly realized that the two had absolutely
nothing in common with one another. Cher loved shopping, going
to parties and matchmaking, Josh was interested in social issues,
loved reading and being a student.
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