Gender
By Vicki Unsworth
While Jane Austen portrayed Emma Woodhouse as a matchmaker who spent her free time medaling in the personal lives of others, she also emphasized the strength and power in her character. Unlike other main characters in her novels, she portrayed Emma Woodhouse as an independent woman with little desire to settle down and marry. She could care less if she was considered an 'old maid' like her poor friend Ms. Bates and was quite satisfied with her life as it was. "Emma neglects the feminine roles twentieth century critics would assign to her, these roles were insisted upon of anything more self-consciously and strenuously in the fiction of Austen's period" (Johnson: 1988:124).
The character of Emma Woodhouse was
a refreshing change for readers and "although examining the
central heroine in a new situation, as a woman with social power,
Jane Austen once again developed the double potential she saw
in it. She used it as a theme as well as an intrinsic framework
for the account of a heroine seeking a more influential life as
a woman" (Magee: 1995:135).
Jane Austen broke the roles of traditional
English literature of the eighteenth century by focusing her novels
on the daily trials and tribulations of an English lady. Emma
went against convention by having an independent female main character
that was self-sufficient and had little desire to marry a man
and be confined to the submissive roles of society.
Emma had strong masculine characters
that greatly reflected the patriarchy of the eighteenth century.
Mr. Elton was a wealthy, arrogant man who rejected Harriet Smith
because of her class. Throughout the novel he exuded disrespect
for both Harriet and Emma. When Emma refused his advances at the
Christmas party, his behaviour towards her was rude and inappropriate.
Clueless portrayed Cher Horowitz as
a spoiled, superficial blonde with no sense of responsibility
or care for the world around her. Dispite her drawbacks, Cher
exuded self-confidence and self-respect - she was not willing
to settle for anything less than what she deserved. While other
girls at school were in sexual relationships, she was determined
to wait until she was ready for such a commitment.
The character of Elton in Clueless closely paralleled Mr. Elton
in the novel. He was a conceited, attractive young man who cared
for Cher only because of her social standing and beauty.
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