Romance & Sexuality
By Vicki Unsworth
The content of Jane Austen's novels greatly reflected the time period in which her work was written. While some of her novels have briefly hinted at adultery and children born out of wedlock, there was no mention of overt sexuality in Emma.
While her negative outlook towards marriage is strongly felt throughout the novel, many readers have wondered the cause for her adamant beliefs. Young women her age were constantly on the search for a husband, while Emma was satisfied living at home with her father. She did not want to complicate her life by marrying young and there was no prospective suitors in mind that could persuade her to think differently.
At the end of the novel, Emma finally had a romance of her own. She had played matchmaker to friends and family and at last, it was her time to settle down with the man she loved. Mr. Knightley confided his feelings to Emma and expressed that he was in love with her. He had cared for Emma his entire life and wanted nothing more than to have her be his wife. He complemented her good nature and kind heart and she in turn reciprocated the feelings..
Amy Heckerling emphasized sexuality in Clueless by depicting a colourful world of mass consumption highlighted by the young, beautiful wealthy class of teenagers in Beverly Hills. Everyone at Beverly Hills High were having sex - except for Cher Horowitz. She was not interested in the immature boys at school and was not willing to settle for anything less than she deserved.
Towards the middle of the film, Cher decided that Christian would be the best candidate for a boyfriend. Christian's character was the counterpart of Frank Churchill in Emma however; Amy Heckerling made the character of Christian homosexual. When Cher realized that Christian was not interested in her, she quickly recovered. She soon realized that she had fallen in love with Josh.
In the end, both Emma and Clueless found happiness and love with the man who had been by their sides from the very beginning.
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