Emma vs. Fanny
Sort of random, but here's one of posts I never published:
A comparison and contrast between two Jane Austen heroines and honesty
A comparison and contrast between two Jane Austen heroines and honesty
Fanny Price (Mansfield Park) is a quiet, steadfast, and neglected young woman who
lives off the charity of her aunt and uncle.
Emma Woodhouse (Emma) is a forward, impulsive, and privilaged young woman who
reigns in the town and at home.
Just those to sentences alone show how very dissimilar these two heroines are. Yet, while comparing the two, I came across one attribute that both had and which actually proved vital in each story: Honesty.
Since Fanny is the most obvious when it comes to having the virtue of honesty, I will start with her.
Fanny is honest because integrity is at her core, and honesty always closely follows integrity. Because she was neglected so much, her cousins’ dishonest habits did not affect her (which ironically, because of her aunts’ endeavors to keep her lower than her cousins, resulted in her being better for it and them being worse). She displays her honesty and integrity multiple times: when she rebuffs Henry Crawford's advances, when she refuses to participate in a scandalous play, and whenever she is with her brother or her cousin Edmund. These are mainly examples of her integrity, but if looked for, honesty is buried in all of these. Unlike most of her cousins (especially Maria) she doesn't conceal her follies, she never lies to hide her true feelings, and she doesn't deceive to get her own way.
As for Emma, she is honest because she has been raised with good examples in both her mother and governess. Proud, she knows that people look up to her and she knows that it is expected that she provide the leading example of behavior. Another way in which she is honest (though frank would probably be a better term) she naturally analyzes herself and others and feels at liberty to state those analyses. It is to be remembered, however, that she more often than not tossed those observances on her own behavior away so as to not trouble herself with them, except towards the end, when she realizes that she has to change and work to be better if she and everyone else is to be happy. Two crucial moments when she displays honesty are when she "wittingly"and scathingly insults Miss Bates and later honestly makes herself know she was wrong to do so, and when she realizes and admits that she does actually love Mr Knightley. She endeavors to be honest with herself and acts accordingly.
Since Fanny is the most obvious when it comes to having the virtue of honesty, I will start with her.
Fanny is honest because integrity is at her core, and honesty always closely follows integrity. Because she was neglected so much, her cousins’ dishonest habits did not affect her (which ironically, because of her aunts’ endeavors to keep her lower than her cousins, resulted in her being better for it and them being worse). She displays her honesty and integrity multiple times: when she rebuffs Henry Crawford's advances, when she refuses to participate in a scandalous play, and whenever she is with her brother or her cousin Edmund. These are mainly examples of her integrity, but if looked for, honesty is buried in all of these. Unlike most of her cousins (especially Maria) she doesn't conceal her follies, she never lies to hide her true feelings, and she doesn't deceive to get her own way.
As for Emma, she is honest because she has been raised with good examples in both her mother and governess. Proud, she knows that people look up to her and she knows that it is expected that she provide the leading example of behavior. Another way in which she is honest (though frank would probably be a better term) she naturally analyzes herself and others and feels at liberty to state those analyses. It is to be remembered, however, that she more often than not tossed those observances on her own behavior away so as to not trouble herself with them, except towards the end, when she realizes that she has to change and work to be better if she and everyone else is to be happy. Two crucial moments when she displays honesty are when she "wittingly"and scathingly insults Miss Bates and later honestly makes herself know she was wrong to do so, and when she realizes and admits that she does actually love Mr Knightley. She endeavors to be honest with herself and acts accordingly.
These two heroines are very different, and likewise they display their mutual characteristic of honesty differently, but it is obviously a very important element in each character and story.
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