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How effective is Jane Austen’s characterization of Mrs Elton? Free Essay Example
After Emma declines his offer of marriage, Mr Elton – a man of the cloth in Highbury – disappears in search of a better match, and returns a few months later to proudly present his ‘beautiful, quite beautiful’ nightmarish bride. She has all the qualities he should desire in a woman and a wife, and chooses to ignore her faults as much as he does his own.
Mrs Elton, as a character, is provided as a source of comedy, to shock the reader that anybody could be so extremely arrogant as to near on the ridiculous, but her comedy is far more harsh and bitter than that of Miss Bates.
If the macrocosm of Emma is a social satire, seeking only to poke fun at their ideas of hierarchy and social standing, then Mrs Elton is the microcosm – for she judges a person by their class, though she is herself nouvelle riche and therefore available to be looked down upon by such historic families as the Woodhouses and the Knightleys.
Mrs Elton is also, on a slightly darker side, a hideous caricature of Emma, whose only saving graces from comparison are her intelligence, subtlety and good taste. Their similarities are emphasised at various points throughout the novel, for example, when Mr Weston holds the ball at Randalls; Mrs Elton claims he is ‘ “no doubt giving this ball chiefly to do me honour” ‘, yet Emma ‘had always considered the ball as peculiarly for her’. The one factor which allows Emma to be forgiven for her assumption is that it is most likely true.
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The arrival of the new bride in Highbury certainly causes a stir and from then on, her reputation precedes her (at Mr Weston’s party, Frank Churchill claims ‘ “I have heard so much of her” ‘), and on each occasion she doesn’t fail to disappoint: what is constantly made out to be a ‘charming’, ‘elegant’ and ‘pleasing’ lady turns out to be nothing more than an ‘insufferable woman’. She receives the warm welcome that any newcomer would receive in Highbury’s society, especially as a spouse of an inhabitant and a well-bred and rich character. The other people of the village manage to hold their tongues and maintain polite facades at every event, in order to keep the peace and not lose any respect of their own, but in any society or class, Mrs Elton is an unpleasant being.
The very best quality about this woman is her great similarity to her husband, the ‘pretty young man’ Mr Elton, who is as dislikeable as his wife. They are matched perfectly, seeing only good in one another, as they both contain the other’s traits: they are both ‘enormous snobs’ and ‘bray about wealthy connections.’ This marriage tells us a lot about Mr Elton, who can love only himself, therefore who better to marry than a ‘sneering and negligent’ young woman such as Augusta Hawkins?
The Hawkins family themselves are merchants in Bristol, dealing in the slave trade, which has produced their nouvelle riche descendants. This is never stated in full throughout the novel, but hints and implication (‘the rich brother-in-law in Bristol’) and knowledge of the events in that area at the time of the novel produce this conclusion. It brings the one major aspect of the outside world, the larger, harsher unsympathetic world beyond the gates of Highbury. A trip to Weymouth remains talked about the whole novel, so grand is the adventure, and other than a few journeys to London and other places, the little village and its inhabitants lead relatively insular lives.
Whether proud of her background – because of the social standing it provides – or mutely ashamed – because she is never truly equal to Emma, Mrs Elton seeks to rise socially, however possible. She constantly mentions her ‘brother Mr Suckling’s seat’ that is ‘Maple Grove’ as if to remind all those about just who she is among society in the outside world, almost to the point of encouraging them to be proud to have such a figure among them. Other little phrases, such as her ‘barouche-landau’ and her ‘cara sposo’ produce only a comic effect, rather than the sense of glamour and majesty desired. Read also Frank Churchill and Emma essay
In conclusion, Austen’s Mrs Elton is a very vivid and clearly-defined character, easy to define and compare with others, both in Emma, other works of fiction and even people we encounter. She is greatly exaggerated to emphasise the mockery being made, and therefore serves as another means of comedy, and although she is disliked greatly by several characters in the novel, it certainly wouldn’t be the same without her.
