~Blog Post #3~
Topic C.
May 1, 2015
by Sarah Speranza
In the beginning of the book, “Emma,” by Jane Austen, Emma
and Harriet Smith form a special bond between each other, but their
relationship grows and develops much throughout the rest of the book. When the
reader first meets Harriet, she is seen as Emma’s pawn; a toy for her to experiment
on and toss around. From the moment Emma met Harriet, she believes that she
will be able to “improve her… and form her opinions and manners.” Although Emma
truly thinks she is doing what is best for Harriet, she is really just using
her for her own enjoyment and to distract herself from her boring life. As the
story progresses and their lives and love interests intertwine, Emma and
Harriet do form a bond of friendship, mostly because of Mr. Knightley. Mr.
Knightley is the one influence in Emma’s life that is able to make her realize
her vanity and her insecurities with the way that she is portrayed in the
community. This in turn allows Emma to realize that a true friendship has
formed between herself and Harriet, and that Emma has been using her as her own
personal pawn for enjoyment. Mr. Knightly has been Emma’s conscience
throughout the book; he has the right judgement and helps her make the right
decisions. It is because of Mr. Knightly that Emma second guesses not just her
relationship with Harriet, but also her every move and action. He has very
different opinions than her and is not afraid to express them.
Sarah, I agree with what you said. Harriet and Emma have a interesting yet special bond with one another. There is a huge change in Emma and Harriets relationship over the course of the novel. Emma is a controlling psycho path in many ways with her actions in regard to Harriet at the beginning of the novel. Emma decides who Harriet with marry and Emma decides that Harriet will reject the proposal of Robert Martin, who Harriet had feelings for. Although Emma is being extremely controlling in there relationship, Harriet is too shy and in all honesty quite unremarkable to stand up for herself in any way. The relationship they have is not healthy. Mr. Knightly as usually steps in and shows Emma that Harriet is just as good as Emma.Although I feel that Harriet and Emma will never really have a perfectly functioning healthy relationship as the novel progresses they make great strides with their friendship.
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