MovieChat Forums > Emma (1996) Discussion > This Has Always Bugged Me

This Has Always Bugged Me


I thought it was an ok movie but three things bugged me about it, two huge! And one not so huge, and I may possibly be wrong about it.

The first is Emma's solo drive when she gets stuck and meets Frank Churchill for the first time. There is no way possible that she would have been out ALONE, let alone driving herself. No way. Not in that time and not for someone (particularly female) of her social class.

The second is the cottage scene and Harriet's portrayal in general. But in the cottage scene they go way overboard. I have no doubt that Emma would help the poor but with money and advice and gifts of food. Not spoon-feeding and menial nursing tasks.

The third is... did women then play archery? I thought it was just thrown in to beat us over the head with the Cupid idea but I honestly couldn't find any references to it in any of Austen's other works. So, I think it's a good. Unless someone else can correct me. I would really love to know.

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Why couldn't she go driving alone? Elizabeth always went places alone and all of the Bennets were out in society before the elder were married. Jane Austen gives her characters a lot of independence.
I believe the second scene you're referring to is more Hollywoods way of telling us that Emma is a good person.
I can't give an answer to the last one

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It was entirely appropriate for a young lady of Emma's standing to ride around her home estate in a barouche. You may be confusing this with the scandalous carriage scene from Sense and Sensibility where Marianne was frolicking and giggling with Willouby as they rushed through the village in his barouche. That was not appropriate because she was with a single man, unchaperoned, and her behavior lacked decorum.

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I want sure if she was on her home property or not. I thought not but I could be mistaken. Emma is never shown driving herself, especially since her father worries about her so much and doesn't trust any driver but their James.
I know Austen does show her ladies as being pretty independent but Emma seems to dislike walking to Randall's by herself and is never shown driving at all. I am going by the book which I probably shouldn't do because it's the movie, not the book but it's hard to. I just don't see Emma doing it because of all of Austen's heroines Emma is the most class and status conscious. I just can't see her driving herself. Especially since one of her complaints is that Knightly walks too much when a man of his status should not.

Another poster is probably correct about the cottage scene being used to show how good-hearted Emma is. Austen shows some good examples of the landowners neglecting their responsibilities (especially in Persuasion). It says that Emma have her time, money and advice, as well as good from the house but it never mentions her doing any actual physical tasks. I think what bugs me the most about that scene though is the portrayal of Harriet. She might not be the brightest crayon in the box but she's not a clumsy oaf like it makes out. I highly doubt that Emma would praise her grace and beauty if so.

Thank you on the archery. I really wasn't sure so thank you for taking the time to answer.

On the archery, thank you. I really wasn't sure and a lot of the books I would normally look out up in are packed away.

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It wasn’t a barouche. It was small carriage, something like a gig (2 wheels) or a curricle (4 wheels).

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#1 -- answered by others.

#2 -- the ladies of whichever "Great House" owned a particular estate absolutely did go around to visit the tenants and help them out whenever possible. It was most definitely a part of the job of the woman who ran the house. She would bring gifts of food and clothing (some of which was made by the ladies at the "Great House"), would listen to their troubles and would dispense advice.

One of the things that "Death Comes to Pemberley" did right was to have Elizabeth visit tenants on the estate and to help them out. Again, it was part of her job as "lady of the manor."

Good landowners felt a tremendous sense of responsibility for those who lived on their estates and paid a lot of attention to them and what went on in their lives.

#3 -- Absolutely. Women most definitely did shoot (arrows, not guns). There's even a book on the subject, called Archery, Romance and Elite Culture in England and Wales, c. 1780–1840. It may be found here: http://www.academia.edu/203053/Archery_Romance_and_Elite_Culture_in_England_and_Wales_c._1780-1840

Here is the abstract:

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the longbow was rendered redundant as a weapon of war by technological developments such as the musket. Yet at the end of the eighteenth century, archery was revived as a fashionable pastime amongst the English aristocracy thanks to a nostalgic taste for the gothic and medieval. Archery societies were set up across the country, each with its own strict entry criteria, outlandish costumes and extravagant dinners. In a period that saw the making of the modern British upper class,as landowners became more powerful, more unified and more status-conscious, archery societies were havens of exclusivity and a way of reinforcing and reassuring one’s own position in society. Furthermore, women could not only compete in the contests but retain and display their ‘feminine forms’ whilst doing so, and thus the clubs also acted as a forum for introductions, flirtation and romance. This article explores the meaning of archery for upper-class men and women and demonstrates how wider social needs and interests shaped play, recreation and fashion.


Emphasis mine.

As an aside, the makers of P&P40 (the Olivier/Garson version) included a scene where the Elizabeth and Darcy converse while shooting.

http://currentscene.wordpress.com

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Here's a period illustration depicting gentlewomen taking part in archery

http://collections.britishart.yale.edu/vufind/Record/3627667

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Throughout Austen's novels, young women out on their own, unaccompanied, are commonplace.
One of the accomplishments of young well-to-do women at that time was assisting the poor, in person.
Archery has long been a sport engaged in by women; however, there is no archery in Austen's novel "Emma".

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