Modes of Characterization in ‘Emma’
Jane Austen employs several different modes of characterization which work quite well in developing her characters slowly but clearly. She sets up Mr. Woodhouse as a lovable yet neurotic father, and the reader can become slowly acquainted with him through Austen’s descriptions of his eccentric mannerisms. “He had not much intercourse with any families beyond that circle; his horror of late hours and large dinner parties made him unfit for any acquaintance, but such as would visit him on his own terms”(Austen 66). This passage tells me that Mr. Woodhouse suffers some degree of social anxiety, which is very revealing of his character. It certainly paints a clearer picture of why he is always around the house. “It was a melancholy change; and Emma could not but sigh over it and wish for impossible things, till her father awoke, and made it necessary to be cheerful. His spirits required support. He was a nervous man, easily depressed; fond of every body that he was used to, and hating to part with them; hating change of every kind” (Austen 57). Not only is this very revealing of Mr. Woodhouse, but of Emma as well. Mr. Woodhouse’s neurotic tendenciesmake him a very needy person. Emma, the ‘mistress’ of the house from an early age, learned to be very accommodating to her father’s whims. She evidently understands his neuroses that cripple his lifestyle, and takes it upon herself to keep him occupied – whether it is a game of backgammon after dinner, or extending invitations to acquaintances with whom Mr. Woodhouse is familiar. When Miss Taylor got married, Mr. Woodhouse could not bring himself to celebrate such a momentous occasion because he found the sudden change unbearable, and couldn’t see why others did not feel exactly the same as him. This habit of not being able to see other people’s point of views carries over into all aspects of his life, including his opinions of wedding cake: “And the wedding-cake, which had been a...