Psychology in Emma


REPLIES - POST REPLY - EMMA BOARD - FAQ - HOME - Q

Posted by Kay on October 16, 1997 at 10:38:24:

I discovered the Emma Board on 10/11 and wondered what I could contribute that hasn't already been said. I first read Emma in February and was struck by Jane Austen's intuitive knowledge of psychology all these years before Freud. In the context of their closed society, it would be dangerous for either Emma or Mr. Knightley to acknowledge their love for each other. If that love was unrequited, life in Highbury would become unbearable, if not impossible. This is what was happening to Mr. Knightley when he went to Brunswick Square. I think Emma was also in love, but built up a safe, protective wall around her heart. This is why she protested that being in love was not her way or her nature.

To those who know Meyers-Briggs, I find it interesting that Emma (Extrovert, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceptive) finds her exact complement in Mr. Knightley (Introvert, Sensing, Thinking, Judging).




REPLIES:




Posting followups to old messages is disabled; instead go to the main index and post a new message which mentions this one.


- Republic of Pemberley -
Home | Q | Jane Info