Jane Austen's novel Emma is basically a biography. As Jane Austen
matured through her childhood years, she acquired many talents
which are reflected through the character Emma. Jane Austen lived
in the popular image of Victorian society. Many critics agree that
Jane Austen bases her novels on her own life. In the novel Emma
Jane Austen portrays her life in a time of maturing through the
In the early years of Jane Austen, her accomplishments and
talents are then reflected in the character Emma. Austen as a child
had an excellent talent for drawing, painting, playing the piano,
and dancing. As in her novel Emma, the character Emma is very
talented in these areas. Emma's expertise was in dancing; she
absolutely loved it and was very good just as Austen (Parrish 340).
Emma being the perfectionist that she was, always wanted
everything ideal, and that goes back to Austen in her talents and
everything she did. In the novel Emma, when Emma is asked to
paint a portrait of her best friend Harriet for Mr. Elton, she wanted
to perfect the artwork all the way down to the finest detail . Even
when she thought she had a long way to go to finish it, Mr. Elton
stopped her and said that it was perfect the way it was (43).
Inevitably, Emma's life was based on the childhood and early years
of Jane Austen's adulthood. Although part of the upper class society
at an early age, Austen was not influenced by many of the
contemporary novelists of that time (Parrish 343). As a child Austen
was never around many people. She did not trust herself enough to
speak unkind words to anyone, and she controlled her temper well
(Parrish 340). She was essentially confined to her home and nearby
areas. So everything Austen wrote or any idea she had was
genuinely original and a homemade article (Parrish 343). Austen
always delivered herself in a manner with great fluency and
pre...