Jane Fairfax is sometimes considered the shadow heroine of Jane Austen’s Emma. The narrator even refers to Jane as the “fair heroine” (Austen, 1816a, II.8.xlvi.) of the story.
It’s easy to see that Miss Fairfax possesses the characteristics of a typical Austen heroine more than Emma Woodhouse: she’s liked by everyone (except for the jealous Emma), patient, moral, kind. Her greatest fault is her reserved and secretive nature.
While Jane Fairfax is a model heroine, we see Emma’s faults unfold one after another (in their 2013 thesis, Cecily J. Mullins even suggests that Emma is her own antagonist). But what can we expect from someone like Emma Woodhouse who exudes main character energy? She constantly misreads people’s desires and attempts to devise a world based on her imaginings.
Despite all the attention Emma demands, it’s vital to pay close attention to Miss Fairfax to understand the plot of Emma. And while she’s not the “heroine” of the novel, she does receive (and is deserving of) a heroine’s ending.
What we should take away from Emma in 2023 is that not all heroines are protagonists.
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Resolution #3: Be the heroine even if you're not the protagonist
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Your final resolution to carry into 2023.
Jane Fairfax is sometimes considered the shadow heroine of Jane Austen’s Emma. The narrator even refers to Jane as the “fair heroine” (Austen, 1816a, II.8.xlvi.) of the story.
It’s easy to see that Miss Fairfax possesses the characteristics of a typical Austen heroine more than Emma Woodhouse: she’s liked by everyone (except for the jealous Emma), patient, moral, kind. Her greatest fault is her reserved and secretive nature.
While Jane Fairfax is a model heroine, we see Emma’s faults unfold one after another (in their 2013 thesis, Cecily J. Mullins even suggests that Emma is her own antagonist). But what can we expect from someone like Emma Woodhouse who exudes main character energy? She constantly misreads people’s desires and attempts to devise a world based on her imaginings.
Despite all the attention Emma demands, it’s vital to pay close attention to Miss Fairfax to understand the plot of Emma. And while she’s not the “heroine” of the novel, she does receive (and is deserving of) a heroine’s ending.
What we should take away from Emma in 2023 is that not all heroines are protagonists.
You’re not the only heroine of your story.