Metamorphosis: Emma Woodhouse and the Imperial Rescript
Jane Austen has been credited with many things: feminism, mothering the novel, penning vivid and in-depth stories of reality, and boring centuries of pitiable school-age children. However, she has never been credited with echoing the basic principles that effectively united Japan as the nation it is today. Jane Austen’s Emma traces the change of a woman: from an arrogant, pertinent, solicitous and intrusive creature into a kind, filial, modest and intellectual woman, an impressive realization of the Japanese Emperor Meiji’s ideal Confucian woman. At the time Jane Austen’s Emma was written, the world itself was also experiencing these idealistic transformations, thanks to the revolutionary tentacles of colonialism and modernization. Seventy-three years after the penning of Emma, the message of Emma Woodhouse herself still rang true for the Japanese people, who had, over the last twenty-three years, been forcibly westernized and “civilized”. These changes to the Japanese Empire are chronicled in the “Imperial Rescript on Education,” issued in 1890 by the Japanese Emperor, Meiji. Just as Emma Woodhouse was transformed, so were the Japanese people, from imperfect, former images of themselves, to the ideal pinnacle of Confucian being. From the evidence gathered, it is evident that Jane Austen's Emma can be read as a treatise on the metamorphosis of the central character Emma Woodhouse, much like the nation of Japan, from an imperfect and solicitous female who had only the most basic of Confucian characteristics, into a portrait of the ideal Confucian subject, as characterized in Emperor Meiji's 1890 "Imperial Rescript on Education”.
Emma Woodhouse’s situation in the beginning of the novel is very similar to that of Emperor Meiji’s Japan in the late nineteenth century. Japan at the time was a turbulent mess. In 1862 the American navy had forcibly “opened” Japan, making a massive show of nautical strength to and forcing the Japanese people into trade agreements. The situation in Japan at this time was much like Emma’s denial during the early stages of the novel Emma, in which she vehemently defends herself against the possibilities of change, stating that “[f]ortune I do not want; employment I do not want; consequence I do not want” (Austen 1996, p82). The Japanese people at the time had a very similar line of thought and denial to Emma Woodhouse. Japanese thinker and intellectual at the time Ito Toshiakai stated similarly:
The systems of our fathers before have been enacted for as long as our mortal memories can transpire. We do not want these changes, and we do not want their consequence (1898).
Both Emma Woodhouse and Ito Toshiaki firmly stated that they did not want to change, Toshiaki firmly resounding the common Japanese belief that “[w]e do not want these changes, and we do not want their consequence”, reminiscent of Emma’s assertions that it was “consequence [she] do[es] not want”, “consequence” being the result of change. However, both Emma and the Japanese people each have a saving grace, some hope that they can be transformed. Much like filial piety is the base for Emma’s change into the ideal Confucian female, liberal Confucian thought is the basis for the change in Japan, and these bases for change set the stages for the respective metamorphoses of Emma and Japan: in the case of Japan, into a pure and Confucian world power while in Emma’s case, her metamorphosis into the ideal Confucian subject and ideal upper-class woman and wife.
When we first meet Emma Woodhouse we realize that she is an intensely flawed being - self absorbed, overly confident, manipulative, selfish, and prejudiced, the exact opposite of the glorious Confucian values preached in Emperor Meiji’s 1890 “Imperial Rescript on Education”. The rescript advocated one should:
be filial to your parents, affectionate to your brothers and sisters; as husbands and wives be harmonious, as friends, true; bear yourselves in modesty and moderation; extend your benevolence to all; pursue learning and cultivate arts, and thereby develop intellectual faculties and perfect moral powers (1890).
Austen’s Emma is characterised as the utter opposite to the Confucian ideals portrayed in the Rescript, which the Japanese empire wanted its people to strive for. Emma opens with the timeless line “Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence” (Austen 1996, p7). Austen seemingly introduces us to a character very content and happy, one that would almost seem flawless, but as Drabble contends “Austen undercuts Emma's positive character description by using the word “seemed”, knowing that Emma will fall in the reader's opinion from her initial sterling portrayal” (1996, p32). While the opening line of the novel suggests praise, it all did indeed “seem” too good as Emma’s flaws began to reveal themselves. The most immediate flaw we as readers bear witness too is her matchmaking habit. Emma thinks herself the ‘master’ match-maker, and this is evidenced in her early statement that she “planned the match from that hour;” (Austen 1996, p13) and that “such success has blessed [her] in this instance” (Austen 1996, p13). She insists her father “cannot think that [she] shall leave off match-making” (Austen 1996, p13). This trait is of course in blatant violation of Emperor Meiji’s Confucian ideals, which teach “modesty”, “benevolence”, and “moral[ity]” (Meiji 1890). However, with this misplaced trust in her own skills as a match-maker, Emma sets off to match the residents of Highbury together as she sees fit, resulting in disastrous misinterpretations and social mistakes, clearly moving against the Emperor’s advocations of “modesty and moderation”, “perfect moral powers” and the advancement of “public good” (Meiji 1890).
Furthermore, Emma from these early stages of the novel is very selfish and truly fails to “extend [her] benevolence to all” as dictated by basic Confucian principles. This is evidenced in her attitude towards Ms. Bates, a poorer resident of Highbury. A socialite of Emma’s standing should have been far more compassionate toward a more impoverished woman such as Ms. Bates, and as Mr. Knightley points out “[h]er situation should secure your compassion” (Austen 1996, p395). However, Emma’s lack of visits and yearning to avoid the talkative and somewhat mundane Ms. Bates acts as just another example of her flawed selfishness, and negative attitude toward core precepts outlined by the Emperor. Furthermore, Knightley’s remonstration that Emma “should” be compassionate toward the impoverished Ms. Bates implies that this behaviour is not new and Emma has been far from compassionate to this woman in the past. This again reveals Emma as moving against the fundamentals of the Emperor’s rescript, clearly not acting in “modesty and moderation”, “benevolence”, being a true “friend”, or advancing the “public good” (Meiji 1890). Emma is also lazy, and from this laziness spawns jealousy, and early on we find that Emma “will never submit to any thing requiring industry and patience” (Austen 1996, p36). We learn that in the past she has taken on many hobbies including painting, and as we read on we discover that not one of her paintings had ever been completed because of her lack of will and laziness. This further flouts the Emperor’s basic principles laid out in the rescript, in particular the statement that one should “pursue learning and cultivate arts” (Meiji 1890). This laziness and lack of endeavour becomes pivotal as more of Emma Woodhouse’s character flaws further emerge, further defining her as imperfect and solicitous, and against the principles of the Rescript.
While many critics, and indeed the author herself, view Emma as a flawed heroine, her flaws run so deep that a nation of “Emma’s” would have been a nation in dire need of reform.[L1] This was the exact problem Japan’s Emperor Meiji was facing in 1890; a nation of flaws in dire need of Confucian reform. Emma’s imperfection is further evidenced by her irrational judgment of Jane Fairfax, her solicitous intervention into the social life of Harriet Smith, and her further flouting of Meiji’s core principles. Emma’s selfishness extends to such a degree that she believes she is better than everyone else, and as such she begins to become jealous of the pretty Jane Fairfax, who is more proficient than Emma in music, painting, and other suitably feminine occupations. Jane herself can be read as a model Confucian example and Emma’s quick dismissal and critique of this beautiful and near perfect Confucian model of femininity suggest a level of jealousy toward Jane. This is evidenced when Emma maliciously states that “[o]ne is sick of the very name of Jane Fairfax” (Austen 1996, p84). Of course, had Emma been more industrious she could easily have matched the abilities of Jane, and the jealousy that clouds her vision therefore suggests a deep sense of envy from Emma toward Jane, and a closeted desire to be more like the Confucian ideal that is Jane Fairfax[L2] .
Although Emma Woodhouse is revealed as extremely flawed in the opening to Jane Austen’s Emma, an outlet for redemption is revealed by way of her constant filial piety. She, much like the Japanese people at the turn of the nineteenth century, could be saved by way of the glorious precepts set down in the “Imperial Rescript on Education”. The most important of these themes is that of ‘filial piety’, which is defined as “[t]he central Confucian emphasis on respect and love for one's parents and elder relatives” (Berger, 1993). Emphasis is placed to a large degree on the concept of filial piety within the “Imperial Rescript on Education”, with the Emperor emphasising foremost within the document that one be “filial to your parents”, and that “[his] subjects ever united in loyalty and filial piety have from generation to generation illustrated the beauty thereof” (Meiji 1890). This concept of filial piety is referenced almost reverently in the Imperial Rescript, and in Emma this quality is illustrated through the use of free indirect discourse. It is entirely possible in the case of Emma that words speak louder than actions, as readers learn of her one redeeming quality through the free indirect discourse moreso than Emma’s actions. In the first chapter it is exclaimed that Emma “dearly loved her father” (Austen 1996, p8). Further in the chapter it is revealed that “[h]e [Mr. Woodhouse] could not meet her [Emma] in conversation, rational or playful (Austen 1996, p9).” At first, this may seem like disrespect for her father, and a violation of the concept of filial piety, but when juxtaposed with the first statement that she “dearly loved her father”, it is apparent that Emma embraces her father, Mr. Woodhouse, even with his faults. In a display of filial piety stunning for a character jointly characterised as selfish and manipulative, Emma clearly acknowledges what is due to her parent and father no less in a humble display of respect, acknowledging and loving her father regardless of his intellectual defects, and the apparent fact that he is no match for her in “conversation, rational or playful”. Emma makes further displays of this tenderness and later exclaims to Harriet:
But here is my father coming; you will not object to me reading the charade to him. It will be giving him so much pleasure. He loves anything of the sort, and especially anything that pays woman a compliment. He has the tenderest spirit of gallantry towards us all (Austen 1996, p75).
Emma doubly displays filial piety in this passage, in that she goes out of her way to obstruct her game with her friend Harriet Smith, in order to read her charade out to her father, purely because it “will be giving him so much pleasure”, and further, she shows more reverence for her father by paying him a high compliment, stating that “he has the tenderest spirit of gallantry towards us all”. By going out of her way to mollify her father, and to also hold him in the highest of regards by paying him impressive compliments regardless of his evident intellectual defects and apparent hypochondria, Emma displays very deep filial piety that is impressive for a character who had in the past proven to be so shallow. When reading these startling statements with an understanding of the Imperial Rescript and Confucian ideals in mind, Emma’s salvation and promise for further reform appears to rest in her filial piety. Weinsheimer argues that:
Emma's consistent devotion to her father secures the reader's imaginative sympathies and prevents a facile condemnation of her by giving promise that she will ultimately expand her filial affection to a wider circle (Weinsheimer 1975, p13).
By making obvious Emma’s high regard for her father, Austen hopes that readers will not immediately condemn her flawed character by displaying some of her affections and leaving it to the reader to hope that Emma will “ultimately expand her filial affection to a wider circle”.
By doing this, it is evident that Emma is not entirely a lost cause, and because of this rigid adherence by Emma to this core concept of Confucianism, and the founding principle of the “Imperial Rescript on Education”, the stage is now set for a glorious metamorphosis, much akin to the one experienced in Japan in the late nineteenth century.
Hand in hand with Japanese change comes a new found adherence to the Confucian principles of friendship and charity for Emma. [L3] As she begins her metamorphosis, her sister Isabella emphasises to Mr. Knightley, that without Emma, “[w]here shall we see a better daughter, or a kinder sister, or a truer friend?” (Austen 1996, p38). This high compliment paid by Isabella to her sister is not unsubstantiated, as Emma kindly takes a young lady named Harriet Smith under her wing, and explicitly refers to her as “my friend Harriet” (Austen 1996, p121). Even the somewhat ignorant Mr. Woodhouse realizes the committed relationship between his daughter and Harriet, stating emphatically that “Emma could not have a better companion than Harriet” (Austen 1996, p100), implying that Harriet is a good choice and positive influence on his daughter. Through this positive and reciprocal relationship between Emma and Harriet comes a realisation of Meiji’s precept that one must be “as friend true” (Meiji 1890). This early change in Emma’s character is further complimented by more extensive changes in affection toward members of her inner circle, her sister, and Mr. Knightley.
As the novel progresses, we see evidence of her new found adherence to traditional Confucian principles [L4] laid down in Emperor Meiji’s “Imperial Rescript on Education”, by way of her affection toward her sister and her marriage to Mr. Knightley. We finally begin to see a new side of Emma, one of a tender, loving sister and adoring aunt. Emma states that “[she] shall do all in [her] power to make them happy, which will be enough for Isabella; their happiness must preclude false indulgence and physic” (Austen 1996, p289). By selflessly exclaiming that she would do “all in [her] power” to make Isabella’s young children happy, Emma is simultaneously showing unbridled selflessness and love to her sisters children by doing all that she possibly can to cater for them and “make them happy”. In addition, by saying that “their happiness must preclude false indulgence”, she emphasises her new-found selflessness and at the same time demeans her former acts as “false indulgence”. When conversing with Harriet, Emma says that her life would be complete “with all the children of a sister I love so much, to care about” (Austen 1996, p83). By acting this way to her sister and children, Emma both fulfils Weinsheimer’s foretelling that she would “ultimately expand her filial affection to a wider circle”, as well as coming to terms with two more core Confucian elements of the Emperor’s Rescript, namely, being “affectionate to your brothers and sisters”, as well as “extend[ing] [her] benevolence to all”, her sisters children. She also begins to extend her adherence to Confucian values with her marriage to Mr. Knightley. Another of the key values outlined in the “Imperial Rescript on Education” is the principle of being “as husbands and wives…harmonious” (Meiji 1890). Initially, Emma was entirely determined to remain single, proclaiming that “[m]arriage, in fact, would not do for her” (Austen 1996, p97), and going on to say that marriage would remove her from Hartfield, where she lived with her father, and that “[n]othing should separate her from her father” (Austen 1996, p97). However, this attitude changes over the course of the novel as she realizes her love for Mr. Knightley, and once he proposes “to ask her to marry him” (Austen 1996, p419), the new Emma is able to realize her love for Mr. Knightley, and with her previous statements that marriage “would not do for her” (Austen 1996, p97), admonished, and replaced with the realization that her only role in life was:
to grow more worthy of him, whose intentions and judgement had been ever so superior to her own. Nothing but that the lessons of her past folly might teach her humility and circumspection in the future (Austen 1996, p445).
Her transformation into the role of a wife has begun. Her realizations that she must “grow worthy of him” and that his judgment is “superior to her own” show profound respect and love for her new husband. Further, through the use of Free Indirect Discourse Emma’s metamorphosis is explicitly put forth, in that the “lessons of her past folly might teach her humility and circumspection in the future”. Lewis argues:When Emma learns at last to give selflessly rather than selfishly, her foodway is what it should be and she obtains her just reward: Mr. Knightley. Every selfless princess gets her prince. (Lewis 2006, p1)
Through her marriage and love of Mr. Knightley, the last of Emperor Meiji’s pivotal Confucian precepts are filled, as Emma Woodhouse has now fulfilled the key clauses that require her be as a wife “harmonious” through her gushing praise, love and acceptance of her new spouse Mr. Knightley, and the clause that she have “perfect moral powers”, which she examples through her ideal feminine respect and submission to her husband, vowing to “grow more worthy of him” (Austen 1996, p445).
From the evidence gathered, it is apparent that Jane Austen's Emma can be read as a treatise on the metamorphosis of the central character Emma Woodhouse, who much like the nation of Japan, grows from an imperfect and solicitous female who had only the most basic of Confucian characteristics, into a portrait of the ideal Confucian subject. After undergoing its turbulent yet stunning metamorphosis, the nation of Japan pushed forward into the future, and is today one of the most successful and advanced centres of industry, capital and technology in the world. What happened to Emma Woodhouse, however, will eternally remain a mystery to readers, but if her strong ties to the progression and change of the Japanese nation are anything to go by, Mrs. Emma Knightley would have lived a long and happy life, safe in her new found knowledge of filial piety to her father, her sisterly affection to Isabella, her cultivated moral and artistic talents, and her moderation in attitudes, and most importantly her unconditional love for Mr. Knightley, who had been her Emperor and now husband. Her metamorphosis along Confucian principles makes resounding commentary not only throughout the novel Emma, or even to the Japanese nation itself, as the hope for change and reform is one of the deepest and most relevant emotions in human nature, and when Jane Austen penned the saga of this flawed heroine, she made sure that Emma’s reformation would strike chords with us all…
Works Cited:
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Toshiaki, Ito (1898). Ponderings. Tokyo: Unknown Publisher. p34-35.
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