Abstract:Jane Austen is a famous realistic novelist in England in 19th Century. She wrote six novels, all of which depict love and marriage. Emma is the only novel which is named after the heroine, and brought Austen to the zenith of her success. The novel describes the heroine Emma abandons illusion, regains a sense of her own worth and achieves spiritual growth after a series of mistakes, which makes her morality more perfect and her emotion more mature. Thus, Emma is a typical novel reflecting the theme of female growth. 

The novel has received the attention of scholars both at home and abroad since its inception. Most of them use psychoanalysis, feminism, narrative strategy, irony, parody and other writing techniques to analyze Emma. They also explore Austen’s own marriage, family values and moral values. However, only a few scholars have studied the novel from the perspective of female growth. The thesis will focus on the female growth of the novel to discuss female images and female consciousness of Emma, and reveals Emma’s growth process from being naive to mature, and from constant soul-searching, self-improvement to finally happiness. The paper is divided  into five chapters. Chapter one briefly introduces Jane Austen and Emma. Chapter two briefly analyses the definition, origin and features of bildungsroman. Chapter three gives an interpretation of Emma’s spiritual and moral growth in the novel. Chapter four gives a brief analysis of other females’ growth in the novel. The last chapter is the conclusion.

Keywords: Jane Austen   Emma  female growth  moral

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Introduction to Jane Austen-1

1.2 Introduction to Emma-1

1.3 Literature Review-2

1.4 Thesis Structure-3

Chapter Two Bildungsroman-4

2.1 Definition and Origin of Bildungsroman-4

2.2 Features of Bildungsroman-4

Chapter Three Interpretation of Emma’s Growth-6

3.1 Emma－An Imperfect Heroine-6

    3.1.1 Emma’s Personality Flaws-6

    3.1.2 Emma’s Moral Errors-7

3.2 Emma’s Growth from Epiphany to Maturity-7

    3.2.1 Emma’s Moral Growth-7

    3.2.2 Emma’s Growth in Self-knowledge-8

    3.2.3 Emma’s Positive and Negative Pathfinder-9

Chapter Four Interpretation of Other Females’ Growth-11

4.1 Harriet-11

4.2 Jane Fairfax-11

Chapter Five Conclusion-12

References-13