JANE AUSTEN'S EMMA: A PERFECT READ FOR COLLEGE-AGED LADIES BY GUEST BLOGGER NADIA JONES

Did you enjoy the movie Clueless? If so, you will also enjoy reading Jane Austen’s novel Emma. That’s because Clueless was actually loosely based on the novel. There are obvious differences; the movie is set in modern-day Beverly Hills, California, and the novel is set in Surrey County, England, during the Regency era. However, the underlying theme is the same.

The character of Cher (played by Alicia Silverstone) in Clueless is based on the character of Emma Woodhouse, the protagonist in Austen’s novel. Like Cher, Emma is young, beautiful and free of financial concern, thanks to her rich father and likely inheritance. However, Emma is 20 years old and unconcerned with higher education, since she’s pretty much set for life financially.

To fill up her time, Emma enjoys socializing with the people in her neighborhood, along with her friend, Harriet Smith, a pretty yet unsophisticated girl. Although the ways of the upper class are quite entrenched in Emma’s character, she is still compassionate towards everyone in all social classes. Recognizing Harriet’s potential in high society, Emma insists on playing matchmaker to find her friend a favorable husband. Emma is able to use her charm and self-confidence to convince Harriet that she is correct in her matchmaking efforts, leading to some pretty interesting events that create quite a dilemma for everyone involved.

MY TWO FAVOURITE GIRLS, EMMA AND CHER BY GUEST BLOGGER MELISSA MILLER

Romola Garai as Emma (BBC 2009)

Unknowingly, I was familiar with Jane Austen before I had ever picked up one of her novels. As a child of the 90s, I was captivated with the film Clueless. The film offered a glimpse into a glamorous world of designer clothes, wealth and romance. Although it was wildly out of my everyday reality, I viewed Cher Horowitz's Beverly Hills world as the quintessential representation of popularity in teenage America.

It wasn't until years later, when I was studying English literature in college, that I discovered the movie had been written as an adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. After re-watching the movie and reading the novel, I was pleasantly surprised at how well each of the works captured the snobbery, frivolity and generosity that is transferred between social classes.

Cher Horowitz and Emma Woodhouse are both arrogant, spoiled daughters of over-indulgent fathers. Though their time periods are separated by more than a century, there remain distinct similarities among the demands and expectations of their elitist societies. While Emma lives in the well-bred haven of nineteenth century England, Cher's Beverly Hill high school is ruled by a similar combination of money and charm. In both instances, snobbery is rampant.