{"id":198,"date":"2021-02-09T19:57:02","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T19:57:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/?p=198"},"modified":"2021-02-09T19:57:02","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T19:57:02","slug":"aristotelian-virtue-ethics-in-jane-austens-emma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/?p=198","title":{"rendered":"Aristotelian Virtue Ethics in Jane Austen\u2019s Emma"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The concepts of virtue, morality, and character were very significant concerns in eighteenth and nineteenth-century England, the era in which Jane Austen was penning her novels. Just prior to Austen\u2019s birth, England passed through what is now considered the greatest age of British philosophy, as it held the contemporary lives and work of John Locke, David Hume, and George Berkeley. Among the many philosophical arguments that they presented through their works, each offered opinions on this prevalent subject of morality. While the conceptions differed between each author, their central opinions and arguments can all be connected in various ways to Aristotelian virtue ethics, which was also a well-known subject in society’s literate circles (Morris). Jane Austen certainly would have devoted many hours of her life to the study of these topics and philosophical works, which is evident in her own writing. Frequently in Austen\u2019s novels, the characters for whom the audience holds the most regard, respect, and admiration reveal themselves by the end of the story to be nothing but the opposite of what was originally perceived. The same is true for those assumedly disagreeable characters. Every novel presents a chiastic movement of characters undergoing either moral ascension or moral decline. This theme is so prevalent within Austen\u2019s work that it is evident she desires to convey a message of virtue to her readers through the avenue of character analysis. In her novel, Emma, <\/em>Austen demonstrates this claim through the moral development of the protagonist, Emma. The story opens revealing the young woman to be arrogant, entitled, and superficial in many ways, but closes in an entirely opposite manner with Emma demonstrating remarkable virtue compared to the other characters. It is through the careful analysis of her character that the audience is able to see the Aristotelian concept of virtue ethics underlying the story\u2014that virtue of character comes from intentional and empirical development rather than natural inclination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before highlighting the Aristotelian ethics in Jane Austen\u2019s Emma, <\/em>it is necessary to emphasize the specific aspects of virtue theory that appear most often in her work. In Book II of Aristotle\u2019s Nicomachean Ethics, <\/em>he posits that virtue, that which mankind considers noble, praiseworthy, and good in a person\u2019s character, \u201cresults from habit\u2026from the repetition of similar activities\u201d (Aristotle 2.1.\u00a71,\u00a77). Aristotle thus claims that virtue in the character of a human being does not come naturally from the state of being human, but rather through the intentional development of noble qualities over time: \u201cNone of the virtues of character arises in us naturally\u201d (2.1.\u00a72).\u00a0 In the same book, he expounds on the idea by stating that not only is virtue a habitually cultivated aspect of humanity, but also a balanced discipline. To be virtuous in the eyes of Aristotle, one must always stand in the \u201cmean between two vices: one of excess and one of deficiency\u201d (2.7.\u00a715). He illustrates this balance with specific virtues, several of which appear often in Austen\u2019s work. For example, the mean between quarrelsomeness and ingratiation is friendliness; between irascibility and inhibition is mildness; and between self-deprecation and boastfulness is truthfulness. These three Aristotelean virtues\u2014friendliness, mildness, and truthfulness\u2014arise frequently throughout Austen\u2019s works and particularly in the development of her character, Emma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story, Emma, <\/em>not only begins with an absence of virtue in Emma’s character, but also with the explicit description of her vices. \u201cThe real evils of Emma\u2019s situation were the power of having too much of her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself\u201d (Austen 3). In Aristotelian terms, she has an excess of truthfulness which gives way to her arrogance and boastful disposition; she also has a lack of mildness which allows her to emotionally control situations to suit her needs or desires. The presence of these two vices often manifests in a lack of friendliness as well. In the above excerpt, Austen intentionally highlights Emma\u2019s position of class as well as her need for virtuous growth. The situation of class would immediately strike the audience as peculiar since Emma<\/em> is the only of Austin’s novels to present a stereotypically controlling and arrogant aristocratic protagonist (Fitzpatrick). As the majority of her work before sought to demonstrate virtue in lowly places, here she seeks a similar end: virtue in an unexpected place. The evident need for Emma to develop more virtuous qualities draws attention once again to the fact that they do not come naturally to her, nor to anyone, whether lowly or very well-off. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early chapters of the book, Emma demonstrates many disagreeable qualities that are significantly accentuated by the relationship she has with her friend, Harriet. This relationship illustrates her moral ascension by remaining a consistent factor in the story that changes only through Emma\u2019s own development toward virtue. In chapter 5, Emma\u2019s brother-figure, Mr. Knightly, expresses concern regarding this relationship because of Emma\u2019s initial state of character: \u201cHow can Emma imagine she has anything to learn for herself, while Harriet is presenting such a delightful inferiority?\u201d (Austen 33). The word, \u201cdelightful\u201d in this sentence serves as a window into Emma\u2019s heart and mind. It is evident that she holds this posture of subtle arrogance over her friend, and is happy for it. It is the aspect of her life that elevates her ego and keeps her in a place of vice for the majority of the novel. The pride in her class and position over Harriet blinds her to the shortcomings in her own character, which ultimately leads to the very difficult situations that initiate change within her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are several moments in the novel that lead into Emma\u2019s moral ascent. The first turning point of her development toward virtue is found in chapter 15 of the first part when she discovers that she had completely misunderstood Mr. Elton\u2019s affections, and in turn, caused a great tragedy for her friend. Conveying the news to Harriet brings her to a place of genuine humility for the first time in her life, as far as the audience is aware. \u201cThe confession completely renewed her first shame, and the sight of Harriet\u2019s tears made her think that she should never be in charity with herself again\u201d (Austen 126). It is through the trial that she experiences in this moment, and the initial realization of her own shortcomings, that she begins her ascent, again relating to the Aristotelian ideology that experience, repetition, and time are needed to develop genuine virtue within. As this is her first encounter with the discomfort of moral development, it requires several others to bring her finally to a place of genuine virtuousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second experience that moves her forward in development is the arrival of Jane Fairfax, a lady equal to Emma in class, accomplishment, and beauty. Jane\u2019s welcome into town sparks a jealous flame in Emma\u2019s heart as she had always been the only young lady of her caliber in Highbury. Faced with strong feelings of resentment toward her, she is forced to look inward to see where her motives for the distain truly lie. \u201cMr. Knightly had once told her\u2026she saw in [Miss Fairfax] the really accomplished young woman, which she wanted to be thought herself; and although the accusation had been eagerly refuted at the time, there were moments of self-examination in which her conscience could not quite acquit her\u201d (Austen 150). Here, the audience again witnesses a groundbreaking moment for Emma\u2014the moment in which she becomes acutely aware of her own vices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final significant experience that Emma endures is found in chapter seven of the third part during the pic-nick on Box Hill. Emma speaks a very ungracious and condescending word to Miss Bates during the lunch. Her comment is rooted again in arrogance\u2014boastfulness in Aristotelian terms\u2014and her initial response to correction is anger\u2014irascibility. After the last rebuke from Mr. Knightly, the realization of her shortcoming finally becomes her own. \u201cNever had she felt so agitated, mortified, grieved, at any circumstance in all her life\u2026She felt it at her heart. How could she have been so brutal, so cruel to Miss Bates!\u201d (Austen 341). The statement, \u201cShe felt it in her heart\u201d demonstrates to the reader that through the consistent repetition of moral development in her life\u2014the experiences and the rebukes\u2014she then becomes able to recognize her need for moral growth. Similarly, through the steady accumulation of many incidents such as these throughout the entire novel, Emma gradually pulls away from her tendency toward boastfulness, irascibility, and quarrelsomeness, and closer to their healthy means\u2014truthfulness, mildness, and friendliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the novel, Emma displays virtue in nearly every facet of her life, places where it previously had been missing. She no longer holds a pious position over her friend, Harriet, but one of mutual respect, demonstrating tender and genuine care for her heart. Emma frees Harriet of feeling bound to her opinions, and rejoices with her when she accepts the proposal of the humble man of her choice. It is in this place of redemption, reconciliation, and extreme development that Emma finally recognizes the value of where she has arrived. She thanks Mr. Knightly for his patience and his correction of her behavior over the years; \u201cI had the assistance of all your endeavors to counteract the indulgence of other people\u201d (Austen 418). In the end, her own position in society becomes less of a factor in her mind, whereas before it had been the center of her attention. The novel concludes with her wedding day which, being a woman of wealth would be expected to be extravagant on many levels, but it was not. The marriage of Emma and Mr. Knightly is the ultimate reflection of the state of a heart that has undergone significant moral development\u2014humble, honorable, and content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through the analysis of Emma\u2019s character, it becomes evident that Jane Austen intentionally touches on profound, philosophical issues within her work. It appears that, although surrounded by contemporary, yet differing opinions on the matter of Aristotelian virtue ethics such as those of David Hume or George Berkeley who both claim a natural presence of virtue in mankind, Austen separates herself by depicting within the variety of her characters many who demonstrate the \u201chabit\u201d of cultivating virtue in their lives, and many as well who do not. In doing so, she shows that virtue must be cultivated. This becomes clearer through the careful observation of characters, such as Emma Woodhouse, who physically develop greater virtue through the progression of the story by way of their experience, discipline, and habitual correction. As Austen shows the chiastic movement of moral development in this case, she also mirrors the shift from either an excess or deficient character trait as seen in Aristotle\u2019s theory of virtues. When Emma began her ascent toward virtue, she moved closer to an Aristotelian mean\u2014away from quarrelsomeness, irascibility, and boastfulness, and toward what the novel portrays as the final image of her character: friendly, mild, and truthful. This lasting image of a woman developed by habitual experience conveys once more the necessity of cultivating virtue in every life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 6, 2018<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. <\/em>Translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indiana, 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Austen, Jane. Emma. <\/em>Barnes and Nobel Classics, New York, 2004.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fitzpatrick, William J. Jane Austen\u2019s Emma and Mansfield Park. <\/em>Monarch Press, Inc., New York, 1965.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morris, C.R. Locke, Berkeley, Hume. <\/em>Oxford University Press, London, 1931.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. <\/em>Translated by Terence Irwin. Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Indiana, 1999.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Botsford, Jay Barrett. English Society in the Eighteenth Century<\/em>. Octagon Books, Inc.,New York, 1965.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Klemann, Heather M. \u201cEthos in Jane Austen\u2019s \u201cEmma.\u201d\u201d Boston University. Studies in Romanticism, Vol 51. No 4 (2012), pp 503-532.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knox-Shaw, Peter. \u201cReview of Sarah Emsley, Jane Austen\u2019s Philosophy of the Virtues.\u201d University of California Press. Nineteenth-Century Literature, Vol. 61, No. 2 (2006), pp. 245-249.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paris, Bernard J. Character and Conflict in Jane Austen\u2019s Novels: A Psychological Approach.<\/em> Wayne State University Press, Detroit, 1978.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Putman, Daniel. \u201cRelational Ethics and Virtue Theory.\u201d Wiley, Metaphilosophy, Vol 22, No. 3 (1991), pp. 231-238.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sreenivasan, Gopal. \u201cErrors about Errors: Virtue Theory and Trait Attribution.\u201d Oxford University Press, Mind, Vol 111, No 441 (2002), pp. 47-68.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The concepts of virtue, morality, and character were very significant concerns in eighteenth and nineteenth-century England, the era in which Jane Austen was penning her novels. Just prior to Austen\u2019s birth, England passed through what is now considered the greatest age of British philosophy, as it held the contemporary lives and work of John Locke,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[44,45,42,43,41,46],"class_list":["post-198","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-critical-analyses","tag-aristotelian-ethics","tag-aristotle","tag-austin","tag-emma","tag-jane-austin","tag-morality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=198"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198\/revisions\/199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=198"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=198"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bexroden.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=198"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}