AN ANALYSIS ON THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF EMMA’S PROBLEM FOR HAVING LOVE RELATIONSHIP IN JANE AUSTEN’S EMMA

Abstract

Emma is one of Jane Austen’s works which tells about love and marriage. The novel describes about Emma, the main character in the novel, and her ego development of personality. Thus, in this study psychological approach is needed. Besides, Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory of Personality in Ego Development is employed to analyze Emma’s stage within her Ego development. By using Ego development of personality, Emma’s character including the problems she faces for having love relationship will be understood. In the novel, Emma is described as the youngest of two daughters. After Emma’s sister and the governess marriage, Emma takes the responsibility of the Hartfield. Emma must take care her father who is very dependent both mentally and physically. Further, Emma’s family background, Emma’s father condition and her father’s perception about marriage give strong influence upon her. Besides, Emma’s society, the conflict within herself as the result of Emma’s Ego development of personality also make Emma unable to find love and get married. Emma’s snobbery which makes people avoid her, Emma’s perception towards woman’s equal rights and her inconsistency within her own feeling are the impacts of Emma’s failures in Ego development of personality. Surely, the causes of Emma’s problem for having love relationship give an effect to Emma. As consequence, Emma has difficulty to find a match for herself. Finally, Emma finds that it is Mr. Knightley who always accompanies her within the process of Emma’s maturity. She finds that Mr. Knightley is the only person who helps Emma to solve the conflict within herself and he becomes Emma’s husband