Question

Jane austen develops two characters for "comic relief" - mr. elton and augusta. in a short essay, explain how austen uses these characters humorously throughout the book. 3 or 4 incidences are sufficient.'

Answer 1

Both characters in Emma are presented by the author with the same sense a break from work is presented in real life.Austen depicts a life too hard for ladies of her time and in introducing humorous characters, she appears to be escaping, just for a while , from what she really wants to highlight.

Mr Elton is used by Jane Austen as a character who is handsome and available for marrying a girl belonging to the society, or so he thinks.He is convinced he can win Emma´s love but he is unable to get what he wants.He´s excellent at rhyming silly verses and has an incredible ability for creating riddles, all of what seems not enough for Emma.Heartbroken by her rejection it seems he will never recover until he finds a new wife ; Augusta.

  Augusta is in a good financial position and  has the luck of having a sister who has found a reputable husband.While still single, she wants to show refinement but in turn she is considered a bit ridiculous.She manages herself with overfamiliarity attitudes which disturb some of the well educated characters in the novel.Austen plays with her a lot and the best part of her game is the moment she marries Mr Elton .Two birds of a kind end up together.