How Clueless is

Emma?
By Naomi Taylor
I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself
will like much
Jane Austen.
Jane Austens Emma has its roots firmly in the English
countryside of Highbury. Although 180 years after Emma was
first published in 1815, its firmly held foundations have found
themselves shifting slightly as its adaptation of Clueless (1995)
has produced at first glance an almost unrecognisable version
of the once quaint English tale which explores themes of social
hierarchy, misconstrued match-making and what it means to
see the error in ones ways. How has Emma retained its
authenticity in its clueless transformation? Or is it inevitable
that the intrinsic irony inherent in Austens works must be
compromised in order to appeal to the masses?
From Highbury

To Beverley Hills

Biographical background
Jane Austen was born on
December 16, 1775, in
Steventon, Hampshire,
England. While not widely
known in her own time,
Austen's comic novels of love
among the landed gentry
gained popularity after 1869,
and her reputation
skyrocketed in the 20th
century. Her novels,

including Pride and Prejudice

and Sense and Sensibility,
are considered literary
classics, bridging the gap
between romance and
realism. The seventh child
and second daughter of
Cassandra and George
Austen, Jane Austen was
born on December 16, 1775,
in Steventon, Hampshire,

England. Jane's parents were

well-respected community
members. Her father served
as the Oxford-educated
rector for a nearby Anglican
parish. The family was close
and the children grew up in
an environment that stressed
learning and creative
thinking. When Jane was
young, she and her siblings
were encouraged to read
from their father's extensive
library. The children also
authored and put on plays
and charades.
Over the span of her life,
Jane would become
especially close to her father
and older sister, Cassandra.

Indeed, she and Cassandra

would one day collaborate on
a published work.
In order to acquire a more
formal education, Jane and
Cassandra were sent to
boarding schools during
Jane's pre-adolescence.
During this time, Jane and
her sister caught typhus,
with Jane nearly succumbing
to the illness. After a short
period of formal education
cut short by financial
constraints, they returned
home and lived with the
family from that time
forward.
(www.biography.com)

EMMA vs
CLUELESS
Emma is a novel written by
Jane Austen in the early
nineteenth century, it was
eventually published in 1815.
The novel explores the world
of a young woman
Emma as she embarks on a
voyage of self-discovery. Her
naivety coupled with a good

sense of knowing whats

best for everyone poses
some challenges throughout
the novel. Initially, we are
introduced to Emma through
an omniscient narrator, an all
knowing absence presence
which serves as a tour
guide places us at the

correct stage of the story

whilst issuing us with an
explicit description of Emma.
Emma Woodhouse,
handsome, clever and
rich, with a comfortable
home and happy
disposition, seemed to
unite some of the best
blessings of existence;
and had lived nearly
twenty-one years in the
world with very little to
distress or vex her. (pg
7). The narrator then goes
on to tell us background
information of Emma, about
the death of her mother at
an early age and the
relationship between Emma,
her father, sister and
governess Mrs Taylor. This
information about Emmas
close relationships are told to
us using a third person point
of view. For example
Chapter 1 first page (page 7)
the mildness of her
temper had hardly
allowed her to impose
any restraint; and the
shadow of authority
being now long passed
away, they had been
living together as friend
and friend very mutually
attached, and Emma
doing just what she liked;
highly esteeming Miss

Taylors judgement, but

directed chiefly by her
own. The real evils
indeed of Emmas
situation were the power
of having rather too
much of her own way, and
a disposition to think a
little too well of herself;
these were the
disadvantages which
threatened alloy to her
many enjoyments. This
gives the reader the effect
not only of being introduced
to a character but a more in
depth introduction removed
from character focalisation
which of cause is biased by
what that character sees or
hears or their own values.
Instead we have an
introduction which is
omniscient narration a
seemingly anonymous,
unbiased, no holds barred
view of Emma. It is worth
noting at this point that the
reader at this point has no
real description of Emma in a
physical sense other than
the mention of her being
handsome, clever and rich.

heritage feel of costumedrama that is reminiscent of

the aunt Jane Austenmania
that thrived a century
earlier (Jane Austens Emma
A Sourcebook p, 94).

Since the novel Emma has

been adapted several times
for the stage. However, in
1932 it made the leap from
stage to TV. This version
directed by Clarence Brown.
In 1972 it was adapted again
for the screen this time in
the form of a British drama
TV series starring Doran
Godwin as Emma. It was in
1996 that it was adapted for
cinema with Gwyneth
Paltrow starring as Emma,
(Wikipedia.com). According
to Paula Byrne, adaptations
of Austens work in particular
Emma pose a major
problem in that they
render the ironic third
person narration which is
so crucial to the novels
effect. Critics have
suggested that in order to
produce an adaptation which
successfully captures
Austens unique narrative
voice radical departures
must be made from the
original whilst Avoiding the

According to Nora Nachumis

essay As if, Translating
Austens Ironic Narrator to
Film, (1998):130-9. Nachumi
suggests (as does Byrne)
that The key challenge
for adapters of Emma is
the rendering of the
ironic third person
narrative. In her essay
Nachumi illustrates just how
McGraths adaptation falls
short in effectively ironizing
the heroines faults, she does
however praise Heckerling
achievements in successfully
achieving the art of
being both inside and
outside of the character,
so creating the right
balance of sympathy and
censure. We see an
example of the irony which
Austen employs in chapter 3,
( page 24, lines 6-14). Upon
meeting Miss Harriet Smith
on evening Emma is struck
by the young ladys
prettiness and manners and
is overcome by a desire to
set herself a project to
detach her from her bad

acquaintance and
introduce her into good
society. Furthermore,
Emma is spurred on by the
fact that Miss Smith is
obviously so artlessly
impressed by the
appearance of every
thing in so superior a
style to what she had
been used to, that she
must have good sense
and deserve
encouragement. This is
evidence of our earlier
introduction which states
that Emma thinks a little too
highly of herself. We also
see this in the adaptaion of
Emma that is Clueless.
During the opening scenes
we get a glimpse of this selfobsessed trait which sees
Cher reveal to us how she
likes to be friends with
people who understand what
its like To have people
jealous of us

This line is delivered by a

first person extra diegetic
narrative which replaces
Austens free indirect style in
the novel.
In 1995 the film Clueless
( based on Jane Austens
Emma) by Amy Heckerling,
came to the silver screen. Its
target audience was
predominantly aimed
towards teenage girls
between the ages of 13-17
and it employs the themes
which were relevant for its
time for teenage girls: social
hierarchy (within high
school), match-making and
image. Whereas Emma deals
with social hierarchy within
society, womens attitudes
and expectations towards
marriage (issues which were
of course on the verge of
becoming hot topics of
discussion in the early
nineteenth century. Clueless
also uses some fantastic
moments of irony and
humour to highlight some of
the current topics of

discussion for the late

twentieth century.

Whereas the novel

introduces Emma through
the omniscient narration.
Clueless introduces its
protagonist sixteen year old
Cher with an overhead crane
shots of Cher and her friends
in a roofless jeep

Next we are shown a

beautiful Cher shopping and

leaving with what could be

perceived as expensive
garments.

Subsequent shots see Cher

laughing with friends and
then a repeating shot of Cher
and friends in the Jeep

Finally, we have a two

second shot of Cher doing
her hair in the mirror from an
almost omniscient point of
view.

Instead of being told that

Cher is handsome, clever
and rich we have been
shown by the very nature of
these opening scenes.
At the moment of its release
in 1996 the connection as to
its origins had not been
spotted by any critic or
reviewer, there was no
mention of Jane Austens
Emma anywhere in the
credits. It was only
discovered once Austen
enthusiasts began their
discussions online that the
discourse around the true
origins of the fim were found.
Amy Heckerling has been
reported to have said that
she was devoted to Jane
Austen but did not want to
put off a teenage audience
by advertising the movies
high cultural origins. There
are however many
similarities between them if
one is to know what to look
for. Both Emma and her
twentieth century
counterpart Cher are full of

self importance, nave

products of the upper class
they both assume that the
lives of those less fortunate
than themselves are
obviously not as fulfilled as
theirs and there fix-it
mentally does not always
end with the desired
outcome. The relationship
between Emma and her
father is also echoed in the
relationship between Cher
and her father, albeit slightly
altered. For example,
reference is made in the film
to the slightly patronising
relationship between
Cher/Emma and their
fathers. Emma takes a more
protective, supportive stance
towards Mr Woodhouse who
is described in chapter 1 :9
line 23-4 as a nervous
man, easily depressed.
Whereas Cher provides a
more patronising approach to
her father, however she is
still concerning with his
health and wellbeing even if
it is a little overbearing as we
can see below.

stratified world of Beverley

Hills, where so many of the
teenagers are handsome,
clever and rich.

Not to mention the makeover

on Latino transfer student Tai
echoing the class makeover
of Miss Hilary Smith along
with the match-making of Mr
Hall and Ms Geist in clueless
and Hilary Smith and Mr
Elton in Emma.
The movie Clueless is a film
which fits comfortably into
the pop genre of the 1990s
its Beverley Hills setting
seems to remove it
completely from the English
countryside backdrop used
by Austen 180 years before.
Nevertheless it has
maintained many of the
same themes which run
through Emma. To quote
Miranda J. Burgess who wrote
the essay Austen, Radcliffe,
and the circulation of
Britishness, (2000). Instead
of portraiture, there is
photography; there are
convertibles rather than
carriages. Rather than the
rarified and hierarchical
world of Highbury, we have
the priviledged and socially

So, how clueless is Emma? I

like to think that maybe they
are as clueless as each other.

Reference List
Austen, J. (1815) Emma. London: The Penguin Group
Clueless (1996) Directed by Amy Heckerling. 97mins.
Paramount Pictures (Accessed:10/5/2016)
Burgess. M, J. (2000) Austen,Radcliffe, and the Circulation of
Britishness. In: Byrne, P. (1st ed) Jane Austens Emma A
Sourcebook. Oxon: Routledge.
Nachumi, N. (1998) As if!, Translating Austens Ironic Narrator
to film. In: Byrne, P. (1st ed) Jane Austens Emma A Sourcebook.
Oxon: Routledge.