Jane Austen’s View of Romantic Love

1. The Importance of Mutual Love and Respect

At the beginning of the novel， Jane Austen referred 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 her.

From here we see that Emma was so charming that people around her love and admire her. Although she was so brilliant， she also had fatal shortcomings. For example， she lacked of kindness and self-knowledge. On the other hand， she did things with her own pride and snobbery， and valued the idea of the family. She has a bourgeois snobbery attitude towards marriage. Especially， the wealth and status were the standard of Emma to treat the relationship between people. She thought that the famers were vulgarity and had a low social status. And Emmas shortcomings in these respects masked her strengths. It made people think she was utilitarian. Jane Austen once said that no one would like Emma except her. But as time went on， Emma corrected her own mistakes gradually. Her understanding of human well-being was also sublimated， from the beginning that she was rich enough to marry， until eventually he found himself deeply in love with the Mr. Knightley.

Mr. Knightley always instructed and influenced Emma by his own words and mind. Besides， he pointed out her shortcomings and gave her constant advice. After correcting her own mistakes， Emma became the most charming heroine in Jane Austens characters.

The marriage between Emma and Mr. Knightley proved that Jane Austens unique standpoint of love. A good marriage is based on the mutual love and respect.  Though Emma had many shortcomings， Knightley didnt give up loving her， but also constantly told her to help her correct it. One person helps the other to correct her shortcomings and makes progress together， which is the embodiment of romantic love. As we have mentioned in the first paragraph， mutual love is the foundation of relationship. It is more important than anything. At the same time， the romantic love is indispensable in our life.

2. Beliefs in the Foundation of Love

Mr. Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax were lovers in Emma. Unfortunately， there is a great disparity between the social and economic status of Frank and Jane Fairfax. Therefore， their love couldnt win the approval from Mr. Franks guardian. Mr. Frank and Jane Fairfax had to take special measures. That is， they privately engaged without parental permission and concealed the fact on purpose. Meanwhile， we may ignore some details about them. It was a piano which was a token of love. By analyzing it， we could find a story about companion love like Emma and Mr. Knightley.

The piano first appeared in chapter 26， Emma and Frank came to party， people discussed the news about a secret gift to Jane Fairfax -an upright piano. All of the people wanted to know who was the sender. Emma， who had always liked the whims and excitement， began to speculate again， and told Frank in no doubt that Janes adorer sent her the piano. At that time， Mr. Frank didnt hit back at her guess. The piano appeared thirty times in novel. We didnt understand its function until the news of marriage about Mr. Frank and Jane Fairfax appeared. According to this line， we may found romantic love.

In my opinion， the piano is the witness of sincere love between Mr. Frank and Jane Fairfax. Frank repeatedly postponed his return to Highbury under the pretext of Mrs. Churchill. However， when Jane Fairfax had just arrived in Highbury， and Frank was on his way. Jane Fairfax lived with her old grandmother and aunt. Frank immediately realized her loneliness and sent a piano to her in order to enjoy life. As we all know， Frank acted with all sincerity. Its the impulse of a young man in love. Frank did his best to resolve the situation of those he loved.

The talk and action between Mr. Frank and Jane Fairfax also showed their real love. Jane Fairfax was a poor talker. But she still admired Mr. Franks excellent quality. Besides， Jane Fairfax was willing to conceal the truth about their engagement out of love. We have to say that her enthusiasm won rational mind. Mr. Frank expressed his love to Jane Fairfax clearly and definitely. In Mr. Franks letter， he said that he would be crazy if Jane Fairfax refused him. All of these ideas are different from Jane Austens writing style.

Why were they willing to hide the facts for a while and to deceive everyone？ Because they had a strong faith to love and tried their best to keep the relationship. The love between Mr. Frank and Jane Fairfax is not rational love as usual. In contrast， it is the romantic love beyond everything.

【作者簡介】段萌萌（1997.03.07-），女，河北廊坊人，汉族，本科，研究方向：商务英语。