Feminism in Emma The implication of "feminism" usually means movements for recogni zing the claims of women for rights equal to those of men. Women have never ceased to fight for their rights, though the feminist movement in the West did not take any visible shape till the eenth century in the name of women ’s liberation movement. Modem reviewers consider Emma as Austen ’s masterpiece, especially because the novel shows clearly Jane Austen ’s understanding about the problems of women in her society. Claudia Johnson, a contemporary scholar, thought :“ In its willingness to explore positive versions of female power, Emma itself is an experimental production of authorial independence unlike any of Austen ’s other novels." From my own perspective, there are several embodiments of feminism in Emma. For one thing, Emma isaw oman who has sound j udgment . It was traditionally held that women were not endowed with powers of mind by nature and they were deprived of the inherent right to think and judge. Thus, any mental exercises were dangerous to women. Wendy Martin noted: “A thinking woman was considered such a breach of nature that a Harvard Doctor reported during his autopsy ona Radcliffe graduate he discovered that her uterus had shriveled to the size ofa pea. ” It does tell us that feminine capacity isnot for thinking, judging and reasoning. Therefore, it was a woman ’s first duty
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