Jane Austen’s Emma is Clueless, only older

18 May 2011 1 Comment

by Lauren in Jane Austen Tags: Alicia Silverstone, Clueless, double entendre, Emma, feminism, Jane Austen, meaning, relationships, social class, society, symbol

Jane Austen’s commentary on the ridiculousness societal norms was acute and unfailing. She is one of the few women who weaseled her way in to the predominately white male cannon. Her novel, Emma, was no exception, as we follow the life of a well-off woman named Emma through the maze that is class and marriage in her time. It’s hard to imagine 1995’s chick flick prototype, Clueless as an adaptation of such a richly worded and socially aware text. However, after watching the film again, I was amazed to find so much of Emma in Clueless.

The similarities between Emma and Clueless are numerous, but the most interesting relationship I found was between Emma (Cher, in the film) and Harriet (Tai, in the film.)  Austen’s introduction of Harriet in the book was the first thing to make me really think, Wow, Clueless really is based on this. “Harriet Smith was the natural daughter of someone…. She [Emma] was not stuck by anything remarkably clever in Miss Smith’s conversation, but found her altogether very engaging….She would notice her; she would improve her; she would detach her from her bad acquaintance and introduce her into good opinions and society” (19).  Austen’s use of the third person limited narrative style allows the reader to feel the judgment, while well intended, that Emma is placing on Harriet. By hearing Emma’s condescending thoughts, we are given a portrait of Emma though her portrait of Harriet and her plans to change her. When Cher first sees Tai in Clueless, she too passes seemingly harmless judgment on Tai, while appearing to the audience as “clueless” herself. She describes Tai as “project” and while she obviously “finds her altogether very engaging,” as well, Emma cannot comprehend a life, like Tai’s, much different from her own, in a lower social class. Austen implies that while Emma intends to help Harriet, who is an “illegitimate child” and much less wealthy than she, is still quite shallow.

After visiting the sick, needy family, Emma remarks to her friend, “These sights, Harriet, do one good. How trifling they make everything else appear!  I feel now as if I could think of nothing but these poor creatures all day; and yet, who can say how soon it may all vanish from my mind” (75). It is unclear if Emma is genuine in her expression of sympathy for the poor, because she contradicts herself a sentence later. This mix of good intentions and naive vanity is translated well to the film. Alicia Silverstone makes Cher, who could be a monstrously irritating character, charming. This charm is key to the “Emma” character; she is intelligent and well spoken, but impulsive and immature.

Both Emma and Cher are obsessed with matchmaking. Much of the plot is focused on finding a man for the Harriet/Tai character, another well intended blunder on Emma/Cher’s part.  Here, too, Emma steers her protégé, Harriet, into a potentially painful situation, when she persuades her to fall for Mr. Elton. Part of this plan involves crushing Harriet’s interest for Robert Martin, forcing her to refuse his proposal. Her power over Harriet is strong and Harriet says, “Whatever you say is always right…and therefore I must suppose and believe and hope it must be so…” (64). All along, Harriet rightfully fears that she has no chance with Mr. Elton, but is blinded by her respect for Emma’s opinion. Emma however, is completely blind to the fact that Mr. Elton is after her, not Harriet. In the novel, he admires a picture of Harriet that she has painted. Emma interprets this as Mr. Elton being interested in Harriet, but really he is trying to compliment her as an artist.

In the modern movie, Cher takes a photo of Tai in an attempt to match her with Elton. When Elton hangs it in his locker, Cher assumes he is interested in Cher’s misreading of Elton’s signals comes to head when he gives her a ride home from a party and tries to make a move. Her overconfidence, like Emma’s, disallowed her from preventing putting herself and Harriet in an awkward, distressing situation.

In Emma, Austen often uses double meaning words to reveal Emma’s inability, despite her wit, to understand things, such as social class or language. Clueless makes use of double meanings, as well. Scenes with double entendres are a more subtle nod to the book Clueless was based on. When Cher and Dionne first meet Tai, they have an exchange where neither the pampered rich girls, nor the scruffy new girl understand each other’s meaning:

Tai: I could really use some sort of herbal refreshment.

Dionne: Oh, well we do lunch in ten minutes. We don’t have any tea, but we have Coke and stuff.

Tai: No shit. You guys got Coke here?

Dionne: Well, yeah.

Cher: Yeah, this is America. (Clueless)

While much of the humor is lost when the dialogue is transposed to text, the point is that Tai wants to smoke marijuana but Dionne and Cher think she wants tea and offer her coke instead, which she thinks is cocaine. (It’s actually funny when it’s not written out in Reefer Madness-style formal terminology.)  Personally, one of the things I liked best about the Clueless was clever use of language such as these, which are a nod to Austen’s frequent use of double meanings in the novel. In Part II, Chapter 17 of my very strange edition of the book, Emma misinterprets Frank’s comments about dancing with her, as she is unaware of his relationship with Jane. As the reader, and Emma, discover the relationship, it all comes together and makes sense.

As a whole, the Clueless is a relatively true and well-modernized version of Jane Austen’s novel, Emma.  Social class, wealth, and the place of love within these constraints: these themes are carried over from the novel to the film.  The specific scenes that the filmmakers decided to translate to the screen carry are humorous and although they are much “fluffier” and are aimed at a 90’s teen audience, Clueless does have some substantial wit and meaning to it. The movie gets its backbone from the Austen novel and that shows in the dynamic of the film. Nevertheless, the characters in Clueless live in a world that is much less suffocating for women. Reading Emma, it was clear that a woman had two options: be a wife or work her ass off. Clearly, Emma chose wealth and boredom over work, yet I got the impression that Austen was subtly implying she could have been bound for more, if here society offered the option. The film makes reference the strides towards equality that have been taken in Austen’s time. For example, when Dionne’s boyfriend calls her “woman,” this exchange occurs:

Murray: Woman, lend me fi’ dollas.
Dionne: Murray, I have asked you repeatedly not to call me “woman”.
Murray: Excuse me, “Ms. Dionne.”
Dionne: Thank you.
Murray: Okay, but, street slang is an increasingly valid form of expression. Most of the feminine pronouns do have mocking, but not necessarily in misogynistic undertones.

This conversation set the time periods apart, but I do not think that Austen would object to the fact that Dionne was able to ask for respect of her boyfriend.

Having been a Clueless fan for many years, I was immediately intrigued when I found out  it was based on Jane Austen’s Emma.  Now I can throw references about what appears to be a silly chick flick into “serious” literary discussion.