Born Into Blindness - 966 Words

Judgment, reason, and clarity of perception; these are all qualities that contribute to blindness within Jane Austen’s Emma; a blindness that Austen herself feels can be avoided. This form of blindness ultimately yields unhappiness due to an inaccurate perception of human situations and feelings. With Emma’s inability to perceive the truth and her lack of self-understanding, she becomes the victim of her own imaginative world of matchmaking and false happiness induced by Mr. Woodhouse, her father. This inducement is caused by his angst towards marriage and constant obsession of keeping his daughter close. Emma Woodhouse is practically born into blindness when she is left with one parent’s negative connotations toward the reality of the†¦show more content†¦Woodhouse still â€Å"tries to earnestly dissuade her from it† (315) in order to keep her blind to the real world and to whom she must spend her life with, expecting her to reside with him. Desp ite the negative response of Mr. Woodhouse, Emma basks in her self-realization and eye-opening feelings and claims staying single for her father â€Å"would not do†¦and said it must be so†, referring to the marriage (315). With this realization, Emma avoids the blindness Mr. Woodhouse still wishes to instill upon her. As a possibility viewed by Austen, Emma avoids further blindness through discovering true happiness. One’s happiness comes from love, obviously not the only source of true happiness, but a prominent one. Happiness, in turn, can then release one from blindness such as Emma’s. Her realization â€Å"that there had never been a time†¦that [Mr. Knightley’s] regard for her had not been infinitely the most dear† allows her to understand â€Å"she had been entirely under a delusion† (278) and had not seen clearly until now. Austen undoubtedly points out that for Emma to â€Å"understand[ing], thoroughly understand[ing] her own heart,† (278) is the first step in reaching this revelation. Furthermore, Austen states in an 1814 personal letter to her niece, Fanny Knight, â€Å"nothing can be compared to the misery of being bound without love- bound to one and preferring another† (Austen, Letter, paragraph 7). In regards to Emma, this misery, or unhappiness due to blindness,Show MoreRelatedPeople tend to be blinded by the truth at times. Usually, the solution to their question is right800 Words   |  4 Pagesblind ultimately do have a higher vision, which is the truth. In this essay I will prove the motif of sight vs. blindness. Blindness played a major role in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. Blindness is presented as a physical disability that affects Teiresias and as not being able to see the truth which Oedipus was â€Å"blinded† as well. The irony that is at hand is the fact that Oedipus who was born with the gift of sight is basically blind, but on the other hand, Teiresias , who is blind physically but isRead MoreBlindness Or Low Vision, Cancer, And Alzheimer s Disease943 Words   |  4 PagesBlindness or low vision is one of the most feared illness by Americans, ranking fourth after acquired immunodeficiency by syndrome, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. The National Eye Institute reports that blindness or low vision affect 3.3 million American 40 years and older, this number is projected to reach 5.5 million by 2020. As the U.S. population ages, the number of persons with major eye disease is increasing. Octogenarians currently make up 8 percent of the population, but they account forRead MoreBlindness Essay Outline1098 Words   |  5 Pagessince we have been humans, blindness has been a problem. It has grown over time and gotten to be massive problem is a person’s everyday life. 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Although most cases are related to the ageing process, occasionally children can be born with the conditionRead MoreBlindness : The Invisible Man By Ralph Ellison1413 Words   |  6 PagesThe motif of blindness is found all throughout literature. The purpose of blindness allows a character or reader to see beyond what other characters can see. The two types of blindness are if a character is figuratively blind where the character refuses to see certain things others can see or physically blind where they have a physical trait that prevents them from seeing the reality of things. The motif of blindness is found in works of literature such as The Kite Runner. In the novel, Assef isRead MoreOedipus Rex Is A Greek Tragedy Written By Sophocles1177 Words   |  5 Pagesthe other, and examined the â€Å"overrating and underrating of blood relations† in the story, respectively. After having read the story of Oedipus Rex myself, I have found that a recurring theme to be â€Å"blindness vs. sight.† By recounting the major scenes that relate back to the ideas of sight and blindness in Oedipus, such as Oedipus’ interaction with the priest’s beginning speech that commends Oedipus’ eyesight among other traits, his malicious encounter with the prophet Tiresias, and when he blinds