Aima

Author: Jane Austen (English)
Publisher:
Publication Date: 1981-07-01
Features: Jane Austen (1775–1817) was one of the earliest female writers of realistic novels in the early 19th century and played a pivotal role in the development of British fiction. She grew up in a rural clergy family, remained unmarried throughout her life, and had a limited social circle and minimal social activities. In addition to managing household affairs, she engaged in writing. After publishing her first novel, Sense and Sensibility (1811), she successively released Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), and Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (both published posthumously in 1818). Among these, Pride and Prejudice and Emma are her most representative works.
The heroine of the novel Emma is Emma Woodhouse, the daughter of a gentleman in the village of Highbury. She is well-educated, beautiful, and wealthy. Emma befriends Harriet Smith, a kind and lovely orphan from a boarding school, and seeks to arrange a suitable marriage for her. Under Emma's influence, Harriet rejects the proposal of Robert Martin, a farmer, and transfers her affections to others. Under the social conditions of Britain at the time, marriage was often associated with wealth, social status, and other factors. Harriet, being of humble origin, feels disheartened and later becomes infatuated with the local landowner, Mr. Knightley. Knightley and Emma are related by marriage and has long had his eye on Emma. He often bluntly points out Emma's flaws and is displeased with her interference in others' love and marriage. Emma is shocked to discover that Harriet admires and loves Knightley, realizing that she has secretly loved him all along. Eventually, Emma and Knightley confess their feelings and marry, while Harriet happily agrees to marry Robert Martin. The story also involves the romantic entanglements of two other young couples, filled with comic misunderstandings and complex relationships.
Jane Austen believed that in matters of marriage, only when there is a match in social standing and mutual affection can both parties find happiness. Pride and Prejudice is widely read in China and has left a deep impression on readers, while Emma has had a lesser impact. These two works are distinct yet equally valuable in literary merit. In these novels, Austen explores the love and marriage of young men and women, depicting the class relations, social psychology, customs, and daily life of rural England in the early 19th century. The plots are full of twists and turns, with many suspenseful elements, vivid characters, and witty, humorous language. In portraying the image of young women, she embodies her own thoughts and feelings: sincerity, intelligence, sensitivity, and a playful wit. These works retain their artistic charm to this day.
This abridged version is written in clear and fluent language, with a high repetition rate of vocabulary and sentence structures, making it suitable as an English extensive reading textbook. It is now published with a Chinese translation for the benefit of students in universities, colleges, and English self-learners.