Laughing at imperfections of others

Wezly Barnard

Jane Austen illustrates in her book Emma, an event where two completely different characters clash in conversation. Chapter seven was difficult to understand when I read it and I battled to find the humor in the text. The opening is very dull and set a tone for the chapter. Austen however, does make the character of Emma stand out above the rest. Emma wants all the attention to be on her and did all she could to make that possible. I did not laugh at all at the situation of Emma putting Miss bates down about the dullness in her life, but rather felt bad at how Emma addressed the comment. It was very different when I watched the visual of the situation and actually saw how Emma put the comment across. At first I laughed at Emma’s remark towards Miss Bates as I thought it was done light heartedly, but it was more of a guilty laugh because I knew it was not a nice comment towards Miss Bates. Seeing the reaction of the other characters and Miss bates illustrated the tension after Emma said,” …yes, but you are only limited to three dull things.” Emma is depicted as an insecure person and puts Miss Bates down to make herself feel better and seem superior in front of the other characters. Thomas Hobbes helps us understand this in his quote, “by the apprehension of some deformed thing in another, by comparison whereof they suddenly applaud themselves.” Miss Bates is not a strong enough character to counter act the remark and just settles for agreeing with Emma. Hobbes helps others understand that it is inappropriate to laugh when a person is put down by another. Hobbes quotes that people should“…compare themselves only with the most able.” Laughing at a person because of their faults can sometimes be funny, but one should think about the impact it will have on the person being targeted.