Clueless Emma
Despite many surface differences, Amy Heckerling’s film Clueless can very easily be proclaimed as a contemporary version of Jane Austen’s novel Emma. The main characters are both high class snobs who pride themselves in their matchmaking abilities. Emma Woodhouse is a member of a upscale society in nineteenth century England, while Cher Horowitz lives in wealthy, upscale Beverly Hills U.S.A. Both Cher and Emma are among the culturally elite in their societies. Cher’s father is a litigation lawyer in the most affluent city in America, and Cher is arguably the most popular girl in her school. This can directly be connected to Austen’s description of Emma in which she describes Emma as, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition (5). The two characters also parallel in the fact that this initial presentation of perfection to the reader turns out to be lacking.
Written in third person, the novel is told from Emma’s point of view. All events in the novel are perceived from Emma’s point of view and therefore subject to her bias. This is identical to the fact that Cher serves as the narrator and main character in Clueless. Emma narrates her endeavors in a way that deliberately misleads the reader. In the end the reader is surprised to find that Emma is not credible as a narrator, but in Clueless Cher ‘s voice-overs juxtapose what is played out on screen and the contrast is perfectly relayed to the reader. It is through this method that the same flaws inherent in Emma’s character, which aren’t revealed until the end, are constantly communicated to the audience through the film adaptation.
One major parallel in faults between both Emma and Cher is their excessive self-confident nature. The fact that these young women think way too highly of themselves can most logically correlate to their similar lack of maternal figures and the overindulgence of their fathers. The lack of mother figures actually leads to them both having very lenient upbringings. Both Cher and Emma result in being spoiled. An example of this in the film is the fact that Cher visually has everything a teenage girl could possibly want. She spends thousands of dollars on clothes, and the majority of her time is spent at the mall. She also develops a snobbish persona that is demonstrated in the scene where her and Dionne explain to Tai how to raise her popularity. Cher tells Tai that she has already partially elevated her social status, due to the fact that you hang with Dionne and I. The fact that Cher knows she is from a higher social class than Tai is the source of her arrogance. Emma’s situation is very similar, in that her mother has passed away and her father and governess raise were very lenient with her at a young age. Austen describes her arrogance in the novel when she says, The real evils indeed of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think too well of herself (5). An example of this is when she brags that she is incredibly good at matchmaking.
Matchmaking is also a central part of both narratives. In Clueless Cher gives Miss Geist and Tai makeovers. This shows Cher’s emphasis and obsession of the superficial. This corresponds with Emma in the fact that she is focused on finding a match for Mr. Elton, who she matches with Harriet Smith. She sketches a portrait of Harriet to draw Mr. Elton’s attention to Smith’s beauty, but he is more enamored by Emma’s artistry. He reveals his passion for Emma during a carriage ride. This exact scenario from Emma is duplicated in Clueless when Cher tries to match Tai with Elton. She gives Tai a makeover and takes a picture of her to shed notice on her beauty, and then when Elton requests a copy of the picture she interprets it as him having feelings for her. The truth is later revealed during a car ride from a house party, when Elton reveals his feelings for Cher as apposed to his feelings for Tai. Both Elton from Clueless, and Mr. Elton from Emma disapprove of the matches they’ve been assigned by the protagonist due to the difference in their class distinctions. This is best displayed in the dialogue when Mr. Elton says, I need not so totally despair of an equal alliance as to be addressing myself to Miss Smith! (Austen 132). His film alter ego Elton relays this same argument to Cher by saying, Don’t you know who my father is? This is an example of the film’s use of the upper class Beverly Hills social order. In fact, the investigation of higher class social etiquette is a major part of both the film and the novels mystique.
Part of Tai’s assimilation into popular status involves her understanding of many social rules which Cher takes the responsibility of explaining to her. There are certain men that the girls are not allowed to date or marry, as well as even socialize with. Those who wish to rise to this acclaimed status are expected to only associate with those who Cher and Emma designate as worthy. Tai is the film adapted alter ego of Harriet. Both of these girls are in aw of their mentors, and this is not a secret. It is recognized in the film when Josh overhears Cher and Tai talking and then Josh tells Cher that she has found someone as clueless as she is to worship her. This is another signifier of CHer’s arrogance, because it shows that Cher real motive in helping this person is to just further fuel her already ridiculous ego. She tells Tai that only a small number of guys in the school are acceptable to date, and even while telling her this she proclaims that she would never date any of them. This is another example of her drunken snobbery, of which she appears to be virtually unaware, but it plays out well on screen.
When Tai falls for a lower class skateboard slacker, Cher deters her from talking to him, even though they have much in common. Cher then commences to court Tai with Elton, because he is of a higher class. This can be directly paralleled with the scenario in Emma, where in school Harriet falls for Robert Martin, who Emma disapproves of because he is a farmer. Emma degrades Harriet’s own perception, and convinces her that Martin is not as impressive as Harriet believes. To dissuade Harriet from her initial desires Emma tells her that Martin will eventually be a completely gross, vulgar farmer—totally inattentive to appearances, and thinking of nothing but profit and loss (33). This puts Martin out of the picture and gives Emma complete control over molding Harriet. The film adaptation of this is expressed in Clueless is demonstrated through the
The most significant parallel that can be made between the book and the motion picture is the relationship both main characters pursue. In the film, Cher develops an infatuation for Christian. This can be compared with Emma’s feelings for Frank Churchill, which forces Knightley to realize that he has feelings for Emma when he becomes jealous. Knightley’s conscious acknowledgment of his feelings is depicted in the film through his counterpart Josh. This shift in character goals is played out on screen in the scene where Cher is non her first date with Christian (Frank Churchill’s counterpart). Beautifully dressed, Cher strides down stairs to greet Christian, only to have Josh jealously on-looking, as she leaves for a night out. The ideals inherent in Emma’s jealousy filled encounter are further enforced in the film, through Heckerling’s use of use of the music from the classic film Gigi, which depicts a similar scene where the lead male character has realized that Gigi is no longer a corky little girl. Josh’s newfound romantic feelings for Cher are further recognized in the film, by a slight smirk that her father makes when Josh insists he should go to her high school dance to watch over her.
The Clueless narrative continues along with the same plot as Emma at the party where Cher is distracted from her time with Christian when she realizes that Tai has no one with whom to dance. Josh steps in and dances with Tai, which inadvertently makes Cher feel happy. This specific scene parallels one from Emma where, after being snubbed by Elton, she is the only young lady sitting down (326). This is until Knightley dances with Harriet and causes Emma to feel the same exact snobbish rejoice Cher feels for Tai. This moment is very significant for both the novel and the film, because it signifies and instance where the main characters are feeling the exact same emotion. Though their only main difference is the timeframe and societies they live in, here they feel the exact same emotion, one which represents the core nature of the character, transcends time, and signifies the obvious connection between both works.
The similarities between the two plots take a significant turn pertaining to Cher and Emma falling in love. Cher falls in love with Churchill’s counterpart Christian, only to find that he is a homosexual, which completely eliminates the possibility of him being a match for her. This matter is not so easily handled with Emma. She convinces herself that she is in love with Churchill, Austen shows this with the lines, she entertains no doubt of her being in love. Her ideas only varied as to how much… She had great pleasure in hearing Frank Churchill talked of; she was very often thinking of him, and quite impatient for a letter (264). Here the reader is able to see the same frantic excitement Emma has for Churchill that Cher has for Christian. The only difference between the two narratives is the more complex way in which Austen handles her heroine’s disillusionment. Instead of making Churchill appear to be completely incapable of a relationship, Austen makes Emma the cause of her own loneliness. This is partly due to the fact that Emma and Cher a very different pertaining to their naivety and commonsense. Emma is much more analytical and incapable of not telling if a man is homosexual or hetero. Instead of presenting this as an option, Austen simply gives Emma a complex where she herself is afraid of commitment. This is depicted in the book in how she attempts to match all of the men, who she knows would be perfect for her, with Harriet. After convincing herself that her and Churchill could only be friends, she attempts to court him with Harriet. The connection between Harriet and Churchill is hinted to when he saves her from gypsies. This same idea is also hinted to in Clueless when Christian saves Tai in the mall, but here there is no possibility there could ever be a match because the audience is already aware that Christian is gay.
The decision by Heckerling to make Churchill’s counterpart a homosexual is undeniably a testament to the 1990’s. It results in the exclusion of Jane Fairfax from the film. On top of Fairfax, Mrs. Elton, Mrs. Bates and Miss Bates are all excluded as well. in the novel, Jane Fairfax is most representative of Emma’s rival. This character can possibly be found in the Amber character from the film, but Amber has very few admirable qualities for Cher to latch on to. In fact she is just as self absorbed as Cher. In the end, both Cher and Emma find sanctity in morality. Through their own self humiliation within their ideals, they find a deeper meaning in life. This is displayed in the novel when Austen says, With insufferable vanity had she believed herself in the secret of everybody’s feelings; with unpardonable arrogance proposed to arrange everyone’s destiny. She was proved to be universally mistaken; and she had not quite done nothing — for she had done mischief (412). Here Emma realizes the plight of her childish ways and in this realization she matures, and becomes aware that she is in love with Mr. Knightley. In Clueless, this realization is depicted through a stroll which Cher takes on Rodeo drive. A montage of all of the events prior to her reaching this understanding is displayed and Cher finally realizes she is in love with Josh.
In sum, the narrative similarity between these two works is undeniable. The stories are virtually identical except for time and setting. By adapting Emma to a more contemporary setting, Heckerling does Austen justice and in the process becomes acclaimed in her own right. The characters of Cher and Emma make a very conscious sociological statement on the class system in western society. Through Heckerling’s adaptation of Austen’s novel, she imbedded her film into American 90’s pop-culture. With the exception of a few characters excluded from the film, Clueless is clearly an update of Jane Austen’s Emma. Multiple parallels can be made between the story and key characters. Both Emma and Cher start off as self-indulgent snobs who have no real understanding of life or humility, only to become deserving of the love they pursue.
Work Cited
Austen, Jane. Emma. London: Oxford University Press, 1960.
Clueless, written and directed by Amy Heckerling, produced by Paramount Pictures. U.S.A., 1995.
