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#23: Reveal Characters Through Other People’s Perceptions of Them

November 18, 2020/0 Comments/in Jane Austen Writing Lessons /by Katherine Cowley

In the past two lessons, I talked about how Jane Austen reveals characters through moments of tension and through character dialogue. Yet there is another method which she frequently uses to introduce and reveal characters to the reader: through the perceptions of others.

One of the ways she does this is by having her characters both think and reference other characters before they physically appear in scene in the story—sometimes long before they physically appear.

Mansfield Park Title Page, 1st Edition (1814)

Title page for the first edition of Mansfield Park–from 1814! (Image in the public domain)

One example of this is in Austen’s novel Mansfield Park. At the age of ten years old, Fanny Price goes to stay with her aunt and uncle at Mansfield Park. She’s ripped from her home, her town, and her family. Only her cousin Edmund shows her true kindness, and he gets her to talk about her home. As she does so, we are introduced to the character of William:

On pursuing the subject, [Edmund] found that, dear as all these brothers and sisters generally were, there was one among them who ran more in her thoughts than the rest. It was William whom she talked of most, and wanted most to see. William, the eldest, a year older than herself, her constant companion and friend; her advocate with her mother (of whom he was the darling) in every distress. “William did not like she should come away; he had told her he should miss her very much indeed.” “But William will write to you, I dare say.” “Yes, he had promised he would, but he had told her to write first.” “And when shall you do it?” She hung her head and answered hesitatingly, “she did not know; she had not any paper.”

“If that be all your difficulty, I will furnish you with paper and every other material, and you may write your letter whenever you choose. Would it make you happy to write to William?”

“Yes, very.”

“Then let it be done now. Come with me into the breakfast-room, we shall find everything there, and be sure of having the room to ourselves.”

William continues to be a character that Fanny talks and thinks about throughout the story. He doesn’t actually appear in person until Chapter 24, about halfway through the novel. Yet he plays an essential role in the story:

He is the only character who never hurts Fanny.
Fanny loves him with all her heart, and his letters and presence bring her joy, as do mere thoughts of him.
Because of William’s visit, their uncle throws a ball, which creates a pivotal scene in the story, as Henry Crawford gives his attentions to Fanny and she attempts to reject him.
Henry Crawford uses his connections to obtain a huge promotion for William, basically making his future career, in an attempt to put Fanny in his debt and make her fall in love with him.

William is introduced to us entirely through Fanny’s perceptions of him. This not only flavors our perceptions of him, but it sets up his role in the story and makes us truly experience Fanny’s agony when she must decide what to do: should she marry Henry Crawford when he proposes to her, especially given what he did for her brother?

Mansfield Park is not the only Austen novel to introduce and reveal characters to us before we see them interacting on the page.

Image by Eymery, Creative Commons license

Further examples of Austen introducing characters before we meet them physically:

Persuasion

-The cousin and heir, Mr. Elliot, is talked about in the very first chapter, focusing on the poor way he has treated the Elliot family. He doesn’t appear in person in the book until about halfway through, but then plays a pivotal role in the second half of the book as he courts Anne. When she is skeptical of his intentions, we sympathize with her, in part because of the way he was introduced at the start of the book.

Pride and Prejudice

–Mr. Bingley is discussed in the first chapter as a prospective suitor for one of the Bennet daughters. This builds anticipation for him as a character, so we, like the daughters, are longing to meet him when he arrives at the Meryton ball.

–Lady Catherine de Bourgh is referenced constantly by Mr. Collins, who reveres her (she is his patroness!). Her influence and power is set up before we meet her, which provides a foreshadowing for the end of the novel, when she attempts to convince Elizabeth not to marry Mr. Darcy.

–Georgiana, Mr. Darcy’s sister, is also frequently referenced by Mr. Darcy himself and the Bingleys throughout the story, as well as by Mr. Wickham. Her story plays a pivotal role on multiple story levels, even though she doesn’t get much time in person on the page.

Emma

–Jane Fairfax is someone long spoken of before she appears on the page. In this case, the main character, Emma, has known her for basically their whole lives. But we as readers only get to hear Jane spoken of through Emma’s negative viewpoint until Jane actually comes to visit. This awareness of Jane as a potential rival for Emma infuses the text. This negative perception of Jane is counterbalanced by Mr. Knightley’s perception of her, who sees her virtues and criticizes Emma’s treatment of her.

–Frank Churchill is loved and anticipated by (almost) everyone, even though he has never visited. We do know that Mrs. Weston is frustrated by the fact that she has never met her stepson, for he has never managed to visit, but in general, people look upon Frank Churchill as a darling. Emma in particular is fascinated by the idea of him:

Now, it so happened that in spite of Emma’s resolution of never marrying, there was something in the name, in the idea of Mr. Frank Churchill, which always interested her. She had frequently thought—especially since his father’s marriage with Miss Taylor—that if she were to marry, he was the very person to suit her in age, character and condition.

While Emma is predisposed to like Mr. Churchill before meeting him, Mr. Knightley already dislikes and distrusts him. Emma’s and Mr. Knightley’s divergent perspectives of two other important characters sets up much of the major conflict and raises some of the novel’s important themes. Who is correct, and what will be the results of everyone’s judgments and behaviors?

As you can see from these examples, there are a lot of potential uses for introducing a character through the perceptions of others. Here’s my attempt to categorize these reasons.

6 Reasons to Introduce Characters Through the Perceptions of Other Characters:

It predisposes us to feel a certain way about unmet characters (this can be positive or negative).
It focuses our attention on the character and the role that they will play.
It allows a character to influence the plot before they appear physically on the page.
It sets up a sense of relationships and can add a community focus to the story—it is not just individual relationships at stake, but an integrated network of people.
It draws attention to the lens through which we see characters. The narrator is already providing a lens through with which to see the characters and the story, but this adds lenses. As the story progresses, sometimes we find that we agree with the lenses we’ve been given, while other times we disagree.
It reveals character for all the characters: both the character we have not yet met, and the characters who are thinking or speaking of that character.

Even once a character has appeared in scene, the evolving perceptions of various people in the story continue to reveal things about character to the reader. For example, in Emma, the way that each of the characters interpret Frank Churchill’s behavior informs us both about them and about Frank. Differing perceptions of character can also be revelatory: in Pride and Prejudice, Mr. Darcy’s negative perceptions of Mr. Wickham warn us of Wickham’s true character, even though many of the characters, such as Elizabeth, do not yet trust Mr. Darcy’s perceptions because of his pride.

Character perceptions are a powerful narrative tool, and using these perceptions to reveal character can be a powerful way to both introduce characters and show their relationships with others throughout the story.

Writing Exercises - Jane Austen Writing Lessons

Exercise 1: Spend about five minutes brainstorming a character. Then play Enemy, Friend, Lover to introduce the character to the reader.

Enemy, Friend, Lover: A Writing Game (Jane Austen Writing Lessons)

Enemy, Friend, Lover: The character you have brainstormed is not present. How would they be talked about by an enemy, by a friend, and by a lover?

You can interpret enemy, friend, lover in any way you choose. For example, an enemy could be a coworker the character doesn’t get along with or a member of a multi-family feud. A friend could be a BFF or a new acquaintance with a shared interest. A lover could be a boyfriend, a spouse, someone involved in an illicit liaison, etc.

Consider also that an enemy, friend, or lover may at times attempt to hide, disguise, or downplay their relationship with the character. If they do that, that reveals things about both the character and themselves.

Write three brief introductions, one each by the enemy, friend, and lover. These descriptions could range from a brief sentence to several paragraphs long.

Exercise 2: Read the first thirty pages of a book or watch the first 30 minutes of a film. Write down every time a character is introduced, and how they are introduced (moment of tension, in dialogue with another character, being talked about while they are not physically present, or through a different method—if a different method, please categorize). Does the story use multiple types of character introductions, or mostly one type? How does the manner in which they are introduced impact the audience?

Exercise 3: Take a story that you have written and choose one of your characters that you have introduced by showing them physically present in a scene. Write a new scene which would introduce them through another character’s perceptions of them.

#20: Use Unsympathetic Characters Effectively

October 28, 2020/0 Comments/in Jane Austen Writing Lessons /by Katherine Cowley

Last week, I wrote about how to create sympathetic characters, and why they are so useful. To make your characters unsympathetic, you often use the reverse techniques.

Here are some of the major techniques which create unsympathetic characters:

Give the character unrelatable motives and actions.
Give the character an unrelatable perspective (in the case of a non-viewpoint character, sometimes the things that form the character’s perspective—their background and their situation—are unknown to the reader, which makes it more likely that we will perceive the character and their choices as unsympathetic).
Have the character act in unlikeable ways.
Further, have the character be cruel, unkind, or selfish. Have them hurt others (we especially dislike when characters hurt a character, animal, or thing that we care about as readers).
Make the character too perfect or too imperfect (or too miserable in their circumstances).
Have the character not learn from their mistakes and forgo opportunities to improve.
Make the character not self-aware.

Emma (in Jane Austen’s novel of the same title) is a great example of an effective unsympathetic character. It is challenging to write an unsympathetic main character who routinely takes actions that the reader disagrees with—yet Austen has done so in a way that keeps us engaged and even rooting for Emma.

Gif of Emma looking at the audience from the 2020 film

Gif of Emma from the 2020 film

The techniques Austen uses are useful whether you’re writing an unsympathetic protagonist, antagonist, or supporting character, and they are also useful if you are making a largely sympathetic character unsympathetic for a portion of the story.

Unsympathetic Character Feature: Emma

Emma is Jane Austen’s only heroine that is truly, undeniably rich. At the beginning of the novel, her governess marries, and she is left alone with her father. She befriends Harriet Smith and tries to teach her to be more refined.

Yet Harriet is in love with a Mr. Martin, and even though he is respectable and owns his own land and could make Harriet happy, Emma is opposed to the match, and she justifies this opposition by claiming that Mr. Martin is beneath Harriet in status (however, as Mr. Knightley points out, this is not actually the case).

As Harriet and Emma are walking one day, they see Mr. Martin, and Harriet speaks with him briefly. After, an excited Harriet asks Emma:

“Well, Miss Woodhouse, is he like what you expected? What do you think of him? Do you think him so very plain?”

“He is very plain, undoubtedly—remarkably plain:—but that is nothing, compared with his entire want of gentility. I had no right to expect much, and I did not expect much; but I had no idea that he could be so very clownish, so totally without air. I had imagined him, I confess, a degree or two nearer gentility.”

“To be sure,” said Harriet, in a mortified voice, “he is not so genteel as a real gentleman.”

Emma’s words hurt Harriet, but because Emma is highborn and sophisticated and well-spoken, Harriet does not protest. A few chapters later, Mr. Martin proposes (via letter) to Harriet, and Emma convinces Harriet to turn him down (though she does it in a way that forces Harriet to make the decision as if on her own). These are unsympathetic actions which derive from faulty judgement and selfish motives (wanting to keep Harriet to herself). Though we understand Emma’s perspective, we are not meant to relate to it, and instead, we latch on to Mr. Knightley’s criticism of Emma’s behavior.

Note: A key to writing an unsympathetic character is that this character must believe that their motives and actions are good/necessary/justified. In Emma’s mind, she is doing what is best for Harriet and saving her friend.

Emma’s Redeeming Qualities

Though Emma consistently does unsympathetic things, we keep reading because of her redeeming qualities:

She is witty and intelligent
She can be humorous (and the narrator is particularly funny)
In general, the people in her community like her
She is active and engaging

All of these redeeming qualities give us some level of sympathy for Emma, which brings me to my next point: unsympathetic characters should still have sympathetic qualities.

Even though her judgment can be faulty and her actions unkind, sometimes she has better judgment and shows a stronger awareness of the needs and desires of others. For instance, Emma’s father hates marriage and is upset that Miss Taylor has become Mrs. Weston:

Poor Miss Taylor!—I wish she were here again. What a pity it is that Mr. Weston ever thought of her!”

“I cannot agree with you, papa; you know I cannot. Mr. Weston is such a good-humoured, pleasant, excellent man, that he thoroughly deserves a good wife;–and you would not have had Miss Taylor live with us for ever and bear all my odd humours, when she might have a house of her own?”

We can become invested in unsympathetic characters when they are more sympathetic (in one or more areas) than their fellow characters.

Emma’s Self-Awareness

If Emma was completely self-aware, she would realize the full, sometimes terrible consequences of her actions.

Yet she shows a certain level of self-awareness. This can be seen as she talks about, thinks about, and interacts with Jane Fairfax, a long-time acquittance who has come to stay in Highbury. Here’s an excerpt from a rather lengthy passage (bolding is my own):

Emma was sorry;—to have to pay civilities to a person she did not like through three long months!—to be always doing more than she wished, and less than she ought! Why she did not like Jane Fairfax might be a difficult question to answer; Mr. Knightley had once told her it was because she saw in her the really accomplished young woman, which she wanted to be thought herself; and though the accusation had been eagerly refuted at the time, there were moments of self-examination in which her conscience could not quite acquit her. But “she could never get acquainted with her: she did not know how it was, but there was such coldness and reserve—such apparent indifference whether she pleased or not—and then, her aunt was such an eternal talker!—and she was made such a fuss with by every body!—and it had been always imagined that they were to be so intimate—because their ages were the same, every body had supposed they must be so fond of each other.” These were her reasons—she had no better.

It was a dislike so little just—every imputed fault was so magnified by fancy, that she never saw Jane Fairfax the first time after any considerable absence, without feeling that she had injured her; and now, when the due visit was paid, on her arrival, after a two years’ interval, she was particularly struck with the very appearance and manners, which for those two whole years she had been depreciating. Jane Fairfax was very elegant, remarkably elegant; and she had herself the highest value for elegance.

Emma is aware of her own unfairness, and she is aware that her “dislike [is] so little just.” Yet as the scene progresses, she continues to justify her negative behavior and actions towards Jane based on perceived faults:

She was, besides, which was the worst of all, so cold, so cautious! There was no getting at her real opinion. Wrapt up in a cloak of politeness, she seemed determined to hazard nothing. She was disgustingly, was suspiciously reserved.

Even though we cannot completely condone Emma’s behavior and attitude, she does become more sympathetic as we are immersed in her perspective.

Reasons to Create an Unsympathetic Character

There are many reasons that you might want to create an unsympathetic character:

To make it clear that the narrator (and/or the author) does not agree with or condone the character’s actions and behavior. (If this is one of the goals, it’s often useful to have a character like Mr. Knightley in Emma who criticizes or calls the character out on their behavior.)
It’s a powerful way to create tension, drama, and conflict.
Controlling and shifting the reader’s sympathies can create a powerful emotional reaction for the reader.
Humans do unsympathetic things all the time, and it’s interesting and compelling to explore this aspect of humanity in literature.
An unsympathetic main character has a greater potential to grow and change.
For characters that are largely sympathetic, having scenes where they are unsympathetic can create contrast with and help build to key scenes where the character makes admirable, sympathetic choices that we can really root for (the cartoonist Howard Tayler talks about these as “stand up and cheer” moments).

Emma’s internal journey is about her rethinking her place in the community and learning to be kinder and let others choose what is best for themselves. She shows tremendous growth over the novel, and it’s largely made possible through her being an unsympathetic character.

Exercise 1: Who is your favorite unsympathetic character? This could be a protagonist, an antagonist, or a supporting character. Why are they unsympathetic? And why do you like them?

Exercise 2: Take a classic fairy tale character that is generally sympathetic (i.e. Cinderella). Write a scene which makes this character unsympathetic to the reader. Remember to temper the character and give them some redeeming or positive qualities.

Exercise 3: Different techniques for unsympathetic characters can create very different effects. Take one of your characters—this could be a new or an existing character. Now choose three of the following techniques you could use to make them unsympathetic:

Give the character unrelatable motives and actions.
Give the character an unrelatable perspective.
Have the character act in unlikeable ways.
Further, have the character be cruel, unkind, or selfish. Have them hurt others (we especially dislike when characters hurt a character, animal, or thing that we care about as readers).
Make the character too perfect or too imperfect (or too miserable in their circumstances).
Have the character not learn from their mistakes and forgo opportunities to improve.
Make the character not self-aware.

For each technique you choose, brainstorm a scene that could use this technique to make the character unsympathetic. (If you’d like to take it one step farther, you can write these scenes.)

#15: Make Your Character Need Something

September 23, 2020/0 Comments/in Jane Austen Writing Lessons /by Katherine Cowley

In the very first Jane Austen Writing Lesson, I talked about how a character must want something. This drives the forward movement of the novel.

Yet in addition to wants, characters also have needs.

In the novel Emma, Emma Woodhouse wants to be a matchmaker, and she wants to exert her control on the community. This is her conscious desire.

Yet Emma is coming from a place of loss—she has lost her dear governess to marriage, previously, she lost her mother to death and her older sister to marriage, and now she is alone, with a perpetually-ill father.

What Emma really needs is friendship and connection. Despite being one of the richest members of her community, she desperately needs to feel like she is important and of value.

All characters have conscious wants and needs, things they are actively seeking for. But they also have underlying wants and needs, which are often subconscious. They may not be aware of these needs, but they still drive the character’s behavior.

Gif of Harriet Smith and Emma Woodhouse from the 2020 film Emma.

Early in the novel, Emma befriends Harriet Smith and immediately plans a match for her: to Mr. Elton.

But then Mr. Martin, a farmer, proposes to Harriet.

On the surface level, if Harriet accepts Mr. Martin’s proposal, Emma fails at getting what she wants: her matchmaking will have gone to naught.

But it is not just Emma’s overlying want that is threatened, but also her underlying needs, and we see this play out in the scene in which Emma, very manipulatively, encourages Harriet to refuse Mr. Martin’s proposal. When Harriet begins to come to the conclusion that she should reject Mr. Martin, Emma uses all her rhetorical powers to reinforce it.

At last, with some hesitation, Harriet said—

“Miss Woodhouse, as you will not give me your opinion, I must do as well as I can by myself; and I have now quite determined, and really almost made up my mind—to refuse Mr. Martin. Do you think I am right?”

“Perfectly, perfectly right, my dearest Harriet; you are doing just what you ought. While you were all in suspense I kept my feelings to myself, but now that you are so completely decided I have no hesitation in approving. Dear Harriet, I give myself joy of this. It would have grieved me to lose your acquaintance, which must have been the consequence of your marrying Mr. Martin. While you were in the smallest degree wavering, I said nothing about it, because I would not influence; but it would have been the loss of a friend to me. I could not have visited Mrs. Robert Martin, of Abbey-Mill Farm. Now I am secure of you for ever.”

Harriet had not surmised her own danger, but the idea of it struck her forcibly.

Emma’s need for friendship, connection, and self-importance drive this scene as much as her desire to be matchmaker.

As you construct characters, make sure they want something, but also make sure that they have deeper, underlying needs.

One way to think about character needs is through the lens of psychology. Abraham Maslow wrote about a hierarchy of needs, and any of these intrinsic human needs can be a need for a story character.

Near the bottom of his pyramid are needs for basic survival—food, water, sleep, shelter, safety, and financial security. Further up the pyramid are needs related to love and belonging, whether that’s a sense of connection or friendship, true intimacy or family, or being a true part of community. Then Maslow talks about esteem—this could be respect from others, self-respect and self-esteem, public recognition for one’s accomplishments, or a feeling of strength and wholeness. At the top of the pyramid is self-actualization—becoming one’s fullest self and achieving one’s potential.

Image by Androidmarsexpress, Creative Commons license

Typically, you want to choose one or two overarching needs which drive your character. These needs may conscious or subconscious, or a need may start as subconscious and the character may become aware of it throughout the story.

Other smaller wants and needs may be manifest in individual scenes and interactions with other characters, but if your main character has a core want and a core need, then this will shape the overall arc of the story, both in terms of their external journey and their internal journey.

Exercise 1: Teresa wants to win this year’s chili cook-off. This is her driving want throughout a story. But what does she need? Choose one of the needs from Maslow’s hierarchy. Is she trying to get recognition—and if so, why? Does she need acceptance, friendship, love? Will the prize money help her pay her rent?

Once you have chosen a need, write a short scene—probably 2 or 3 paragraphs—in which both Teresa’s want and need inform her actions, dialogue, and thoughts. This scene could be when she signs up for the chili cook-off, when she’s buying ingredients, as she’s cooking, during the judging—any scene, because both her want and her need should subtly inform her.

(Note: self-actualization is a really difficult need to write, and most of the time, we don’t hit the self-actualization stage unless all of our other needs have been met, so it’s often better to choose a different need for our characters.)

Exercise 2: Choose one of your favorite books or films. What is the main character’s driving want in the story? What is the main character’s driving need in the story? How do the want and the need interact with each other—does the quest for one ever interfere with the quest for the other? Does the want or the need shift over time? If you would like, in the comments share the title of the story, and the character’s want and need.

Exercise 3: Take a scene that you have written and analyze it for character wants and needs. Use one color to highlight lines or phrases that relate to the character’s want(s), and another color to highlight lines or phrases that relate to the character’s need(s). Some lines may be highlighted by both colors. How could you revise the scene with wants and needs in mind?

#11: Use Exposition to Set the Stage

August 26, 2020/0 Comments/in Jane Austen Writing Lessons /by Katherine Cowley

Soniah Kamal’s novel Unmarriageable, an incredible retelling of Pride and Prejudice in modern-day Pakistan, opens with Alysba Binat (our Elizabeth counterpart) teaching Pride and Prejudice at an English-speaking high school in Pakistan. In the beginning scene, she has her students—all female—write their own first lines inspired by the first line of Pride and Prejudice, their own “truths universally acknowledged.” As Alys leads the discussion, she brings up double-standards for men and women, explains that women’s independence is not a Western idea and has roots in their own culture, and raises the possibility that a woman’s sole purpose is not to marry and have children.

One of the ninth graders arrives late to class, a diamond engagement ring on her hand, and eventually the students turn the questions to Alys—why are you not married?

“Unfortunately, I don’t think any man I’ve met is my equal, and neither, I fear, is any man likely to think I’m his. So, no marriage for me.”

This scene sets up the core conflict of the novel—will Alys find her equal and eventually marry? It also sets up Alys’ personality, her quest to educate the young women of her community, and the cultural context in which she lives. In the first two chapters we also learn of her conflicts with the principal, information about her four sisters, how the family has lost their fortune and gotten into the financial straits that require the two oldest sisters to work, and we get a sense of the city and where it’s wealth and poverty are located. All this is so the stage is set, so that when the inciting incident disrupts Alys’ life and moves her on her journey (in the form of an invitation to a huge wedding where they will meet Bingla and Darsee), we as an audience are ready for it.

This is exposition, the setting of the stage for the story in order to provide important background information to the reader about the characters, their history, and their world.

As discussed in the lesson on plot structure and external journeys, the exposition shows the world in stasis, and it requires the inciting incident to launch the external journey of the plot and the internal journey of character transformation.

According to Oxford Languages, the word exposition comes from the Latin verb exponere, which means to “expose, publish, [and] explain.”

exponere = to expose, to publish, to explain

Good exposition should:

Give us an understanding of the main character, and possibly of other characters
Present key details from the character’s past and history
Provide enough worldbuilding (details about the world in which the character lives, and how it functions) to orient the reader
Focus on details that will demonstrate the disruptiveness of the inciting incident
Subtly raise themes and issues which will explored throughout the story

The first four paragraphs of Jane Austen’s novel Emma provide the exposition for the story. We begin with the opening line:

Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.

This quickly paints an image of Emma’s character, her high place in society, and her general satisfaction with life.

In the second paragraph we learn the following, which brings up key details from Emma’s past and sets up the world and her place in it:

Emma is the second daughter
Her sister is married and gone
She is mistress of the house (or basically, the female manager of it)
Her father is “affectionate” and “indulgent”
Her mother died when she was very young
Her governess acted as a replacement mother figure in her life

That’s a lot for one two-sentence paragraph: Jane Austen manages to swiftly set the stage.

The third paragraph goes into more details on the governess, Miss Taylor, because these details will demonstrate the disruptiveness of the inciting incident:

Miss Taylor has been with the family for 16 years
She is more of a friend or sister figure than a governess
She does not restrain or direct Emma (and has not for quite some time)
“They had been living together as friend and friend very mutually attached, and Emma doing just what she liked; highly esteeming Miss Taylor’s judgment, but directed chiefly by her own.”

The fourth paragraph raises the themes and issues which will be explored throughout the story. In this case, it’s a look at the flaws in Emma’s character, and how these flaws will drive the narrative:

The real evils indeed of Emma’s situation were the power of having rather too much her own way, and a disposition to think a little too well of herself: these were the disadvantages which threatened alloy to her many enjoyments. The danger, however, was at present so unperceived, that they did not by any means rank as misfortunes with her.

By the time we reach the fifth paragraph, all the essential details have been explained, and we are prepared for the inciting incident: Miss Taylor’s marriage.

We learn plenty of other details of backstory as the novel progresses—details about the past and about Emma’s relationships with others in her community—but these are not included in the initial exposition, because they are not essential for setting the stage.

Sometimes exposition—this setting of the stage for the reader—takes several chapters, as in the example of Unmarriageable. Other times, it takes a few paragraphs, such as in Emma. The next lesson will discuss stories that start in medias res, at the moment of the inciting incident, or sometimes even after the inciting incident, and address how exposition can be incorporated in small amounts as the story progresses.

Regardless of the manner in which the exposition is presented, it sets the stage for the story and orients the reader.

Exercise 1: In the beginning of Emma, Jane Austen uses an omniscient storyteller point of view. She sets forth the character, the world, and the situation through the perspective of a storyteller introducing her cast. The narrator is insightful and interesting, and is unafraid to comment on her characters and their attributes.

Brainstorm a new character by choosing and name and writing down three of their defining characteristics, attributes, or interests.

Set a timer for 15 minutes, and draft a brief exposition which uses an omniscient storyteller point of view. This should set the stage for the character and their world.

Exercise 2: In Unmarriageable, Soniah Kamal uses a close third person point of view. She includes the same sort of expository details as Austen does in Emma, but she reveals them through use of a scene. (Jane Austen does uses this approach—providing exposition through a scene—in some of her novels.)

Use the same character and characteristics/attributes/interests from exercise 1. Instead of sharing these details from a storyteller perspective, figure out how to reveal these details organically through a scene—have these demonstrated through the character’s actions or interactions. Set a timer for 15 minutes and write an opening scene that provides exposition.

Note: providing exposition through a scene is currently the most common approach in writing, though there are books still being published that open with the perspective of a storyteller setting the stage.)

Exercise 3:

Option 1: For a new story, brainstorm elements that may be useful for include in the exposition.

Who is the main character?
What about the character’s past informs who they are today?
Who are the other key characters?
What do readers need to understand about the world?
What themes or issues could be raised that will be explored throughout the story?
What details about the character and the world could be included in the exposition that will contrast and show the disruptiveness of the inciting incident?

Once you have brainstormed, consider what absolutely must be revealed in the exposition, and what can be revealed later. Most details about the character and the world can be revealed, piece by piece, later in the story, so choose what is both the most essential and the most interesting way to take us into the world and the perspective of the main character.

Option 2:

If you have already drafted a story, analyze what you included as part of the exposition. Label each detail with categories that could include things like “character attribute,” “character history,” “supporting character,” “relationship,” “worldbuilding,” “theme,” etc. Are there any details that could be saved for later in the story? Are any details that are missing that would demonstrate how the character’s world is disrupted by the inciting incident?

#8: Use Setting to Influence Plot and Character

August 5, 2020/0 Comments/in Jane Austen Writing Lessons /by Katherine Cowley

One of the most famous scenes from the book Emma occurs at Box Hill, a hill popular as a sightseeing attraction both in Jane Austen’s time and today. (Sadly, visiting Box Hill is an uncompleted item on my bucket list.)

A view from Box Hill by Benjamin Rusholme (Creative Commons license).

In this scene, Emma’s flaws are brought to the forefront: in an attempt to be clever and keep attention on herself, Emma is cruel to Miss Bates.

“Ladies and gentlemen—I am ordered by Miss Woodhouse to say…that she requires something very entertaining of each of you….[she] demands from each of you either one thing very clever…two things moderately clever[,] or three things very dull indeed, and she engages to laugh heartily at them all.”

“Oh, very well,” exclaimed Miss Bates, “then I need not be uneasy. ‘Three things very dull indeed.’ That will just do for me, you know. I shall be sure to say three dull things as soon as ever I open my mouth, shan’t I—(looking round with the most good-humoured dependence on everybody’s assent)—Do not you all think I shall?”

Emma could not resist.

“Ah! ma’am, but there may be difficulty. Pardon me—but you will be limited as to number—only three at once.”

Miss Bates, deceived by the mock ceremony of her manner, did not immediately catch her meaning; but, when it burst on her, it could not anger, though a slight brush showed that it could pain her.

“Ah!—well—to be sure. Yes, I see what she means, (turning to Mr. Knightley,) and I will try to hold my tongue. I must make myself very disagreeable, or she would not have said such a thing to an old friend.”

This scene’s effectiveness is dependent on its setting for two reasons:

This setting has brought all of these characters together.
The setting has created a set of trying circumstances for the characters.

In fiction, the setting of a scene should always be an intentional choice.

In Emma, many of the scenes do occur in Emma’s home, Hartfield. This is very deliberate: in many ways, Emma is trapped by having a hypochondriac as a father (the narrator calls him a “valetudinarian”). Yet there is still a large amount of variability in the settings, even if many of them happen at home or close to home. At seven miles away, Box Hill is the farthest Emma goes from home over the course of the novel, and this is a significant event for the characters, a day planned well in advance.

Setting influences plot. characters.

The choice of the setting should influence both the plot and the characters.

The narrator describes it as a “very fine day for Box Hill,” and everyone commences the seven-mile journey there in good spirits:

Seven miles were travelled in expectation of enjoyment, and every body had a burst of admiration on first arriving; but in the general amount of the day there was deficiency. There was a languor, a want of spirits, a want of union, which could not be got over.

Much of the tension of the scene is caused by contrast between the high expectations for Box Hill and the lack of enjoyment and feeling. Two hours are spent walking around the hill and seeing the sights, yet throughout the entire time, they are plagued by division and separation. In Emma’s opinion, people are behaving in a manner that is “dull” and “insufferable.”

Perhaps it is this struggle with the setting that brings Emma to an internal lowness that invites her to act in an outwardly low manner. (When I am tired, hungry, or overheated, I definitely lose some of my charming personality.)

After her rudeness, the group continues the conversation for a few more minutes but soon breaks apart:

Even Emma grew tired at last of flattery and merriment, and wished herself rather walking quietly about with any of the others, or sitting almost alone, and quite unattended to, in tranquil observation of the beautiful views beneath her.

Yet she does not have the opportunity to enjoy the beauty: in the next sentence, the carriages arrive. In a moment where they are alone, Mr. Knightley reproaches Emma for her behavior.

"How Could You Be So Unfeeling?" -Mr. Knightley

“How Could You Be So Unfeeling?” Knightley reproaches Emma in the 2020 film Emma. (Gif from Tenor.)

After this confrontation by Knightley, which once again occurs in stark contrast to the beautiful surroundings, Emma feels the full weight of guilt. The chapter ends with the following line:

Emma felt the tears running down her cheeks almost all the way home, without being at any trouble to check them, extraordinary as they were.

A well-chosen setting can have a huge influence on the plot and the characters, and the way in which the setting is described provides a lens into the viewpoint character’s thoughts and emotions.

Exercise 1:

Read the following dialogue, which will become part of a short break-up scene:

“I just don’t think it’s going to work out between us,” said Amisha.

“I’m not worried,” said Jesse. “We always get through things.”

“Yes, we could get through this,” said Amisha. “But that’s not what I want. I’m done. Done with this, done with us.”

Now choose two different settings and write two versions of this short scene (two to three paragraphs each). Make sure to not only add description, but also movement and action. Consider what they might be doing in the setting (i.e. cooking dinner in Amisha’s kitchen), how the characters would describe the setting, and how the setting will impact how both the characters and the reader.

Example settings:

A kitchen
The beach
A freeway
A museum
A soccer game

Exercise 2:

Choose one of your favorite books or movies, and without rereading or rewatching it, make a list of as many settings as you can from the story. These can be broad settings (i.e. England, the town of Highbury, etc.) or more specific settings (i.e. Mr. Elton’s house, the strawberry patch, etc.).

Once your list is complete, consider the following question: How does the setting impact the plot and the characters in this story?

Exercise 3:

Option 1: Use a scene that you plan to write in a book or short story. Come up with three possible settings that could work well at fulfilling the purposes of the scene. For each setting, list the key attributes of the setting, the advantages of using the setting, and the disadvantages of using the setting.

Settings Exercise -- Jane Austen Writing Lessons

Option 2: Take a scene that you have already written and rewrite it using a new setting. Which do you prefer? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each one?

Tag Archive for: emma

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Persuasion

Pride and Prejudice

Emma

6 Reasons to Introduce Characters Through the Perceptions of Other Characters:

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Unsympathetic Character Feature: Emma

Emma’s Redeeming Qualities

Emma’s Self-Awareness

Reasons to Create an Unsympathetic Character

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Good exposition should:

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In fiction, the setting of a scene should always be an intentional choice.

Setting influences plot. characters.

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