Emma, by Jane Austen

     In Emma, by Jane Austen, the main character is lovable but not quite likable. In many parts of the story she is her own antagonist and acts accordingly to her friend, Harriet. The book follows Harriet's romance and her own.

     The main plot of the story involves when she tries to set her friend up (after a few successful tries in matchmaking) with a jerk. Then, later on, when Harriet gets a marriage proposal from a really kind man who she really likes, Emma convinces Harriet not to accept because she thinks that he's not good enough for her (by the end of the book, he and Harriet are happily married.)

     This book makes me wonder if justice was served or not. In my opinion, justice is served when the victim of something emerges content, and the bad guy is punished. For instance, if someone murders someone, they are thrown in jail (assuming they're caught). In this story, Emma is both the bad guy and the victim, but she comes out of her situation pretty happily (if not with a little angst) with no punishment that I can see. So, going by my typical ruling, there would not be justice in this story.

     However, I might say that Emma does get served justice, as Harriet is happy at the end, and Emma gets berrated once (which really affects her, as she grew up with only one lenient parent) and even learns a lesson by the end. You good also argue that Emma meant well, and had good intentions all along, and had nothing to justfy. It goes both ways.

     If justice is not served by the end of the story, it certainly seems like there is; the "jerk ex- boyfriend" character is made to marry an awful lady, and Emma, our heroine, and Harriet, the cheerful henchperson, live happily ever after.