Mindreading In Emma

This dissertation is to analyze Jane Austen's work Emma from cognitive perspectives.This dissertation includes three parts:Emma's imagination,misunderstandings among Emma and other characters,and good mindreaders.Mindreading is a term to explain our ability to translate people's behavior in terms of their thoughts,beliefs,desires,and intentions.The basic idea of mindreading is that people attribute mental states to others as well as to self.People are accustomed to using mindreading to predict others' actions.Reading Austen's Emma is like reading a detective novel,in which verbal and nonverbal communication including eye contact,facial expression,need close analyzing.The first chapter is to discuss Emma's imagination,which is a main reason resulted to her wrong idea and misunderstandings with other characters.She knows and comments other characters through her imagination,which definitely results in misunderstandings.Then I analyze Mr.Knightley's imagination,which is actually not the real imagination.It is the result of careful observation and rational analysis.The second chapter mainly deals with Emma's misunderstandings with other characters.With her preconception,Emma interprets others' facial expression,behavior and words accordingly,which leads to a series of misunderstandings.Cognitive scientists believe that there is the threat of collapse in low level simulation,because an observed behavior or facial expression is compatible with a number of different basic intentions or emotions.This makes reading other's minds correctly quite difficult.While the Knightley brothers are good mindreaders,who can get others' intention clearly,which are sharp contrast to Emma.