While the main component of any story is the overall plot, an author can do a lot with their own personal technique, which can further employ a completely different level of understanding. Specifically, Charlotte Bronte’s work ‘Jane Eyre’, a early nineteenth century tale and possibly the first feminist based novel. In this, Bronte uses various techniques to further enhance this avid tale of lost love like; feministic qualities, characterization of the main leads and a gothic appeal of the literary work as a whole. Through using these literary techniques, Bronte changes the overall essence of the work and only further enhances the theme of lost love and the bitterness it can cause, for the reader and author. ‘Jane Eyre’ is a classical novel that many may refer to as a ‘chick-flick’, unknown to those people ‘Jane Eyre’ is a …show more content…
Rochester allow the audience to further entangle themselves with the story and relate even more. Jane, is described time and time again as a plain simple orphan girl who although is very quaint, gets in a lot of issues for her unrelenting attitude, which the audience can attest too and relate to on a deeper level. Mr. Rochester, however is no prince charming either, he is described by Jane from this passage as having a “dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow; his eyes and gathered eyebrows looked ireful and thwarted just now, he was past youth, but has not reached middle age” also Jane adds a little shade saying “I felt no fear of him, and but a little shyness. Had he been a handsome, heroic- looking young gentlemen” (Bronte. 1981, pp-119). From this, it can been seen that Jane was not a victim of the typical ‘love at first sight’ cliche, and that Mr. Rochester was not a mere thing to look a. This only further exemplifies Jane’s love for him later on as she chooses to remain by his side, even when money is not in the
Bronte’s main character, Jane Eyre, conforms to this unequal power dynamic throughout most of the novel. Therefore, Jane is portrayed as the direct product of Victorian society. Throughout the novel, the men Jane encounters hold the power and inevitably mold and shape her throughout the novel into their idealized standard of a woman. Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John each project their own image of the perfect woman upon Jane and each of them attempt to shape her to their idealized standards. Jane is left in the end to discover herself whilst in her search to be reunited with the love of her life, Mr. Rochester. Jane’s relationship with Mr. Rochester however focuses far more on romantic notions and brings to ...
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre may be superficially read as simply a sweet romance in which Jane ends up with the man of her dreams after overcoming many obstacles and challenges. But doing so misses the much deeper—richer—messages of Bronte's lasting masterpiece. A more thoughtful reading reveals this novel, especially its heroine Jane, challenging centuries-old gender roles which assume male supremacy, characterizing men as the dominant, more privileged gender, while women are oppressed into inferior and submissive roles. Of course this Victorian novel portrays the expected gender roles of both men and women in 19th century England, but Jane rises out of the patriarchy challenging the social roles assigned her with a personality marked by sass and self-assurance . Ms. Bronte, through Jane, ultimately demonstrates that women can live their lives on equal terms with—or independent of—men.
Jane’s subdued characteristics create a huge sense of innocence in comparison to John’s demeanour, evoking yet more sympathy towards
This novel was one of the most radical books of the Victorian Era. It portrayed women as equals to men. It showed that it was possible that men could even be worse than women, through John and Jane. It taught the Victorians never to judge a book by its cover. The novel would not be as successful were it not for Charlotte Brontë’s talent in writing, and were it not for the literary devices employed.
From the introduction of Jane’s orphan life, she battles between her ire at cousin John’s antics and obedie...
Soon after Jane is settled at Lowood Institution she finds the enjoyment of expanding her own mind and talents. She forgets the hardships of living at the school and focuses on the work of her own hands. She is not willing to give this up when she is engaged to Rochester. She resists becoming dependent on him and his money. She does not want to be like his mistresses, with their fancy gowns and jewels, but even after she and Rochester are married, she wants to remain as Adele's governess. She is not willing to give up her independence to Rochester, and tries to seek her own fortune by writing to her uncle. In the end, when she does have her own money, she states, "I am my own mistress" (Chapter 37).
Yes," responded Abbot, if she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness; but one really cannot care for such a little toad as that"(Brontë 3). The quote reinforces the idea that if Jane were conventionally attractive, she would deserve just treatment. Instead, because she does not fit into society's ideals of beauty she is treated unjustly. In a different section, Jane is speaking to Mr. Rochester about whether she thinks he's good looking. She has an inner dialogue between herself and the reader: "And was Mr. Rochester now ugly in my eyes?
Jane’s perspective of love is based upon a mutual understanding and equality. Jane’s equality in a relationship is derived from her desire of independence. Jane reveals her need of independence in her relationship with Mr. Rochester when she told him she would always call him master but she would not be inferior to him. Haiyan Gao asserts in her article “Reflection On feminism in Jane Eyre,” “Jane loves Rochester with all her heart and Rochester’s status and wealth make him so high above for Jane to approach, yet she never feels herself inferior to Rochester though she is a humble family teacher.” It is also notable that Jane does not pursue a relationship with Mr. Rochester with the intention of gaining money. Her love is solely based on equality and independence and not status, power, or property. As Heidi Kelchner proclaims in her article “Jane Eyre,” “Although she ranks far below Rochester in social rank and wealth, she feels equal to him in soul, understanding his true nature.” Jane has pure intentions in her marriage with Mr. Rochester as she believes he is her equal and true love. Jane proves that she seeks true love once more when she rejects St. John Rivers marriage proposal. St. John had offered Jane an invitation to become his missionary wife in India. Jane acknowledges that he does not seek marriage for love but instead for religious purposes. Therefore, Jane proposes an alternate plan that allows her to serve as a single, independent missionary and co-worker of John. As Heidi Kelchner affirms Jane’s thoughts in her article “Jane Eyre,” “As St. John’s wife, she fears she would be restrained, and always checked forced to keep the fire of her nature continually low.” She would not be degraded to an object but rather wanted to stand as a strong independent woman. Jane would not accept the humiliated marriage to please St. John’s wishes. She would continue to look for true love based upon
Jane wants to go but not as his wife because she doesn't love him, she
At this moment Jane is inclined with an immense amount of motivation to respect herself at all costs by pushing aside any interruptions that withholds her from finding her way to success(McCauley). It is clear that as the main character is driven to achieve as much possible to a certain extent, and due to the point of view coming from a female during the Victorian Era individuals with power view it as a threat to their authority due to the unforeseen influences. Eventually, Jane faces a situation that challenges her self-respect, it is when she has to decide whether or not to marry Rochester when he confessed that he already has a wife. During the intense moment Jane faces the question of who will love her and care for her as Rochester cares for her, Jane immediately knows to “... care [for] [her]self. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more I will respect myself…
Bronte’s Jane Eyre is brimming with feminist ideology rebuking Victorian-Era gender-roll ethics and ideals. As a creative, independent woman with a strong personality and will growing up during this period of female repression, Bronte wrote Jane Eyre as a feminist message to society. She criticizes the average, servile, ignorant Victorian woman, and praises a more assertive, independent, and strong one. She does this through her protagonist Jane, who embodies all of Bronte’s ideal feminine characteristics. She is a strong woman, both mentally and physically, who seeks independence and is in search of individuality, honesty, and above all equality both in marriage and in society in a world that does not acknowledge women as individuals.
The gothic romance novel ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte features many different ideas, themes and plot points that teach us how to understand the novel and the characters involved deeply and as a whole. An important turning point in the storyline which also helps us comprehend the novel’s overall idea takes place midway through the novel, when Jane discovers her love interest Mr. Rochester has not been fully honest with her, and she decides to leave him and his home. One reason that the main character Jane’s decision to leave Mr. Rochester, his home and her job there at Thornfield Hall, is such an important turning point in the text, is that it provides an excellent example to the reader of Jane being a strong female protagonist, greatly building upon her
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is set in the mid nineteenth century, during the Victorian era where class and gender roles are clearly defined in the patriarchal society. The general ideology of the era expresses the idea that if gender categories were not maintained as binary oppositions, catastrophic chaos would likely ensue (Gill, 109). Throughout the novel, Jane is faced with the issue of oppression. The typical characteristics of an ideal female in Victorian society would include submissiveness, simple dress, low ambition, longing for a male love interest and passiveness. Bronte clearly shows her stance on this Victorian ideology as Jane often challenges those social institutions and changes her place in society, although she often settles for the status quo for certain periods of time. Jane plays the typical role of a Victorian woman through much of her life, but through subtle shifts in power Bronte challenges these Victorian norms by way of Jane’s education, unlikely rise in social status from teacher to governess and her relationship with a seemingly unattainable man.