Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
"Jane Eyre" was written by Charlotte Bronte in Victorian England. The
novel was published in 1847, under the male name of Currer Bell.
Bronte was forced to take a male name to be taken seriously as a
professional author. This gives us an idea of the position of women in
the past and relates to "Jane Eyre" in which Jane, the protagonist has
to struggle through life. Her life is made difficult because of the
fact that she s a female but also because she is a poor orphan living
in a rich house, where even the servants look down on her. A persons
social status was of massive importance back then and Bronte expresses
this in the novel. Another example is that Jane's only job is a
governess, which is a hard job to find and was low paid. Many women
faced problems like these as they were seen as inferior to men Unless
women were wealthy they would have a struggle to find work as there
were only few jobs that women could do.
Bronte wants the reader to sympathise with Jane from the start of the
novel. We know this because of the first person narrative, which makes
us engage with the character. "Jane Eyre" is a very gothic novel and
is autobiographical of Bronte's life; it has five distinct stages of
Jane's life, so therefore "Jane Eyre" is an example of a
Bildungsroman. Bronte tries to show how hard life was for women in the
19th century.
The novel begins with Jane describing the weather "…cold winter
wind…rain so penetrating…" these cold icy images reflect Jane's
treatment by the Reeds, who have never showed her any warmth or love.
When Jane is reading a book, isolated away from her family, again
Bronte focuses very much on the weather again. This book is
metaphorical of Jane's life. It describes a "rock standing up alone
against a sea of billow" This quote is symbolic of Jane, battered but
alive. It also describes "bleak shores" also relating to Jane, she
There are many stages throughout the book in which the reader can feel sympathy for Jane Eyre; these include when she is locked in the Red Room, when Helen Burns dies at Lowood, and when she and Mr. Rochester are married the first time.
St. John Rivers makes some very intriguing choices in Jane Eyre. He is constantly faced with difficult decisions to make. Whether it be refusing his true love or moving to India to give his life serving others, there is always an interesting twist where St. John is concerned. His importance in the novel may be evident to readers, but they may not always understand his decisions and his actions. The choices he makes are exemplary of a man who has given his life to serve God and His people.
“I found him very patient, very forbearing, and yet an exacting master: he expected me to do a great deal; and when I fulfilled his expectations, he, in his own way, fully testified his approbation. By degrees, he acquired a certain influence over me that took away my liberty of mind: his praise and notice were more restraining than his indifference. I could no longer talk or laugh freely when he was by; because a tiresomely importunate instinct reminded me that vivacity (at least in me) was distasteful to him. I was so aware that only serious moods and occupations were acceptable, that in is presence every effort to sustain or follow any other became vain: I fell under a freezing spell. When he said “go,” I went! “come,” I came;
From an early age Jane is aware she is at a disadvantage, yet she learns how to break free from her entrapment by following her heart. Jane appears as not only the main character in the text, but also a female narrator. Being a female narrator suggests a strong independent woman, but Jane does not seem quite that.
When General Rochambeau met General Washington in 1781 to determine their next move against the British, Washington wanted to attack New York City. Rochambeau convinced him that the wiser move was to move South. Word had come from General Lafayette in Virginia that Cornwallis had taken up a defensive position at Yorktown. Cornwallis was situated next to the York River. If they could surround the city by land and cut off Cornwallis' escape route on the river, Washington and Rochambeau would strike an enormous blow to the British forces. Planning for the elaborate campaign began immediately.
This is most likely due to the fact that she grew up in a poor household but still managed to make a name for herself through her life experiences. They gave her the knowledge to be able to formulate opinions about the relationships among people, particularly between men and women. She is a strong proponent of the belief that God placed humans on earth with the intention to live in a community equally with others. If both men and women were given the same opportunity to prove themselves then who is to say that they cannot be equal to one another? In her eyes, the soul is genderless and should be given an equal chance to be proven so before women are objectified as the weak and fragile. Women have to depend on men because they do not get the same education and knowledge to be able to support
If a middle class family in Victorian England was able to afford employing a governess it certainly meant they were wealthy. Governesses aided the development of middle class children by teaching them in history, languages, music, art and geography (Smith 203). However, the lives of these middle class governesses were not as good as they might sound. A governess had a unique position in the family she worked for, because she was not part of the household, nor was she a servant. Governesses had the social position of middle class women, yet they received a salary. Being a governess meant having financial worries like a fear of unemployment. Besides that there was a possibility of being socially rejected by the servants and their masters. One of the most influential governesses was Charlotte Brontë. In a letter from 1839 she wrote that “a private governess has no existence, is not considered as a living rational being, except as connected with the wearisome duties she has to fulfil” (Gaskell, ch. 8, ¶ 243). In 1847 Brontë published the novel Jane Eyre, which deals with this very subject. The novel Jane Eyre provides a sound insight into the class system of the Victorian era and the place of the woman in this system. The novel achieves this by making Jane Eyre climb the social ladder. The young Jane Eyre is a poor orphan, who receives an education and becomes a governess, after a while she inherits a substantial amount of money and eventually she marries the master of Thornfield.
In Charlotte Bronte’s, Jane Eyre, Jane goes through numerous self-discoveries, herself-realization and discipline leads her to a life she chooses to make her happy. Jane Eyre has a rough life from the start. Forced to stay with people who despise her, Jane can only help herself. Jane must overcome the odds against her, which add to many. Jane is a woman with no voice, until she changes her destiny. The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte consists of continuous journeys through Jane’s life towards her final happiness and freedom.
Independence, the capacity to manage ones own affairs, make one’s own judgments, and provide for one’s self. Jane Eyre herself is a very independent woman. Throughout her life she has depended on very few people for very little. Charlotte Brontë wants the reader to learn that independence can open many doors of possibilities.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte depicts the life of a girl who is at odds with her place in the world. Her life of indignation is one of hardship, which is clearly portrayed by Jane Eyre’s thoughts as she sits alone in the Red Room. After being abandoned in the room where her uncle died Jane recognizes her emotions about all her conflicts at Gateshead. The Red Room is an important scene in Jane Eyre as it will haunt her for the rest of her days. Bronte uses the room to give insight into Jane’s feelings of abuse and being an outcast in the Reed family.
In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses Jane Eyre as her base to find out how a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with her responsibilities. . Mistreated abused and deprived of a normal childhood, Jane Eyre creates an enemy early in her childhood with her Aunt Mrs. Reed. Just as Mrs. Reeds life is coming to an end, she writes to Jane asking her for forgiveness, and one last visit from her.
Aunt Reed is the aunt Jane was left with when her parents died. Mrs. Reed is very mean and cruel to Jane, she sides with her children more than she does Jane. After throwing Jane into the red-room Jane says Mrs. Reed “knew not what you did” and she thought she was “only uprooting my bad propensities” (17).
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre chronicles the growth of her titular character from girlhood to maturity, focusing on her journey from dependence on negative authority figures to both monetary and psychological independence, from confusion to a clear understanding of self, and from inequality to equality with those to whom she was formerly subject. Originally dependent on her Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester, she gains independence through her inheritance and teaching positions. Over the course of the novel, she awakens towards self-understanding, resulting in contentment and eventual happiness. She also achieves equality with the important masculine figures in her life, such as St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester, gaining self-fulfillment as an independent, fully developed equal.
In the novel ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, Jane shows self-confidence throughout the novel by having a sense of self-worth, and a trust in God and her morals. Jane develops her self confidence through the capacity to learn and the relationships she experiences. Although an oppressed orphan, Jane is not totally with confidence, she believes in what is right and shows passion and spirit at an early age. Helen and Miss Temple equips Jane with education and Christians values that she takes on throughout her life. Jane later also blossoms in self confidence under Mr. Rochester’s love and her family, the Rivers and newly discovered wealth. Bronte uses dialogue and 1st person narration to give an insight of the characters for the reader to see what the characters are saying and suggest what they are really thinking, and it shows Jane’s self-confidence growing in every stage of her life.
My favorite character at this time in the novel, is Jane Eyre. A new chapter in her life was about to begin when she was accepted for the position as a governess, for a small child at Thornfield Hall. She has come a long way from her days abandoned by her cruel aunt and treated poorly by her cousins. After her school days at Lowood, she wanted a brighter and more independent life for herself. She has had the strength to be strong and