Jane Eyre By Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë was published in 1848, under the name of
Currer Bell. Although the novel is over 150 years old, there are still themes that we can relate to today, such as bullying, prejudice and hypocrisy. In this essay, I am going to discuss the three themes mentioned and also consider admirable characters from the novel; the authors narrative technique and the part that I found appealing. The first issue that I will discuss will be on the bullying that Jane received at Gateshead Hall: the home of her Auntie and cousins.
She is bullied by not just her cousins, but her aunt as well. In
Chapter one, it shows the bullying from her cousins and aunt, when she has begun reading and John Reed, her cousin, throws the book at her head, and she retaliates. But because she retaliated, John's sisters ran up to their 'mamma' and blamed the fight on Jane. She was then escorted upstairs and locked in the red room. This could be counted as a form of bullying, as she only puts her in the red room as a punishment for attacking John, but we, the readers, already know that
John started all of the commotion. Verbal bullying is also used in chapter one, where John Reed calls her names for throwing a punch at him (QUOTE: CHAPTER1/LINE 16: "I don't very well know what I did with my hands, but he called me 'Rat!, rat! ')
During Jane's First term at Lowood, Jane is bullied out of food, when there was very little and the older girls wanted some more food to devour. Jane Eyre is a first-person narrative, related in the voice of the protagonist, or heroine. Jane Eyre is the "I" of the story, the person whose voice we hear as we read, and everything that happens is seen from her point of view. Nowhere in the novel does the author break the flow of the narrator's voice to give us an objective view of her main character. However, she does remind us once in a while that the story is being told by Jane as a mature woman, looking back on events that happened some years earlier. The mature Jane occasionally comments on the younger Jane's reactions to those events, and sometimes she even addresses you, the Reader, directly. You'll also find occasions where her narrative includes long stories told to Jane by other characters
(such as Rochester's accounts of his past), conversations that Jane overhears between other characters, and even accounts of Jane's dreams. These not only add variety to the style but give the reader a
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.
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.
Jane Eyre, a conscientious young governess, tells her master, Mr. Rochester, that she dislikes speaking nonsense. Mr. Rochester tells her quite frankly, "If you did, it would be in such a grave, quiet manner, I should mistake it for sense...I see you laugh rarely; but you can laugh very merrily: believe me, you are not naturally austere" (141). In this way is the inner struggle between feelings and judgment recognized and revealed. In Charlotte Brontë's novel, Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, St. John Rivers, and Jane Eyre all struggle with feelings versus judgment.
was she that was punished. If it hadn't been a one off then maybe Jane
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.
It is human nature to search for a sense of belonging and identity in a world in which seems vast and incomprehensible. The process of self-discovery is a long and arduous journey, undertaken by only those of the strongest character. Charlotte Brontë’s, Jane Eyre, is a classic exemplar of a “heroine who refuses to be placed in the traditional female position of subservience and who disagrees with her superiors, stands up for her rights, and ventures creative thoughts”(McFadden-Gerber). In the nineteenth century, the period in which the novel was written, “women were dominated by their sexuality, and were expected to fall silently into the social mold crafted by men, since they were regarded as irrational, sensitive, and dutiful” (“Historical”). The novel’s protagonist, Jane Eyre, struggles to understand and adhere to these strict expectations, “in some situations, Jane deploys middle-class and genteel identities and in others critiques them; in still other circumstances, she mobilizes a radical identity" (Vanden). These contradicting personalities initially prevent Jane from establishing a sense of gender identity; however, as she matures, uninhibited by society’s influence, Jane formulates her own gender identity based upon her experiences. Throughout the course of the novel, Jane begins to disregard traditional gender roles imposed on women within the Victorian society, and accept her emerging independence and sexuality.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte reflects the contentions Jane faces as a child and while growing up. Bronte gives a distinct explanation of the struggles Jane has to face while living with the Reeds family. Bronte describes her life story under the name of Jane Eyre. Bronte faces many challenges while growing up, resembling Jane's life in the narrative. Jane Eyre is an autobiography of Charlotte Bronte's life, which proclaims many challenges and contentions that the author and the character face. The various events Jane faces as a child guides throughout her life while growing up. Struggle and love are the main key points in the story. Jane faces new challenges everywhere she goes; Mrs. Reed treats her badly while living with the Reeds family, Mr. Brocklehurst does not treat her any better, and when she meets Mr. Rochester, she faces the challenge of love.
Charlotte Brontё's, Jane Eyre (1847), is a classic Victorian novel that entrances readers to Victorian society. Written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the novel is Brontё’s second novel, “though the first to see print” (Gaskell, 1857) with 500 publications. The society revolves around the strict class-based social system and hence a predominant belief that social class defines social behaviour. Through a thorough analysis of Victorians being unable to withhold the set belief, discussing the way this has altered the role of the intended reader to sympathise with Jane Eyre during the course of the novel, and Queen Victoria's prudish female rights is the main reason to the eruption of individualistic values in classes other than those of the upper class. Henceforth the establish belief is false, and Brontё's Victorian readers cannot be forgiven as the truth of individualism is clear to the majority of society, with the exception of the upper class that ascertains the false belief.
Jane Eyre Social class distinction is very evident in Victorian England. This distinction is found not only in society, but also within the Anglican Church and its clergy. In Jane Eyre we are introduced to three Anglican ministers who represent different social classes. They are Jane Eyre’s father; the Reverend Brocklehurst, the administrator of Lowood Institution; and Reverend St. John Rivers, the curate of a small country parish at Morton and owner of Moor House. Comparing the way these clergyman are viewed by society establishes the adherence to the same social class structure within the church as is evident outside the church.
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.