In Jane Eyre author Charlotte Bronte illustrates two comparisons and one main contrast among Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers. Bronte aims to present Brocklehurst, Rochester, and Rivers as men with similar traits that cause conflict with women, especially Jane. In response to the similarities, Bronte also depicts contrasts among the three men. These comparisons and contrasts ultimately decide their relationship with Jane throughout the novel. Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers have two similarities including: their secrecy and their alpha dog mentality; while their difference is how they react to being challenged.
The first comparison among Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers is their
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secrecy, especially with Jane. Bronte aimed to create Brocklehurst as a man who would much rather withhold the truth from people then tarnish his own image. At the beginning of Jane Eyre, Mr. Brocklehurst treats the students of Lowood in horrific ways. Rather than admitting his mistakes and fixing the issue, he allows it to carry on until multiple deaths of students occur. Brocklehurst’s secrecy is shown in this quote, “The unhealthy nature of the site; the quantity and quality of the children’s food; the brackish, fetid water used in its preparation; the pupils’ wretched clothing and accommodations: all these things were discovered; and the discovery produced a result mortifying to Mr. Brocklehurst, but beneficial to the institution.”(84). Unfortunately Mr. Brocklehurst is not the only one with secrets. Mr. Rochester’s secret proves to be even more demoralizing to Jane. Rochester’s secret comes to light at the grandest moment of Jane’s poor life, on her wedding day. Rochester’s heartbreaking secret is revealed in this quote, “It simply consists in the existence of a previous marriage. Mr. Rochester has a wife now living.”(294). Mr. Rochester’s insane wife Bertha came back to haunt him in a large way. Stricken with grief, Jane moves on to another male. Sadly, St. John Rivers will only cause more suffering for Jane. Rivers wants Jane to travel with him to India, and he wants Jane to marry him as well. Sadly for Jane, Rivers is simply using her as a tool on his missionary. Rivers attempts to keep his true intentions from Jane, but she suspects his true reason for the proposal. Rivers’ secret is revealed in this quote, “‘Far from that, Diana; his sole idea in proposing to me is to procure a fitting fellow-labourer in his Indian toils.’”(422). This quote exposes St. John’s true reason behind his marriage proposal, but it does not remain a secret for long. Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers all have secrets, and those secret do not remain hidden for long before Jane discovers them. The second comparison between Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers is their alpha dog approach toward life, and especially toward Jane. Mr. Rochester fits the alpha dog persona by always being on ‘top’ compared to Jane. At the beginning of the novel when Jane first meets Rochester, he is riding on top of a large horse signifying that he is more important and powerful. Rochester’s entrance and alpha dog mentality are shown in this quote, “The horse followed,--a tall steed and on its back a rider. The man, the human being, broke the spell at once.”(114). After Jane’s first encounter with Rochester, she puts him on a pedestal, and makes him seem larger than life. This feeling lasts throughout majority of the novel, as Jane feels she is not worthy of the love of Mr. Rochester. Mr. Brocklehurst is much worse than Mr. Rochester in all ways, but none more than his idea of asserting his power on defenseless girls to give him the sense of an alpha dog position. One of the most prominent cases of attacks comes very early in the book, when Brocklehurst visits Lowood. Brocklehurst observes a class with Jane in it, and when Jane speaks out against his tyranny she is punished severely. Jane’s punishment is depicted in this quote: And I was place there, by whom I don’t know: I was in no condition to note particulars; I was only aware that they had hoisted me up to the height of Mr. Brocklehurst’s nose,that he was within a yard of me, and that a spread of shot orange and purple silk pelisses, and a cloud of silvery plumage extended and waved below me.(66) This quote is a prime example of how Brocklehurst tries to make him feel like the alpha dog by torturing little girls with severe punishments. St. John Rivers is not quite as bad as Brocklehurst, but Rivers still believes he should have the final say in how women, especially Jane, should live their life. Towards the end of the novel, Rivers states that he has decided to start his missionary in India. Unfortunately Rivers feels that he is on ‘top’ of Jane, and tries to assert his authority over her. He believes that he has the power to make her marry him. St. John Rivers’ alpha dog mentality is shown in this quote, “I shall be absent a fortnight--take that space of time to consider my offer: and do not forget that if you reject it, it is not me you deny, but God.”(416). Even after Jane denies him again and again, Rivers still feels the need to tempt Jane into agreeing with him by way of guilt. St. John Rivers truly thinks he has enough power to make big decisions for Jane. Mr. Rochester, Mr. Brocklehurst, and St. John Rivers all believe they contain the power to control people, causing them think they are the alpha dog. The contrast between Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers is how they react to be challenged, in particular by Jane or other women. How Mr. Brocklehurst reacts is no secret, he becomes angry and makes rash blind decisions. Brocklehurst’s blind rage is shown in this quote: Teachers, you must watch her: keep your eyes on her movements, weigh well her words, scrutinise her actions, punish her body to save her soul: if, indeed, such salvation be possible, for (my tongue falters while I tell it) this girl, little heathen who says its prayers to Brahma and kneels before Juggernaut--this girl is--a liar!(66-67) This quote clearly demonstrates the fury that pulses through Brocklehurst’s body when he feels threatened by someone, who he feels in inferior to him.
The quote also illustrates the extreme measures he takes to ensure himself that he has control. St. John Rivers is quite different compared to Brocklehurst. Instead of becoming furious with those who challenge him, Rivers remains calm but becomes isolated with the offender. A major example of Rivers’ reaction comes at the end of the novel when Jane refuses him. This example is shown in this quote,“‘Good-night, St. John,’ said I. ‘Good-night, Jane,’ he replied calmly. ‘Then shake hands,’ I added. What a cold, loose touch he impressed on my fingers!”(417). This quote depicts Rivers as a man who stays eerily calm when angry, but is secretly holding in all his rage. Jane realizes this when she touches his hand, and she notices how cold and loose the touch was, symbolizing Rivers’ cold and distant feelings told Jane. Rochester on the other hand acts much more mature compared to Brocklehurst and Rivers when challenged. Instead of becoming enraged or distant, he simply takes responsibility for his actions in which he is being challenged for. One moment of his maturity comes during his wedding with Jane. Rochester’s responsible nature is shown in this quote, “‘Enough--all shall bolt out at once, like the bullet from the barrel.--Wood, close your book, and take off your surplice; John Green (to the clerk), leave the church: there will be no wedding to-day:’ the man obeyed.”(296). In this quote, Rochester understands that there is no point is arguing with the men who challenged him. He simply ends the wedding so he can take responsibility about Bertha. Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers have their different ways of coping with people challenging
them. In conclusion, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte portrays Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers as characters with many comparisons and contrasts. Bronte put an emphasis on two comparisons and one contrast. Bronte also linked the ever present theme of male dominance to Brocklehurst, Rochester, and Rivers. Whether it be Brocklehurst punishing young girls, Rochester always giving off the impression that he is the master of Jane, or Rivers believing he can control and manipulate Jane into something he desires, they all are linked to the theme of male dominance. Mr. Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester, and St. John Rivers have two similarities including: their secrecy and their alpha dog mentality; while their difference is how they react to being challenged.
We learn that Jane is a young girl who is a victim of emotional and
Eventually, she returns to her former employer, discovering Thornfield in ashes, Mrs. Rochester dead, and Mr. Rochester blind and free from wedlock. Flooded with motifs, Jane’s continual struggles between her passions and responsibility prevail as the main theme of Bronte’s entrancing narrative. From the introduction of Jane’s orphan life, she battles between her ire at cousin John’s antics and obedience to Aunt Reed’s reluctant guardianship.
Jane Eyre is about a girl named Jane who struggles to find who she really is and with it what she really wants. “As a model for women readers in the Victorian period and throughout the twentieth century to follow, Jane Eyre encouraged them to make their own choices in living their lives, to develop respect for themselves, and to become individuals” (Markley). One of the reasons why this book gained merit was because of its striking presence within its time period. During the “Victorian Age” woman did not have much say in society, so this novel broke boundaries to societal norms that restricted woman from things they have today. “Brontë is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her nature.
Firstly both characters are melancholy. The immensely low status of both the female characters links back to the fact that men are always in charge of women; this is shown because both characters are ruled by other figures throughout the novel. Curley’s wife by Curley, and Jane first by Mrs. Reed, then Mr. Brocklehurst, and finally Rochester. As they are both women, they suffer being pressurized by men because of the patriarchal society. Another similarity within “Jane Eyre” and “Of Mice and Men” is the marriage theme. Marriage is a dilemma and complex in both the novel and novella. Marriage is brought to the attention of the reader numerous times in” Jane Eyre”; first of all where Rochester claims he is marrying Lady Ingram to make Jane jealous of their relationship, and Rochester’s plan works in winning Jane over and Rochester proposes to Jane, and she reply’s with grateful yes. Whilst in “Of Mice and Men” Curley’s wife has a disastrous relationship with her partner; first of all she has no forename and is only known as somebody’s wife. Curley’s wife gets no affection or love from her husband in their relationship and ends up resorting to the other men on the ranch for any attention she can get; good or bad. In “Of Mice and Men” and “Jane Eyre”, both Brontë and Steinbeck make it very clear from their writing that male chacters always look at the women’s physical appearance and not their personality. When Rochester was engaged to Jane the first time, Rochester insisted that Jane had the most expensive jewels and veils, but all Jane wanted was a simple cotton veil and no jewels. In “Of Mice and Men” the male character looked at Curley’s wife as a sexual
Because Jane is the narrator, the reader is given a biased point of view that St. John’s character is unfavorable. Throughout Jane’s life she has had oppressive male figures dominate her life, such as John Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst; thus, Jane can conditioned herself to be apprehensive when confronting men. After gaining her physical and emotional strength back, Jane studies St. John’s character. Jane’s first impression of St. John is pessimistic, she states “Had he been a statue instead of a man, he could not have been easier”(Bronte 329). By comparing St. John to a statue the reader is forced to see St. John as someone who is cold and rigid. Jane sets up the perception that St.John is disconnected from human feelings. Jane also presents a biased view of men when she first meets Rochester, who later becomes her husband. Furthermore, Jane’s first impressions of Rochester are also negative. Upon first being introduced to Rochester, after he asked to see her, Jane comments, “But it appeared he was not in the mood to notice us, for he never lifted his head as we approached. . . There was something in the forced stiffed bow, in the impatient yet formal tone, which he seemed to further expresses”(Bronte 111). Upon meeting Rochester for the fir...
When reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, I find myself cheering for Rochester. After finishing the book, I ask myself why Jane chooses Rochester over St. John. After all, Rochester has a "mad" wife, Bertha Mason, locked in the attic of Thornfield Hall at the same time that he is proposing marriage to Jane. He has a ward living with him, possibly the offspring of an illicit affair with a French dancer. He is arrogant, pushy, and basically ill-tempered. St. John, on the other hand, is well mannered, respected, and has a promising future. To answer my own question, then, it is essential to look at how each man fits the idea of masculinity in Victorian society, at how each man relates to Jane, and at why Bronte creates her two leading men to be such extreme opposites.
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.
St. John Rivers plays one of these life determining foils to Jane. Eyre. His confidence, devotion and reason intrigue Jane almost enough. silence her inner passionate spirit, but it is the forces of nature that prove to be stronger than human will. & nbsp; The life path of a Victorian woman was somewhat limited in its direction and expression of individuality. Jane Eyre strongly adheres to the Victorian morality which was dominated by the Anglican party of the Church of England in which passion and emotion were kept concealed. Jane's.
Throughout Jane Eyre the three male characters: John Reed, St. John Rivers, and Edward Rochester endure suffering caused from society and the family power structures. Although males during the Victorian era, and especially these three men, were exhibited as having power and or wealth, they had a flaw that caused them to suffer in some shape or form. John Reed ultimately dying, St. John moves to India and essentially has a loveless and delusional attitude towards life, in addition Mr. Rochester and the new Mrs. Rochester are united and become equals.
Jane Eyre’s inner struggle over leaving an already married Rochester is the epitome of the new "lovemad" woman in nineteenth-century literature. Jane Eyre is the story of a lovemad woman who has two parts to her personality (herself and Bertha Mason) to accommodate this madness. Charlotte Bronte takes the already used character of the lovemad woman and uses her to be an outlet for the confinement that comes from being in a male-dominated society. Jane has to control this madness, whereas the other part of her personality, her counterpart, Bertha Mason, is able to express her rage at being caged up. As what it means to be insane was changing during Bronte’s time, Bronte changed insanity in literature so that it is made not to be a weakness but rather a form of rebellion. Jane ultimately is able to overcome her lovemadness through sheer force of her will.
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses various characters to represent aspects of reason and passion, thereby establishing a tension between the two. In fact, it could be argued that these various characters are really aspects of her central character, Jane. From this it could be argued that the tension between these two aspects really takes place only within her mind. Bronte is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her character. As a prerequisite for marriage, Jane uses this determination in her relationships with Mr. Rochester and St. John.
Bronte wrote Jane Eyre to emphasize her beliefs behind the purpose of women, and how society lacked to understand them as who they were created to be. The issue of lack of opportunity for women to engage in intellectual preparation and continuation is prevalent within the character of Jane. Expectation of women’s role was a social norm, with a lack of diversity or individuality. Bronte challenges this issue through the character of Jane, whom experiences a tug-of-war sensation between being herself, who she wants to be and should be, and what society wants her to be, and pushes her to be. Bronte was trying to explain that women have the same capability as men to be productive individuals of society, but they are held back from establishing their potential. The most unique understanding of Bronte’s challenge to society is the understanding that the characteristics and personality of Jane as a female is shamed and criticized, however these features are identical to those of a successful and representable man in
Charlotte Bronte utilizes the character of Bertha Rochester to interrupt Jane’s potential happy ending with Mr. Edward Rochester. Bertha is announced by Mr. Briggs as a way to stop the wedding and it also shows how hopeless Jane’s situation is. “That is my wife “said he. ‘Such is the sole conjugal embrace I am ever to know—such are the endearments which are to solace my leisure hours! And this is what I wished to have,’” (312) and “’I wanted her just as a change after that fierce ragout,’” (312) are quotes that express Mr. Rochester’s reasons for trying to remarry while he already has a wife, meanwhile showing his disposition towards said wife. Had Mr. Briggs and Mr. Mason not been present for the ceremony, Jane may have lived happily in ignorance. Due to Bertha’s involvement however, Jane could never truly call herself Mr. Rochester’s wife. She says, “’Sir, your wife is living: that is a fact acknowledged this morning by yourself. If I lived with you as you desire—I should then be your mistress: to say otherwise is sophistical—is false.’” (323) This quote shows that as a result of Bertha’s exposure, Jane refuses to marry Mr. Rochester. The influence that Bertha’s brief debut had on Jane’s life was significant enough to hinder the growth of her relationship with Mr. Rochester.
" I don't know, I asked Aunt Reed once, and she said possibly I might
Love is an important theme in the famous novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Jane's love for Rochester is clearly noticible throughout the novel. But Jane's true love for Rochster becomes appearent in only a few of her actions and emotions. Although it may seem Rochester manipulated her heart's desire, this can be disproven in her actions towards him. Jane followed her heart in the end, by returning to Rochester.