Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre as a Cinderella Story

2463 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Analysis of story cinderella

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre as a Cinderella Story

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre can be characterized in many ways as a variation of Cinderella. There are several versions of this popular fairy--tale. At the time Bronte’s novel was published, the Grimms’ book of tales, which included Cinderella, was very popular. According to Sally Mitchell, "The serious interest in folklore was spurred by the translation, in 1823, of the stories collected by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm." A version of Cinderella was also written by Charles Perrault. Both Perrault’s and the Grimms’ tales have a place in Bronte’s narrative. There is no specific evidence of her reading these yet, "Bronte could easily have known two versions of the Cinderella tale: the Grimms’ version, and Charles Perrault’s Cendrillon, first published in France in 1697 in Histories ou Contes du Temps Passe. Bronte read both French and German and could have read both versions either in English or in their original publication languages" (Clarke 696). From the textual evidence it’s obvious she connects her story to both. Although as Clarke argues she focuses more on the Grimms’ version. He makes the claim that, "This resemblance to the German Cinderella tale provides an important key to Bronte’s ethic of female intelligence, activity, pleasure, and integrity" (Clarke 696). By using fairy tales Bronte could also connect to her readers who were most likely familiar with them. Charlotte Bronte spins her own Cinderella tale through the text of Jane Eyre to reveal that the goodhearted girl who is kept down by society does in fact succeed in the end. Although Jane is held back by her family and society in general, her true virtue and goodness help her overcome her struggles and rise above...

... middle of paper ...

.... She chooses to take the focus away from the importance of outer features and concentrate on the inner beauty and strength of her characters. This thematic element can be related to Beauty and the Beast. Charlotte Bronte definitely links her story with Cinderella in many ways. She chooses however to twist the ideas found in this tale and show that goodness and virtue can be rewarded without the aide of outer beauty or even fairy Godmothers.

Works Cited

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 1996.

Clarke, Michael M. "Bronte’s Jane Eyre and the Grimms’ Cinderella." Studies in English Literature 1500-1900 40 (2000): 695-710.

Imlay, Elizabeth. Charlotte Bronte and the Mysteries of Love. New York: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1989.

Mitchell, Sally. "Books for Children." Victorian Web. July 2002. National U of Singapore. 2 March 2003.

Show More
Related

  • Magic Trip: Ken Kesey’s Search for a Kool Place

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... me a lot of background information. However, I was unfamiliar with The Merry Pranksters’ trip across country.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte in Leeds Point

    562 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Stephen Dunn’s 2003 poem, “Charlotte Bronte in Leeds Point”, the famous author of Jane Eyre is placed into a modern setting of New Jersey. Although Charlotte Bronte lived in the early middle 1800’s, we find her alive and well in the present day in this poem. The poem connects itself to Bronte’s most popular novel, Jane Eyre in characters analysis and setting while speaking of common themes in the novel. Dunn also uses his poem to give Bronte’s writing purpose in modern day.

    Read More

  • Physician Aid-in-Dying (PAD): The Right to Choose

    1783 Words  | 4 Pages

    Campbell, Courtney. "'Aid-in-Dying' and the taking of Human Life." Journal of Medical Ethics. 18.3 (1992 ): 128-134. Web. 2 March 2015.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre Through Bronte's Eyes

    3631 Words  | 8 Pages

    Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, was published in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Company, in London. This year is exactly ten years into Queen Victoria’s sixty-four year reign of the British Empire. The Victorian Era was renowned for its patriarchal Society and definition by class. These two things provide vital background to the novel, as Jane suffers from both. Jane Eyre relates in some ways to Brontë’s own life, as its original title suggest, “Jane Eyre: An Autobiography”. Charlotte Brontë would have suffered from too, as a relatively poor woman. She would have been treated lowly within the community. In fact, the book itself was published under a pseudonym of Currer Bell, the initials taken from Brontë’s own name, due to the fact that a book published by a woman was seen as inferior, as they were deemed intellectually substandard to men. Emily Brontë, Charlotte’s sister, was also forced to publish her most famous novel, Wuthering Heights, under the nom de plume of Ellis Bell, again taking the initials of her name to form her own alias. The novel is a political touchstone to illustrate the period in which it was written, and also acts as a critique of the Victorian patriarchal society.

    Read More

  • Rasselas in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    3060 Words  | 7 Pages

    There are many instances in Jane Eyre where Charlotte Bronte uses or alludes to other literary works. One work in particular, Samuel Johnson’s fable, Rasselas, has important implications for the novel. Rasselas is the book Helen Burns is reading when Jane first encounters her at Lowood. Bronte did not choose this work at random. She was familiar with Johnson’s works, and she relied on the contemporary Victorian reader’s knowledge of it, as she clearly states the title rather than just alluding to it. A knowledge of Johnson’s famous work is especially important in understanding the relationship between Helen and Jane. Many aspects from Rasselas come out through Helen in the novel. Themes in Rasselas are evident throughout Bronte’s novel, and understanding these similarities gives insight into aspects of the novel, especially in regards to such things as Jane’s quest for permanent happiness.

    Read More

  • Physical & Emotional Abuse in Jane Eyre: How This Affected Jane’s Evolution Into a Dynamic Character

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Richard J Dunn 3rd ed. 1847. New York: W. W.

    Read More

  • Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

    1754 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Right to Physician Assisted Suicide

    1874 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cotton, Paul. "Medicine's Position Is Both Pivotal And Precarious In Assisted Suicide Debate." The  Journal of the American Association 1 Feb. 1995: 363-64.

    Read More

  • Physician-Assisted Suicide

    1603 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 2007, the American Geriatrics Society defined Physician-Assisted Suicide as, “When a physician provides either equipment or medication, or informs the patient of the most efficacious use of already available means, for the purpose of assisting the patient to end his or her own life” (qtd. in Lachman 121). Physician-Assisted Suicide is what it says, suicide. In the United States the controversy of the “Right to die” is not new. According to Vicki D. Lachman a Clinical Associate Professor, after the Supreme Court decision in 1997, it was determined that there is not a constitutional right to die. The Supreme Court is allowing states to pass laws to legalize Physician-Assisted Suicide. Since then three states, Oregon, Washington, and Montana have made it legal to perform Phy...

    Read More

  • Essay On Assisted Suicide

    2917 Words  | 6 Pages

    Currently, physician-assisted suicide or death is illegal in all states except Oregon, Vermont, Montana and Washington. Present law in other states express that suicide is not a crime, but assisting in suicide is. Supporters of legislation legalizing assisted suicide claim that the moral right to life should encompass the right to voluntary death. Opponents of assisted suicide claim that society has a moral and civic duty to preserve the lives of innocent persons. There is a slippery slope involving the legalizing assisted suicide. Concern that assisted suicide allowed on the basis of mercy or compassion, can and will lead to the urging of the death for morally unjustifiable reasons is understandable. However, legalization can serve to prevent the already existent practice of underground physician-assisted suicide if strict laws to ensure that the interests of the patients are primary are installed and enforced. When a patient asks for assistance in dying, their wishes should be respected as long as the patient is free from coercion and competent enough to give informed consent. The intent of this work is to examine the legalization of assisted suicide in Oregon and the Netherlands and to argue that assisted suicide is morally and ethically acceptable in theory despite some unintended consequences of its implementation.

    Read More

  • Physician Assisted Suicide

    2316 Words  | 5 Pages

    As one can see, physician-assisted suicide has a long and complicated history. Recent developments in the United States have brought the issues associated with end-of-life decisions under the microscope. The morality and ethics associated with voluntarily assisting someone while committing suicide have struck a chord with individuals, organizations, and in the political and medicinal sectors. The Hippocratic Oath and Pharmaceutical Oath have become subject to scrutiny with the gaining popularity and legalization of terminally ill patients seeking dignity in death. Increasingly, people are supporting the tough decisions made by patients.

    Read More

  • Theory of Mind

    1083 Words  | 3 Pages

    The concept of ‘theory of mind’ is a complex one with various considerations. It can basically be defined as, ‘The ability to understand or ‘read’ the mind of another individual; the ability to ‘put oneself in the place of another’,’ (Smith and Stevens 2002). Essentially, ‘theory of mind’ is concerned with the ideal that a person can comprehend what another person in the same situation may be thinking, or the way in which they may be feeling, without the necessity for direct contact and communication to establish that information. The paramount dilemma for psychologists researching this area of evolutionary psychology, is the difficulty in ensuring that it genuinely is the mind of another individual that a person is responding to, rather than their overt behaviour, bearing in mind the impossibility of looking directly into another’s mind.

    Read More

  • Physician-Assisted Suicide

    2762 Words  | 6 Pages

    To address these fears, many people attempt to control when and how they end their lives. Naturally, they turn to their physicians for assistance because the physicians know what amounts of drugs are lethal and how to administer such drugs to ensure death and prevent pain. However, in recent decades, when a patient feels that his or her life is no longer worth living for, they will commonly ask for their physicians’ assistance in suicide. Many people feel that it is the physician’s moral responsibility to end the suffering of the patient, while others feel that it is unethical to interfere with a natural process of death. Physicians exist to save the lives of patients. Assisted suicide puts them in the position of ending lives and naturally creates arguments of ethicality and legality.

    Read More

  • Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre as a Coming of Age Story

    1678 Words  | 4 Pages

    Charlotte Bronte's classic, Jane Eyre, is a "coming of age" story. The main character, Jane, travels from the innocence of childhood through the maturity of adulthood. During this journey, Jane goes through the battle of education vs. containment, where she attempts to learn about herself and about the world. She must constantly battle a containment of sorts, however, whether it be a true physical containment or a mental one. This battle of education vs. containment can be seen by following Jane through her different places of residence, including Gateshead Hall, Lowood Institution, Thornfield, Moor House and Morton, and Ferndean Manor, where she is, finally, fully educated and escapes the feeling of containment which she held throughout the novel.

    Read More

  • The Themes of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    1103 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane struggles against Bessie, the nurse at Gateshead Hall, and says, I resisted all the way: a new thing for me…"(Chapter 2).  This sentence foreshadows what will be an important theme of the rest of the book, that of female independence or rebelliousness. Jane is here resisting her unfair punishment, but throughout the novel she expresses her opinions on the state of women.  Tied to this theme is another of class and the resistance of the terms of one's class.  Spiritual and supernatural themes can also be traced throughout the novel.

    Read More

More about Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre as a Cinderella Story

Open Document