Quotes: 1. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will” (Brontë 18, volume 2). Jane did not have a happy childhood by any means, and her family treated her worse than a servant. She was neglected, abandoned, and beaten, and she never really knew the true meaning of family. And then at school, Jane was once again treated awfully by the school’s supervisor, Mr. Brocklehurst, who is the ultimate hypocrite. He ensures that the girls at the school are kept in inhumane conditions, with disgusting, inedible food, ridiculous amounts of work, and general squalor. Jane’s childhood and adolescent years were extremely unpleasant, and she never experienced true independence. This quote expresses just how much …show more content…
Jane longs for her independence, and she shall refuse to submit to anyone else’s will. Jane is a fiercely self-reliant, and she avoids anything that might return her to her prior state of powerlessness, including marrying the man she loves, until she believes that they will truly be equals. 2. “I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience” (Brontë 171, volume 1). This quote is spoken by Jane in her very first scene with Mr. Rochester. Mr. Rochester is Jane’s boss and master, and societal customs dictate that she must treat him with utmost respect. However, Mr. Rochester is quite rude to her. He asks her if she is dumb, or just plain stubborn, and talks down to her. Jane has had quite enough, and very firmly shuts him down. Mr. Rochester actually takes it quite well, simply responding that she had better agree do receiving his orders, as that is her job, regardless of superiority. Throughout this story, Jane shows that she has quite the backbone, and she will stand up for herself as necessary. This is also an important quote, because it sets up Jane refusing to be with anyone who does not regard her as an equal. By not keeping her head down and meekly going along with whatever he says, she not only attracts his attention later on, but also ensures that their relationship is on equal grounds, and their master/servant does not move along with them into their marriage. 3. “Even for me life had its gleams of sunshine” (Brontë 46, volume 1). This was spoken by Jane early on in the story, when she was still confined to her extended family’s house. Her life is utterly miserable – she doesn’t have any personal freedom; she is treated as less than a servant, because the servants at the Reed house actually seem to be respected by the family. However, she has an understanding with one the maid, Bessie, who would tell Jane stories and singing to her. Bessie is the one bright spot at Gateshead, and Jane’s only friend. As a child, even having just one friend can make the world a little more bearable, and Bessie was the one positive thing in young Jane’s life. 4. “It is in vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it” (Brontë 138, volume 1). Jane experiences various forms of imprisonment throughout the novel, but this quotation is from just after Jane’s arrival at Thornfield.
Jane feels trapped, not only in the manor, but also as a woman in 19th century England. She enjoys working at Thornfield, but she is tired of having to answer to someone, and not being allowed any autonomy. “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint” (Brontë 139, volume 1). Jane paces around the manor’s corridors, claiming that it is her only relief; the only way to stop the restlessness and longing that consumes her. She can’t sit still and be a proper woman, Jane simply wants freedom from the patriarchal society and the right to move freely. 5. “There would be recesses in my mind which would be only mine, to which he never came; and sentiments growing there, fresh and sheltered, which his austerity could never blight, nor his measured warrior-march trample down: but as his wife—at his side always, and always restrained, and always checked—forced to keep the fire of my nature continually low, to compel it to burn inwardly and never utter a cry, though the imprisoned flame consumed vital after vital—this would be unendurable” (Brontë 223, volume
2). St. John Rivers had proposed to Jane and asked her to move to India with him and do missionary work there. Jane considered it, as she desired adventure and travel, and she also knew that logically, marrying St. John would be a good idea. But Jane has also realized that she would not be happy with St. John when she is still in love with Rochester. She could not be herself with St. John as he is a very pious man, and would not look on her as an equal in the same way that Mr. Rochester would. Jane would not have freedom and equality in her union with St. John, and she knows this. So in rejecting him, she ensures her future happiness and emotional freedom, as she would not have to be as strait-laced and puritanical as she would otherwise.
In conclusion, Jane has been through oppression and depression but she stands up for what she believes in. Jane gains her femininity, socialization, individuality and freedom. Her husband, who has been oppressing her for so many years, is no longer her prison guard. Jane defies her husband, creeps right over him and claims her life” so, that I had to creep over him every time” (Gilman 1609). Jane is now her own personal freedom through perseverance.
Consequently, the speaker’s knowledge makes it evident that the notion to become free lies just too far out of reach. The speaker continues his portrayal of “thinking” leading up to this assertive statement: “There was no getting rid of it.” Another short sentence where he faces the hopeless realization that there is nothing he can do. He remains stuck with his knowledge; he cannot become a beast or change anything to escape thinking. Following that idea, a new sentence contains the use of descriptive antithesis, to expand on the constant presence of his ever burdensome learning. Within the sentence the author continues to wallow in his perpetual plight when he construes the ubiquity writing, “sight or hearing” in mentioning this, he expands the presence of the inescapable pressure into two specific senses. He continues his depiction with contrasting “animate or inanimate” although the clear distinction, this collectively includes and molds every possible object into a reminder of his
In the beginning of the book we learn that all of Jane’s direct family was dead. Now all she had was an aunt, Mrs, Reed, and an Uncle that we do not know much about. Jane lives with Mrs, Reed and her children. Jane is not well liked by them and constantly seems to be getting into trouble. One time Jane was reading a book and was found by John. John went to punish her, but Jane went to fight back, but John immediately responded, “...mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg…”(11) This shows how the whole Reed family feels about Jane. She is showed off as poor and not able to do or become anything of worth. This may be the most important quotes in the entire book. This sets Jane in her “rightful” place in the family. Jane then feels like she does not belong, and feels this way for most of the book, leading up to an unforeseen twist in character in many different people.
At the beginning of the novel while Jane is living under her aunt, Mrs. Reed, she is treated disrespectfully and cruelly. She accuses Jane of being deceitful and a troublesome girl in front of Mr. Brocklehurst, the master of Lowood School. Jane is so hurt by this accusation that she cannot stop herself from defending her well being, and she stands up to her aunt. She knows she is being treated disrespectful and has much more self-worth than ...
From the beginning of this work, the woman is shown to have gone mad. We are given no insight into the past, and we do not know why she has been driven to the brink of insanity. The “beautiful…English place” that the woman sees in her minds eye is the way men have traditionally wanted women to see their role in society. As the woman says, “It is quite alone standing well back from the road…It makes me think of English places…for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people. There is a delicious garden! I never saw such a garden—large and shady, full of box-bordered paths, and lined with long grape-covered arbors with seats under them.” This lovely English countryside picture that this woman paints to the reader is a shallow view at the real likeness of her prison. The reality of things is that this lovely place is her small living space, and in it she is to function as every other good housewife should. The description of her cell, versus the reality of it, is a very good example of the restriction women had in those days. They were free to see things as they wanted, but there was no real chance at a woman changing her roles and place in society. This is mostly attributed to the small amount of freedom women had, and therefore they could not bring about a drastic change, because men were happy with the position women filled.
Because of the abuse imposed upon Jane, she created a sense of independence and dignity. In Jane's early years as a child in Gateshead she was abused both verbally and physically. While Jane resided in Gateshead she was abused physically by John Reed (8). However, the physical abuse is nominal when juxtaposed to the verbal abuse that caused emotional scarring for years to come. Jane was told that she was merely a poor child that was graciously taken in by her dear aunt. However, it was clear that when Mrs. Reed has Jane locked in the Red Room after John Reed attacked her (9) that her intentions really weren't respectable. Further Jane was told by Bessie, "No; you are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep." (9). This cynical treatment would prove to be very influential in Jane's later life. The independence and dignity that Jane goes on to acquire would clearly stand in the way of her future relationships. She illustrates the ...
Charlotte Bront’s Jane Eyre entails a social criticism of the oppressive social ideas and practices of nineteenth-century Victorian society. The presentation of male and female relationships emphasizes men’s dominance and perceived superiority over women. Jane Eyre is a reflection of Bront’s own observation on gender roles of the Victorian era, from the vantage point of her position as governess, much like Jane’s. Margaret Atwood’s novel was written during a period of conservative revival in the West partly fueled by a strong, well-organized movement of religious conservatives who criticized ‘the excesses of the sexual revolution.’ Where Bront’s Jane Eyre is a clear depiction of the subjugation of women by men in nineteenth-century Western culture, Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale explores the consequences of a reversal of women’s rights by men.
Jane does not experience a typical family life throughout the novel. Her various living arrangements led her through different households, yet none were a representation of the norm of family life in the nineteenth century. Through research of families in the nineteenth century, it is clear that Jane’s life does not follow with the stereotypical family made up of a patriarchal father and nurturing mother, both whose primary focus was in raising their children. Jane’s life was void of this true family experience so common during the nineteenth century. Yet, Jane is surrounded by men, who in giving an accurate portrayal of fathers and masculinity in the nineteenth century, fulfill on one hand the father role that had never been present in her life, and on the other hand the husband portrait that Jane seeks out throughout the novel.
In her article, “A Dialogue of Self and Soul: Plain Jane’s Progress,” Sandra M. Gilbert begins by identifying what shocked Victorian audiences disliked about Jane Eyre. Gilbert acknowledges that many modern critics believed, “the novel’s power arose from its mythologizing of Jane’s confrontation with masculine sexuality” (483). Though this aspect of Jane Eyre caused grumblings among reviewers, the real issue with the novel was, “its ‘ant-Christian’ refusal to accept the forms, customs, and standards of society—in short, its rebellious feminism” (Gilbert 483). Gilbert’s feminist read of this Bildungsroman tracks the progression of Jane Eyre from enclosure to equality and freedom.
Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.
Is Jane Eyre realistic? Jane Eyre was written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre is a young girl who lived with her aunt and uncle at Gateswood. After Jane 's uncle had died, her aunt sent her to Lowood, a boarding school for orphaned girls. While Jane was there, she was treated cruelly, but she became an intelligent young woman. While advertising for a governess job, Jane was hired by Mrs. Fairfax at Thornfield where she would be a governess and work for Edward Rochester a very wealthy man. After been working there, Jane receives news that her aunt is not doing well and wants to see her, so Jane goes and stays with her aunt until she passes. After Jane returns to Thornfield, and time passes, Jane and Edward
When Jane is shunned by Mr. Brocklehurst in front of the entire Lowood population, Helen is the one person that does not immediately judge Jane. In fact, she makes her feel more comfortable in a place that is filled with punishment and hypocrisy. Though Lowood does not truly feel like home, Helen is able to provide Jane with not only all the compassion she needs as well as support and respect. This is one of the first loves Jane experiences on her journey and it allows her to become more open to the love she finds in her future endeavors.
“Jane Eyre”, written by Charlotte Bronte, is a Victorian novel in which Bronte writes about the development of Jane Eyre’s character as the book progresses. The book was published in the year 1847 and Bronte deals with Jane’s search for both individuality and love as she is starved of compassion and care from the people around her throughout her childhood and she has nothing but her passionate nature and her strong determination. In 19th century society era, prejudice was very common, especially against women; a governess was in a lonely position in the society because she was fairly superior in her social class and education than other servants in a household. However, the governess was treated as a servant and was not only required to teach
At the beginning of the book, Jane was living with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her children. Although Jane is treated cruelly and is abused constantly, she still displays passion and spirit by fighting back at John and finally standing up to Mrs Reed. Even Bessie ‘knew it was always in her’. Mrs. Reed accuses Jane of lying and being a troublesome person when Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood School visited Gateshead. Jane is hurt, as she knows she was not deceitful so she defends herself as she defended herself to John Reed when he abused her, as she said “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer – you are like a slave driver – you are like the Roman emperors!” to John Reed instead of staying silent and taking in the abuse, which would damage her self-confidence and self-worth. With the anger she had gotten from being treated cruelly, she was able to gain ...
Women, in all classes, were still living in a world which was misogynistic and male-dominated. Their purpose in life was to produce male heirs and maintain the home by hiring and overseeing servants. It was also taboo for one to marry significantly below one’s social class. This is one reason that Jane is not a conventional heroine for the society of her time. Although, as a governess, she is not considered to be as low as a housemaid, she is still part of the hired help in the house. This is why it is unconventional for her and Mr Rochester to be in a relationship. Yet this is not as peculiar as how Jane Eyre ends their relationship due to her sense of betrayal. It would have been considered extremely foolish for a working-woman’s sense of betrayal to end and turn down a man of great wealth.