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How does charlotte bronte use the characters in jane eyre to criticise the divisions in victorian society
AN analysis of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
How does bronte present jane eyre as a victim
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“The fairest one in all the land”, how many endearing characters of classical literature can this well know phrase be said about? The list is endless but surely does not include Jane Eyre. She is described as a plain poor quaker like woman; she had no prominent features, was not draped in extravagant gowns, suiters were not lined up at her door step swept away by her angelic beauty. She was a simple woman with simple possession and simple needs. Perhaps though, in a parallel plot, Jane was indeed the fairest of them all. What would the well know tale have looked like then?
Overall, the entire plot of the novel Jane Eyre would have been greatly different had Charlotte Bronte chosen to make Jane beautiful. Charlotte Bronte wrote the novel focusing mainly on Jane’s internal thoughts and how she saw the world around her. Although Jane was plain on the outside, her thoughts and heart were beautiful; doesn’t that matter so much more than external beauty? Had Jane been beautiful, the novel would have been focused more on what was going on outside of her, opposed the to focus on what was going on inside of her; her emotions, thoughts, and beliefs. If Charlotte Bronte had created Jane as a beautiful dame left by her parent’s deaths as a poor orphan, her relationship would have looked dramatically different from the plain quaker Jane. She wouldn’t have been invisible, that’s for sure. Blanch Ingram and her group of ladies wouldn’t have glided past her without notice. Perhaps they would have still held their nosies up to her, but out of jealousy instead of pride. And Mr Rochester? Mr Rochester is tricky. Would he have still loved her had she been beautiful? Did he love her because she was plain and simple, unlike the other women he had kno...
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...ns forever with those who fear him.” Jane knew this; she knew and beauty, money, and all the possessions of the world would wither and the wind would blow them away as if they were nothing but grass. She trusted in the Lord and his faithful love that remains forever and she was fulfilled in that.
Jane said it herself, “I am not an angel,and I will not be one till I die: I will be myself.” Dear reader, I pray that you may have the strength as well to fight the hardest battle and remain yourself until the day you die. Know that you may not be beautiful according to the world’s standard, but you are beautiful in the eyes of someone. Know that all the money in the world can’t buy you anything worth having. Do not conform to what the world wants you to look like and be, but be brave enough to stand alone and be no one other than yourself and who God created you to be.
The novel Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, is about Jane who is a strong, independent women who went from being an orphaned, isolated ten-year-old to excelling at school and becoming a governess.The character Blanche Ingram is intended to marry Edward Rochester, the man Jane loves. Throughout the first half of the novel Bronte uses Blanche Ingram as a foil to Jane, to reveal her true persona. This is evident firstly by appearance, where Blanche is described as beautiful and Jane plain, their different inner characters, the way they connect with Adele and finally how they express their feelings towards Edward Rochester.
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.
This novel was one of the most radical books of the Victorian Era. It portrayed women as equals to men. It showed that it was possible that men could even be worse than women, through John and Jane. It taught the Victorians never to judge a book by its cover. The novel would not be as successful were it not for Charlotte Brontë’s talent in writing, and were it not for the literary devices employed.
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.
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).
The beauty of a woman is usually classified into two categories: superficial, or physical, beauty and inner, or intellectual, beauty. In the Charlotte Bronte's Jane Erye, the protagonist rejects her own physical beauty in favor of her intelligence and morality. This choice allows her to win the hand of the man she desires. Jane values her knowledge and thinking before any of her physical appearances because of her desire as a child to read, the lessons she is taught and the reinforcements of the idea appearing in her adulthood. During the course of the novel she lives at five homes. In each of these places, the idea of inner beauty conquering exterior appearance becomes a lesson, and in her last home she gains her reward, a man who loves her solely for her mind. She reads against her cousins wishes as a child at Gateshead, learns to value her intelligence as a child at the Lowood Institution, her mind and humility win the heart of Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Manor, she earns St. John's marriage proposal at Marsh's End, and in the end she wins her prize of Mr. Rochester's hand in marriage at Ferndean Manor.
I was experiencing an ordeal: a hand of fiery iron grasped my vitals. Terrible moment: full of struggle blackness, burning! No human being that ever lived could wish to be loved better then I was loved; and him who thus loved me I absolutely worshipped: and I must renounce love and idol. (311; ch. 27)
Jane Eyre is the main character in the novel Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte. She is a fictional character along with the book. The book takes place in the mid 1800’s. Jane lives in five different places which greatly affect her life. The first place Jane stays is Gateshead Hall. She then goes to live at Lowood School. From Lowood Jane proceeds on to Thornfield Hall. She then advances on to Moor House. Finally, Jane reaches her final home at Ferndean. All of this happens within two decades and the novel is told in first person, which is Jane Eyre.
Moseley goes on to say, “Liberty and love are in some way at war in the lives of all of us.” It is not until Jane reaches personal liberation, that she is capable of loving someone else to a full extent. Throughout Jane Eyre Jane must learn how to gain love without sacrificing herself in the process. Orphaned at an early age, Jane becomes used to a lackluster lifestyle without any true value. It is not until she finds love and comfort in her friends at Lowood that her life begins to turn around. Upon meeting Rochester, Jane’s life was only as plain as she made it. She untwines in a world wind romance, ultimately finding the love she craved without losing her self-value.
In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte shows us that all people have a feeling inside of them to recognizing what their personal desires and what their duty to others is. In Jane Eyre, the endless theme of unforgettable war between a passion and responsibility always appears, with a strong set of principles Jane is able to decide what is right. Throw out the book Charlotte Bronte show us that Jane’s integrity to her self is more important than what anybody else thinks of her. Duty and desire plays a huge role in which Jane has to learn to control her desire of her anger outburst and her duty to herself.
The way in which society tries to live today goes hand in hand with the quote "What really matters is on the inside, not the outside", which is often repeated, maybe because people want everyone to feel equal and no one inferior or maybe because a person just wants to feel better about his or herself so this statement is said. The story "Jane Eyre" completely contradicts this quote, especially during the social extravaganza, which was put on by Mr. Rochester and the Thornfield workers. The main goal during the era in which the book "Jane Eyre" took place was to be wealthy so you could be a part of all the so called finer things in life such as nice clothing, jewelry, money, large mansions, and so on. The social extravaganza which took place at Mr. Rochester's mansion contributed to the meaning of the book by helping explain the characters, setting, and plot of the story "Jane Eyre".
It is very obvious now that Jane has matured and grown from a little girl with little self-confidence, to a mature and successful woman with self-confidence and experience. The obstacles she had to encounter throughout some of the stages of her life had made her stronger and her self-confidence had grown, also because of certain people in her life. Jane believed in herself and her morals, and as a result was so successful in her life and she was able to achieve a high position of self-confidence at the end of the novel. She developed self-confidence and maintained it my knowing her self-worth, and having faith in what she believes in.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre represents the role of women in the Victorian era by giving the reader an insight into the lives of women from all social classes. Jane Eyre therefore represents figures of the Victorian time yet the character of Jane Eyre, herself, can be seen as very unconventional for the Victorian society.
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