Dialectical Journal: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Moon
Bronte uses the moon as a metaphor to symbolize change in the novel. It is a representation of foreshadowing, because it is cuing that a change is about to occur before it actually does. Bronte mentions the moon when a new change is about to occur, such as when Jane first meets Rochester. I believe that the fact that the moon is waxing in the sky, rather than waning, is a metaphorical foreshadow that there is about to be a good change in her life. When the moon waxes it gets bigger and brighter, symbolizing that the change ahead of her will be big and bright.
Moon
Again, the moon is used as a metaphor to symbolize change. It is a representation of foreshadowing. After Rochester proposes to Jane, it states that the moon is not yet set in the sky. Although we are led to believe that this proposal will lead to the change of the two of them becoming a married couple, the positioning of the moon is a spoiler that unfortunately there will be no change. I think that it is foreshadowing the problem with the wedding and how they do not actually marry.
Food
Food is used in this novel as a metaphor for want and need. It is representing the want for personal growth. When Jane is at Lowood school the food supply is very minimal and she and the other girls often go hungry. When she begins accomplishing things at the school and making friends, she focuses less on her hunger. My opinion on this is that shortly after arriving to Lowood school, Jane is still striving to grow, personally just as she is craving food. But as she begins to make friends and do good in her classes, she finds herself thinking less of her appetite.
Food
Again, food is used as a metaphor f...
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... Victorian women did not have it easy and they deserved equality.
Religion
As the novel progresses we meet three different characters of religion: Helen, St. John, and Mr. Brucklehurst. Jane dismisses all three of the religious views shown by these three. Throughout the novel Jane questions her faith and idea of religion, until after a while she comes to her own conclusion and creates her own beliefs. Helen does not fear her death and shows little care about her life on earth because she believes heaven is more important. Mr. Brucklehurst is cruel and strict because of his religious beliefs. St. John chooses to deny the love of his life and attempt to marry a women he does not love because he feels that he must stay faithful to his God. Unlike the three religious people in her life, Jane learns to balance her faith in God and her love for the mortal world.
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses many types of imagery to provide understanding of the characters and also to express reoccurring themes in the novel. Through bird imagery specifically, we are able to see Jane develop from a small, unhappy child into a mature and satisfied young woman. "The familiarity and transcendence of birds have given them a wider range of meaning and symbol in literature than any other animal. The resemblance of their activities to common patterns of human behavior makes them exceptionally suitable for anthropomorphic imagery that links man to the common forms of nature" (Lutwack xii). Through the use of birds such as doves and sparrows Bronte enables the audience to gain insight into the type of person that Jane is, caring, selfless, and independent. It also allows the reader to see what type of person Mr. Rochester is, strong and controlling, by comparing him to eagles and cormorants. The connotations involved with the specific birds mentioned in Jane Eyre allow the reader to become aware of the distinct traits the characters possess and certain reoccurring themes presented in the novel.
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.
Analyse the methods Charlotte Brontë uses to make the reader empathise with Jane Eyre in the opening chapters. Reflect on how the novel portrays Victorian ideology and relate your analysis to the novel’s literary content.
In the novel, Jane’s mood is, to a degree, determined by the weather mentioned. For example, after Jane was publicly and falsely accused of being a liar by Mr. Brocklehurst, an upcoming positive event was predicted when Jane described her surroundings, “Some heavy clouds swept from the sky by a rising wind, had left the moon bare; and her light streaming in through a window near, shone full both on us and on the approaching figure, which we at once recognize as Miss Temple” (62). Surely enough, Miss Temple invited the two girls to her room and treated them with cake and tea, which brought Jane comfort from the public humiliation. “We feasted that evening as on our nectar and ambrosia; and not the least delight of the entertainment was the smile of gratification of our hostess regarded us, as we satisfied our famished appetites on the delicate fare she liberally supplied” (65). Another example of this is Jane’s first morning at Thornfield. A positive mood was foreshadowed when Jane described the weather as such: “The chamber looked such a bright little place to me as the sun shone in between the gay blue chintz window and carpeted floor, so unlike the bare planks and strained plaster of Lowood, that my spirit rose at the view” (90). This not only foreshadowed the positive mood of Jane, but also the experience she would have in the near future living in Thornfield. She would soon discover her husband to be Mr. Rochester and appreciate her companies such as Mrs. Fairfax and Adele, who for the first time in her life treat her as an equal. All positive weather described in the novel foreshadowed either a positive mood or event, sometimes both. Bronte was consistent with this use of the weather.
Mr. Rochester pleaded Jane for forgiveness and that they should marry and forget about Bertha Mason and leave with him to France. Jane deceived him by leaving the Thornfield hall in the middle of the night without saying farewell to Mr. Rochester in person.
Jane is soon sent away to Lowood school. Lowood school has high walls and strict rules which holds the freedom of students. Lowood eats away at her body (inedible food, bad conditions), but Gateshead ate away at her soul (isolation).
Bronte uses symbolism through the use of colour to portray emotions and describe the setting. ' Burning with the light of a red jewel', this reflects the passion Jane and Rochester are constantly feeling. This is very effective because people have already associated different colours with different thoughts and meanings. Another example of this is, 'spread a solemn purple', this is used to describe the sunset
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.
Fire and Ice are the central motifs in Jane Eyre, which Bronte introduces to us to for the first time in this passage. Bronte expresses fire as an emblem of Jane's passion which is "alive, glancing, (and) devouring". Ice stiffens and restricts those it affects and throughout the novel is used in an effort to control this fire, and in this extract symbolises Mrs. Reed as she responds to Jane with coldness in an effort to control her. The result of these two opposites is an explosion of feelings, passion and power which allows the reader to see deeper into the character of Jane Eyre.
The setting plays a big part in the novel when the author uses foreshadowing. After Rochester proposes to Jane, the weather turns and the horse-chestnut tree, is split in half. "...the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away."
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. 3rd ed. New York: The Modern Library. Bronte, Charlotte. "
...she tells him of the Rivers family and, most notably, about St. John Rivers whom she refused to marry because of his lack of love or appreciation of her. Jane then marries Rochester realizing that he is who she wants. Jane has done a tremendous amount of soul searching while away from Thornfield and she now feels able to make the lifelong commitment of marriage as she has gained the moral, religious, and personal capabilities to differentiate between good and bad, right and wrong, in her many experiences throughout her life. Jane Eyre remains true to her own personal code of conduct throughout the novel. Her strength and courage can be an inspiration to readers no matter what the age, gender, or generation in which they live. The morals to which Jane adheres to are what make Jane Eyre a timeless classic to be enjoyed and learned by every individual.
her off to school. She tells him that he should "keep a strict eye on her,
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.
" We will see how "Jane Eyre" comments on all of these. Several natural themes run through the novel, one of which is the image of a stormy sea. After Jane saves Rochester's life, she gives us the following metaphor of their relationship: "Till morning dawned I was tossed on a buoyant but unquiet sea. . . I thought sometimes I saw beyond its wild waters a shore. . . now and then a freshening gale, wakened by hope, bore my spirit triumphantly towards the borne: but. . .