The Development of the Gothic Heroine
Although it is not uncommon for a protagonist to grow throughout the course of a novel, for them to develop to the degree where they wholly realize their potential, and then utilize it, is another thing all together. This type of development, while atypical, is often found within the heroines of gothic fiction, particularly the heroines of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights by Charlotte and Emily Brontë respectively. While gothic fiction is typically remembered for combining the horror and romantic genres, it also contains some of the strongest heroines of 19th century literature. Much of the development done by gothic heroines can be traced into one generalized pattern. The heroine of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre and Cathy Linton, are no exception to this trend. In order for Jane and Cathy to wholly realize their potential and achieve a happy ending, they must first utilize their abilities to overcome great hardships.
To begin their journey towards complete development, the gothic heroines must first realize where their strengths lie. In the case of both Jane Eyre and Cathy Linton, their strengths lie in their compassion for others and their courage in the face of adversity. An example of Jane’s compassion can be found when she returns to the disabled Rochester and pledges to stay with him despite his disability. When asked by Rochester if she “‘will marry [him]? […] A crippled man […] who [she] will have to wait on?’ (453)” Jane replies with, “‘Yes sir’” (C. Brontë 453). Similarly, Cathy finds it within herself to forgive her abuser, Heathcliff, despite all the terrors he has evoked on her. She tells him, “Mr. Heathcliff, you’re a cruel man but you’re not a fiend. ...
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...ifetime of bliss. By tracing this development, perhaps modern day heroines can learn to utilize their own inner strengths, overcome great hardships, and gain a new perspective. Through the study of gothic fiction, aspiring novelists can learn how to create a character arc for their female characters which revolves around her own agency as opposed to the acquirement of a significant other. In addition to aspiring writers learning how to create female characters with more agency, the readers can also benefit by taking the lessons learnt by these heroines and apply it to their own lives. Many modern day women are told to put themselves last. Perhaps through reading stories about women who dared to go against the norm, modern women can learn the importance of putting themselves first. By doing so, perhaps we can prove that happy endings exist outside of fiction.
Many women characters appear in fiction who have been damaged by or disintegrate under the stresses of life. Just as in life, however, many fictional characters survive, adapt, and triumph; these characters may never be recognized within a larger world, but they are vitally important to other characters and are the objects of deep love and respect. Creating this woman in fiction can often be difficult, because the writer must present a whole character, not one trivialized by sentimentality or stereotyped by convention. Willa Cather in My Antonia and O.E. Rolvaag in Giants in the Earth have developed such characters.
Jane Eyre has been acclaimed as one of the best gothic novels in the Victorian Era. With Bronte’s ability to make the pages come alive with mystery, tension, excitement, and a variety of other emotions. Readers are left with rich insight into the life of a strong female lead, Jane, who is obedient, impatient, and passionate as a child, but because of the emotional and physical abuse she endures, becomes brave, patient, and forgiving as an adult. She is a complex character overall but it is only because of the emotional and physical abuse she went through as a child that allowed her to become a dynamic character.
In today’s literature there are many types of genres that people find fascinating, all the way from fantasy to non-fiction. A very interesting genre is Gothic Fiction, where many elements are used to such as violence, ghosts, monsters and many other dark and mystical elements that make up Gothic Fiction. There are many great authors who are well known for their dark gothic style such as Edgar Poe, who has written the short story “Fall of the House of Usher” and the “Black Cat,” or Horacio Quiroga who has written “Feather Pillow” and a more recent author, Ransom Riggs who has written Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children. These three author’s stories all have gothic elements, such as psychological issues, death and fear that parallel one other which shows a common trend between gothic literatures.
One of the corner stones in gothic literature is the characterization of female characters as weak and submissive. This notion can be tracked all the way back to 1764, when Horace Walpole wrote what many assume to be the first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. When the sickly Conrad dies, his sister Matilda expresses her apprehension to her attendant Bianca over the increased scorn of Manfred. “No, Bianca; his heart was ever the stranger to me – but he is my father, and I must not complain,” (Pg. 37). Matilda understands what her role in the household is and accepts it, despite of Manfred’s increased scorn. Matilda, as well as the other female characters, exhibits no negative or evil traits or thoughts yet are treated with nothing but contempt. They are submissive for no real reason beside from that was how men expected women to be in the time of the novel. The purpose of this essay is to show that if the reader does not understand the feature of the
The side of romance that warms many hearts and sells even more movie tickets is of glamour and charm. Like the romances portrayed in the movies, Cathy and Heathcliff’s love is boundless and impregnable, proving to be stronger than a single strand of spider silk. Although many threaten to cut the strand, including Edgar Linton, it is invincible. No one can interfere, especially Edgar, because in both Catherine and Heathcliff’s mind, they love each other more than anyone could ever imagine: “If he [Edgar] loved with all the power of his puny being, he couldn’t love as much in eighty years as I [Heathcliff] could in a day” (141). Since children, Catherine and Heathcliff have this strong relationship that fulfills the picturesque love of two souls intertwined. Even through the worst of times, the love of Catherine and Heathcliff can endure and sync themselves to feel each other’s happiness, pain, and sorro...
In conclusion, the three women end up with different fates, they all face similar conditions within their lives. Each woman deals with their circumstances differently and it impacts not only their lives but also the men’s lives that they interact with throughout the story. Both authors highlight the key issues surrounded by the lack of power that women have, isolation, and mental health illness within the Victorian time period through their characters and enlighten the reader to the similarities and differences between the themes that Brontë and Gilman both address.
on the aid of Hell itself, and to find things familiar in the world of
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a novel about a woman, Jane, moving from place to place on a path to find her own feeling of independence. Throughout her journey, Jane encounters many obstacles to her intelligence. Male dominance proves to be the biggest obstruction at each stop of Jane's journey. As Jane progressed through the novel her emotional growth was primarily supported by the people and the places she was around. This examination will look for textual support from different sections of Jane Eyre to review how Jane had grown emotionally and intellectually as she moved from location to location, as well as looking at critical analysis from Bronte critics as to how each location plays a role in Jane’s progression.
Although written during both the Victorian and Gothic time period, Jane Eyre draws upon many revolutionary influences that ultimately enabled it to become one of the most successful books of all time. Jane Eyre is merely a hybrid of a Victorian and Gothic novel, infusing a share of dark allusions with overzealous romanticism. The primitive cultures of the Victorian period reflect high ethical standards, an extreme respect for family life, and devotional qualities to God, all in which the novel portrays. Yet, to merely label Jane Eyre as a Victorian novel would be misleading. While the characteristics of a Gothic no...
Jane wrote her heroines to be realistic, average, everyday people to appeal to the modern day world. Her protagonists were most always “strong and firm in their determinations.” Instead of seeing heroes as unrealistic images portrayed in Gothic novels, she made a hero that wasn’t necessarily obvious. This appealed to most everyone in the century and no longer portrayed women as shallow, but as deep, strong characters that have emotions and needs just like everyone else (Christine 2012, Writer
Women in the 18th and 19th century were expected to follow the orders of the males in their lives. They were forced into arranged marriages to connect families in a pursuit for social power and they were expected to abide by anything the males in their lives asked of them. Free will was nonexistent. Much gothic literature effectively highlights the women’s expected role of the time. However, another aspect that seems to surface in gothic literature is whenever there is a woman who is not following the social norms, they seem to be the driving conflict behind the plotline and ultimately lead to any present happy ending.
Young Cathy’s love for Hareton is a redemptive force. It is her love that brings an end to the reign of Heathcliff. Heathcliff and Catherine have loved each other since their childhood. Initially, Catherine scorned the little gypsy boy; she showed her distaste by “spitting” at him (Brontë 27). However, it was not long before Heathcliff and Catherine became “very think” (Brontë 27).
Setting his work in the Middle Ages in a remote castle with horror and fantastic elements, Horace Walpole popularized the Gothic Romance genre with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. He was the vanguard in bring thrills to readers with ancient prophecies, mysterious deaths, specters and supernatural events in his novel. However, the Gothic genre reaches a climax in Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights (1847), which is marked by its intensity of emotions and artistic subtlety. Wuthering Heights is an exquisite blend of realism and romance that makes it a classic love story that haunts us till today. In this paper, I will argue that social problems of class and economics pull Heathcliff and Catherine apart, and the Gothic Romance genre affects Wuthering Heights by adding Gothic elements of an extreme weather and landscape, supernatural events and death in her novel to create a dark and mysterious atmosphere appropriate for a revenge plot with heightened emotions.
The Gothic Features of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte A Gothic novel is a type of literature, which became very popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. At this time, the snares are a lot more. society was governed by strict moral codes. The "Gothics" would escape. into a world of dark, supernatural, and wild passions. The word Gothic meant barbarous and wild and many writers liked to involve these elements in their novels.
Emily Brontë’s novel, Wuthering Heights, demonstrates a social criticism on women’s power to control their own fate and the ideal women in the nineteenth century. Specifically in Lyn Pykett’s, Changing the Names: The Two Catherines, a strong feminist perspective is explored. In her criticism she goes through many different analyses of Catherine Earnshaw-Linton and her daughter Cathy and what they represent in regard to a women’s power and social expectations in the nineteenth century. Pykett says that the two Catherines represent women’s true nature according to Brontë. Catherine Earnshaw-Linton is faced with the choice between two men but chooses based on what is accepted in her society, the man that can provide her economically, not the man whom she loves. This marriage to Edgar instead of Heathcliff is the source of Catherine’s problems and ultimately her demise. It causes one to question whether it is right to marry for the social aspect or for true love. Young Cathy seems to face the problem her mother has as well but she finds a way to be true to her nature and fight the tyrann...