Dichotomy In Jane Eyre

“Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, or creed.

This is suggested by Rochester himself as he offers a comparison of the two females, contrasting his ‘wife’, whom he refers to as a ‘fierce ragout’, with what he ‘wished to have … as a change’ (361) in Jane’s somewhat tempered manner. However, Gilbert and Gubar raise similarities between the two women, arguing that Bertha ‘also acts like Jane’ (361); particularly Bertha’s ’incendiary tendencies’ (362) which echo young Jane’s ‘early flaming rages… emblematic of her mind in its rebellion against society’ (362). Furthering the manifestation of such passion is the portrayal of Bertha as ‘a big woman, in stature equalling her husband’ (359); ultimately a physical metaphor for what Jane aspires to be – an equal to Rochester, and an equal in society.

Charlotte Bronte plays with gender archetypes in shaping the relationship that lies at the heart of her novel. Both Jane and Rochester possess unconscious qualities that are both feminine and masculine which result in a syzygy, or a wholeness of the unconscious. They are two fragmented selves who complete one another. By fusing these two elements, the masculine(animus) in Jane and the feminine (anima) in Rochester, Bronte shows us a new intimacy. In Jane Eyre, she has created a romance that transcends the ordinary and becomes mythic.

Throughout Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre is afflicted with the feud between her moral values, and the way society perceives these notions. Jane ultimately obtains her happy ending, and Brontë’s shrewd denouement of St. John’s fate juxtaposes Jane’s blissful future with St. John’s tragic course of action. When Jane ends up at the Moor House, she is able to discover a nexus of love and family, and by doing so, she no longer feels fettered to Rochester. Moreover, Rochester is no longer Jane’s only form of psychological escape, and thus Jane is in a position to return to him without an aura of discontent. At the end of the novel, Jane is finally able to be irrevocably “blest beyond what language can express” (Brontë 459) because she is “absolutely bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh” (459).

Charlotte Brontë’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 emphases men’s domination and perceived superiority over women. Jane Eyre is a reflection of Brontë’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 Brontë’s Jane Eyre is a clear depiction of the subjugation of women by men in nineteenth-century

Trapped, alone, unloved, and rejected; nobody talks about the girl in the attic. In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, ‘Madness’ as a condition of the sexist view of women in the Victorian Era relates to how Mr. Rochester describes Bertha’s ‘insanity’, Bertha and the wedding veil, and Bertha committing suicide. The way Mr. Rochester describes Bertha makes her look insane. Bertha wishes for a normal life, which is seen when she is dwelling on the past trying on Jane’s wedding veil. Bertha felt trapped and alone in the world due to the isolation of Mr. Rochester and that is truly seen when she takes her own life. With this in mind, it is first important to examine Mr. Rochester’s description of Bertha Mason, because it is the first impression he gives

Power dynamics in Brontë’s Jane Eyre have been examined in a multitude of ways, including the centralisation of slaves and masters (Zonana), and Dupras’ reading of the importance of economic status and depravity. However, this critical response will focus on how the ultimate form of power, and therefore the formation of power dynamics, stems from Jane’s position as an unreliable, biased narrator. The extract from chapter twenty-seven, wherein Rochester tells Jane about Bertha’s voyage and confinement to Thornfield, ultimately displays how Jane as the narrator challenges the influence of masculinity, and how power structures are superimposed by female narrative voice. Similarly, how Jane’s voice furthers power imbalances between her and Bertha, as well as how she holds power over the reader’s impressions of these characters.

Jane is taught at a young age to look down on people not of her caste, and to oppress them the same way that she herself is oppressed as a female orphan. Though Jane is not influenced directly by social status at all times, it is still a constant factor which Brontë makes evident. In Victorian England, a female must either be born or married into her social class, and this is what defines her. The character of Jane served to undercut the popular female stereotypes of fiction: the angel of the house, the invalid, or the whore (Brackett, 2000). Brontë creates Jane as her own force, in which she is neither the angel, invalid or whore, but a young lady who is intelligent and has pride and dignity. In this Victorian society, her unsubmissiveness and independence is her social fault, which Brontë pokes fun at (Brackett, 2000). Male Victorian writers cast women during this time as social, finagling creatures whose goals are to obtain as many friends as possible and throw the most elaborate parties. Brontë opposes this by creating Jane as an opposite of these “defining” characteristics, by making Jane a female who could are less about how many people adore her, a female who would actually enjoy a life with few companions. As mentioned before, Jane’s sense of dignity is evident. As Jane became Rochester’s governess, she is faced with the

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, has not only been interpreted as a novel advocating Victorian conventional norms, but one that exercises the fiery act of female rebellion against hypocritical, patriarchal oppression. With reference to the quotation provided, along with additional extracts from the text, the angelic representation of Jane Eyre along with the demonic demonstration of Bertha Rochester, informed by the angel demon dichotomy, is not only significant in terms of the language and imagery used to portray the female binary, but the source from which the representation is derived, particularly Mr Rochester and Jane herself. Themes concerning the challenging of patriarchal oppression for the purpose of achieving female individualism, places the absolutism of the Victorian angel demon dichotomy under threat. Central to the attainment of self-identification, is the ability to have a voice, of which Bertha has none, emphasising a rupture within the sustainability of the feminist narrative, from a postcolonial perspective.

Bertha’s presence acts as an obstacle for Rochester and Jane’s marriage, and therefore a hindrance to Jane’s quest for emotional fulfillment. Brontë achieves an obstructive characterization of Bertha by using animal imagery to describe her throughout the novel. In fact, one of the very first descriptions of Bertha reveals she has a “savage face” with “lips swelled and dark” and “bloodshot eyes” who

In the course of a week, I have become deeply emotinally invested in a character who is both unfathomable and great, a wrongdoer and a hero. Complexity of a character results in a deep emotinal bond between the reader and the fiction, the flaws make them mortals on our level, while their crippling misdeeds would make one abhor themif one was to only know their outer shell- their seemingly evil exteriors. But, for the most part, the relation of one mortal soul to another investts deep loyalty, devotion even to those who exist only on ink and page.

Jane Eyre is a novel written by Charlotte Brontë. It is distinctly a female Bildungsroman, as it follows the progress and growth of Jane’s character on her quest for selfhood and independence in a society that tries its best to impress upon her the roles and expectations of women in the Victorian era (which is neatly packaged in the figure of the ‘Angel-in-the-house’.) This is something with which this essay seeks to engage by looking at female figures which feature prominently in Jane’s life, how those who embrace the figure of ‘Angel-in-the-house’ are treated and viewed, versus those who do not. Furthermore, important male figures will also be looked at in order to understand Jane’s own feelings to the ‘Angel-in-the-house’ figure and how she approaches it, as well as how the Byronic hero might relate – if it even does.

Jane Eyre is a classic novel written by Charlotte Bronte. It was published on October 16, 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell. This book is said to be an autobiography of Charlotte Bronte's life, even though it was not published as an autobiography. Jane Eyre was considered a controversial book, but it was also considered revolutionary, as well as interesting.

Besides Rochester’s infatuation we see other references to Jane as a supernatural creature. In the Red Room when she passes the looking glass we see her comment on the “strange little figure there gazing at me, with a white face and arms specking the gloom, and glittering eyes of fear moving where all else was still...”. This seems to be a subconscious understanding in young Jane that she is not the same as those around her and indeed as an orphan with no money this is certainly the case. The “Vampyre” Bertha and the “Spirit” Jane are two heads of the same coin and Bronte uses fantasy and fairytale to show this to us. Furthermore this connection could be interpreted as subtle foreshadowing for the emergence of Bertha that may only be caught on a second read. A less subtle form of foreshadowing is seen at the moment Rochester proposes to Jane. The lightening storm that lasts for two hours is ominous and the difficulties the couple run into seems to be foretold by the Horse Chestnut in the orchard which half of “split

The main character in the book was Jane Eyre. She was a young British orphan girl, her father was a poor vicar, when he married her mother, Jane Reed of Gateshead, the Reed family were so angry that they disinherited her. Her parents died of an illness only a year after their wedding. After that, her uncle Mr. Reed took Jean to take care of her. Time fly by and her uncle Mr. Reed died, made his wife (aunt Reed) promise to take care after Jean like her own child. In the main time Jane was only 10 years old. Well, her aunt regrets her promise, she and her children’s didn’t treat Jane well, Jane was emotionally and physically abused by them. Her aunt was so mean to her and her cousin John who was only 14 years old was her worst fear and she felt so scared and miserable and lonely when he came close to her.