Family in Jane Eyre and Hamlet

On William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, after the assassination of his father, Hamlet thinks he is living in a world full of corruption and deceit, where everything is falling apart and everyone is against him. An imminent, exaggerated, and passionate love for his mother is his main feature. Although others argue that Hamlet’s obsession to murder Claudius is strictly to claim revenge for his father’s death, it is Hamlet’s obsessive desire to possess his mother in an unhealthy and, perhaps incestuous, relationship. Hamlet also appears jealous of Claudius, his father-uncle, jealous of him for having Gertrude and for owning the crown. He lives a love-hate relationship with his mother. He is full of anger towards her, but at the same time he

“. . .if others don’t love me, I would rather die than live -- I cannot bare to be solitary and hated, Helen. Look here; to gain some real affection from. . .whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken. . .’” (Brontë 82). Explanation: Jane Eyre, for all of her life prior to Lowood Academy, was disliked by her superiors and hated by those who should be considered her comrades. Finding comfort and love in Helen Burns, her first childhood friend, she confides her youthful desire to be loved. At such a young age, Jane desired even the most dilute of love, no matter the cost. Her immaturity hinders her happiness, causing her to feel as if she has been severely deprived of such fondness. Her tantrum not only leaves her friend stunned, but she learns a most valuable lesson in faith and doing what is most right with God that lasts with her throughout her journeys of woe and worry along Mr. Rochester’s side.

The novel in which Jane Eyre stars in can be seen criticizing many aspects of those times such as the role and nature of women, child negligence and social hardships for those in a lesser class. Jane Eyre’s alienation from society allows for a greater reveal of the story’s culture, values, and assumptions. It’s presented through the use of gender, class and character conflicts throughout the story. On multiple occasions, Jane is judged for the presented factors reflecting the type of society Jane lives in and what the times were like at that time.

Furthermore, this demeaning and negative attitude Jane is exposed to is further instigated when her cousin, John Reed, expresses her situation by saying: "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us". The truth of Jane's unfortunate situation is expressed against her which results in her feeling no true support from this family and confides only in her childhood nursemaid- Bessie, who although behaves inconsistently and has “a capricious and hasty temper”, is the closest mother figure to her. Furthermore, the friction between Jane and John is further emphasised when the first physical aspect of violence is introduced to the reader through a graphic portrayal, further showing the ultimate rejection Jane experienced

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).

Once again, Jane is unfairly judged and it appears to her that the new life she seeks is long gone. She’s labeled as the outcast, similar to the way she’s treated at Gateshead. (Moseley 3) Jane is stricken; however, Helen Burns assuages the pain. Jane’s friendship with Helen Burns plays a crucial role in controlling her zealous manner. Helen is the archetype of a pure-hearted, caring person with genuine intentions. Her ability to withstand unfair treatment while she maintains her composure provides a role model for Jane to look up to. It’s this persona that Jane desperately needs at this point in her life, especially following the humiliation by Mr. Brocklehurst concerning her fate at Lowood. She teaches Jane the importance of self-control and

Following this dramatic scene, there are many situations in which her individualism can again be sensed. During her stay at Lowood Jane is emotionally subdued and her personality is in many ways suppressed. It is not until after Miss Temple, the person that seemed to shine light on the school, leaves that Jane realizes the restrictions that she is under. It is at his point that she has the sudden urge to leave the confinements of the school, seek a job as a governess, and experience the “varied fields of hopes and fears,

The theme, family, in The Tragedy of Hamlet is major theme with lots of major points. This play is notorious for how it dwells on the issue of incest. In Shakespeare’s time, incest was a sin against God and the state. Queen Elizabeth I asked the Church of England to come up with a list of rules about marriage, basically a list of relatives who couldn’t marry, including in-laws. Also another focus is how politics can impact the dynamics of family. The values brought on by a parent are vital in developing a characters values and sense of purpose.

Hamlet..? We all know, and have heard of the great play, and book of the famous tragedy that was made by Shakespeare. Some debate to see the story as a good piece of art to something that teaches and also reveals some traits that people have. When we all think of hamlet I believe we think of a crazy time were a king was killed for a throne, and it just so happens to be the death of a king who had an insane family, but there is so much more to it then that. Hamlet is a bunch of things when I look at it. What I see is a time and place were the actions of people were expressed in a way that the world is not perfect. We see this royal family with deep family disfunction, distrust and mistrust within each other, and just straight up corruption. People need to understand that this play holds deadly truths and lies, but also a handful of passion, sadness, and the need of love. But sometimes love can come with piece.

In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the heroine is portrayed as a neglected individual who desperately wishes to learn the skill of escaping the imprisonment of the troubled mind. Literary critic Nina Baym claims that Jane’s goal is to assert her dominance rather than to gain independence. However, in several parts of the novel, Jane is vocal about her desire to make it on her own without the assistance of money, love, or affection. She would rather be freed of any restraints that may hold her hostage than dominate the life of another.

In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Jane is an orphan who is often mistreated by the family and other people who surround her. Faced with constant abuse from her aunt and her cousins, Jane at a young age questions the treatment she receives: "All John Reed’s violent tyrannies, all his sister’s proud indifference, all his mother’s aversion, all the servants’ partiality, turned up in my disturbed mind like a dark deposit in a turbid well. Why was I always suffering, always brow-beaten, always accused, forever condemned?" (27; ch. 2). Despite her early suffering, as the novel progresses Jane is cared for and surrounded by various women who act as a sort of "substitute mother" in the way they guide,

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is presented in the Victorian Period of England. It is a novel which tells the story of a child's maturation into adulthood. Jane's developing personality has been shaped by her rough childhood. She has been influenced by many people and experiences. As a woman of her time, Jane has had to deal with the strain of physical appearance. This has a great effect on her mental thinking and decision making. Jane Eyre's cognitive and physical attributes have been affected by her environment throughout her life.

Jane Eyre is a story of a quest to be loved. Jane searches, not just for romantic love, but also for a sense of being valued and belonging. However, this search is constantly hindered by her need for independence. She starts of as an unloved orphan who is desperate to find love and a purpose. For example, Jane says to Helen, “to gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest”. However, over the course of the novel, Jane learns to gain love without harming herself in the process. Although she is despised by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, she finds parental figures throughout the book. Miss Temple and Bessie care for Jane and give her love and guidance. However, Jane does not feel as though she has found

Her influence in Jane's adolescence and early adulthood teach her to have harmonious thoughts, and to give "allegiance to duty and order" (Gilbert 347). Here, Miss Temple teaches Jane to suppress her wild emotions and become compliant under the "superior" male, but still maintain an inward anger that can never be expressed. Jane, however, cannot conform to the lesson being taught to her; through Miss Temple, she learns that her journey into maturity and freedom requires her to be more independent and passionate than Miss Temple instructs. Miss Temple is not only like a mother figure to Jane, but she is also "encouraging of intellectual growth" (Rich 466). Temple's impact on Jane's education allows her to become stronger in character, which will eventually bring her to complete independence. Kathleen Tillotson finds in Miss Temple a sign of hope for Jane: "the warm fire and the cake from the cupboard in Miss Temple's room are assertions of individual loving-kindness, though also of it's limited power" (Tillotson 60) In spite of this, Tillotson writes that Jane at Thornfield is "submitting to virtue in lovable form, as she had once submitted to Miss Temple" (Tillotson 60). In other words, Tillotson argues that although Miss Temple may have positively influenced Jane in certain ways, ultimately her call for repression and submission instigates Jane's realization that she must discover her own place in life,

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre displays cases of physical and social restriction, along with instances of avant-garde emotional freedom in terms of Jane Eyre’s freedom of choice in leaving Mr Rochester and rejecting St John River’s proposal.