In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontё, Brontё defends the need for a woman to become independent and knowledgeable in a world that was not created for them; he also advocates a woman’s ability to do anything a man can do. Jane is a girl growing up in a world where a woman cannot truly become independent, she goes through many different experiences and meets people who she will grow to cherish. Jane also learns that the only way she can love someone is to love herself first. Jane had to grow up being told by everyone that she is “plain” and not as good and beautiful as her “siblings” at Gateshead who are ‘far more’ deserving of love, but in truth they are simply selfish brats. Wherever Jane turns to, there is always someone trying to assert the …show more content…
When she is shipped off to Lowood for a better education, she meets Helen Burns, a girl who is unlike anyone else she has met at Lowood. Helen teaches Jane that even with your worst enemy despising you, you must show them love and kindness, and you must not succumb to the desire to treat them the how they treat you, because that would only lower you to their level. Although Helen is only in Jane’s life for a short time, she transforms Jane’s heart from childish to kind. When Jane leaves Lowood to work at Thornfield Hall, she meets a rather intriguing man, Edward Rochester. At first, Jane is cold and businesslike towards the inhabitants of Thornfield, with time and love she grows accustomed to the people and she begins to care for them. On the day of her wedding to Mr. Rochester, Jane is uneasy, almost as if she perceives that something will go wrong, she is not like most brides on their special day. With discovering the fact that Mr. Rochester is already married, Jane feels like she never had a right to be happy and she begins to believe that the wedding between Mr. Rochester
The Victorian Era encompassed a time of great discrepancy between the sexes, especially for women. The polarization of gender roles reflected on a basis of gender sexuality where men and women were granted certain advantages and disadvantages. Women were expected to realize a specific position in society based on morals of submission, passivity, and a complete lack of selfishness and independence. Constrictive notions such as these prevent individual expression and expansion. Therefore, while struggling to fill the pre-conceived expectancies of society, one forces true desires and happiness to pass as a scant priority. Charlotte Brontë's Victorian novel, Jane Eyre, explores the significance of individual fulfillment in an oppressive
Jane leaves Lowood for Thornfield, she is both older and wiser but she still is unfulfilled. Pursuing a new position as a governess, Jane hopes her new life will make her whole. At first she is bored by her work. Then Rochester totally transforms
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.
So, Rochester showed the brother (Richard), the priest, and Jane his wife. He explained how Bertha had lit his bed on fire, stabbed Richard, and destroyed Jane’s wedding veil's; she was more a monster than a wife. Heartbroken by learning of this marriage, Jane fled to her room where she stayed for hours upon hours. "Jane Eyre, who had been an ardent expectant woman - almost a bride - was a cold, solitary girl again: her life was pale; her prospects were desolate (341)." When she finally emerged, Rochester tried to convince her to stay with him. “I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are my sympathy–my better self–my good angel–I am bound to you with a strong attachment (363).” This was not something she could not do; as Rochester said, "...[It would] strip you of honour and rob you of self-respect (346)..." The next morning, Jane left Thornfield Hall with some money and few possessions. She did not say goodbye to
In the novel by Charlotte Bronte, "Jane Eyre", there is a constant battle of love versus autonomy in Jane, the main character. At points Jane feels as if she would give anything to be loved. Yet over the course of the book Jane needs to learn how to gain affection of others without sacrificing something in return.
“You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love and kindness; but I cannot live so: and you have no pity. I shall remember how you thrust me back – roughly and violently thrust me back.” (Bronte 44). In Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane was oppressed and ridiculed at a young age. She used strength and encounters drawn from her youth, spent at Gateshead and Lowood, to prepare her for her future. Jane Eyre’s experiences as a child influenced and shaped her actions, decisions, and character as a young adult.
From the moment Jane Eyre was a young child, the only person she could depend upon was herself. The ones who meant the most to her had perished; her mom, dad, and Helen all passed away when she was young. With no real family, Jane had no option but to depend upon herself for support. Rohmah, who wrote “A Speech Act Analysis of Jane Eyre”, states, “The directives in Jane's speeches illustrate her willingness to be independent and not to be mastered by others.” Bronte created a character who wanted to be freed from the oppression of others since she was a child (Bell). From the moment she left Gateshead, she had been on her own. The ride from Gateshead to Lowood was the start of her independence. Jane was now responsible for herself. Even though she was sent to an orphanage, there was not much caretaking done there. From then on, the only person that she could put her trust in was herself. She felt the pain of rejection far too long in her younger years to just put her trust in anyone who came along (Bell). In chapter twenty-seven, Jane says, “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Bronte). This was a moment where Jane was truly struggling with the idea of marrying Rochester. Even in her weakest moments, she was able to remind herself how she had gotten this far in her life. Bell, the author of “Jane Eyre: The Tale of the Governess”, states, “She is threateningly intelligent, forthright to the point of bluntness, submitting herself mentally to no one, not even when she finally does improbably win a man's love.” When she does marry Rochester, it is not because she needs him to survive. It is because she simply wants to marry him. She left him and became truly independent. She found a new job and was able to provide for herself. In chapter thirty-seven before she took his hand in marriage, she
Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a
When Mr. Rochester decided to tell Jane he was married to Bertha, it has changed Jane’s views about him. “"That is my wife," said he. "Such is the sole conjugal embrace I am ever to know—such are the endearments which are to solace my leisure hours!” (Bronte 303). After revealing his marriage Jane did not want to stay with him anymore. She did not want to continue the wedding, instead of running away. She could not handle how he would keep a secret so valid away from her, and that he says he loves her. "But, Jane, I summon you as my wife: it is you only I intend to marry." I was silent: I thought he mocked me.” (Bronte 320). It was distressing to find out he betrayed her with a secret that changed everything in their relationship, and that will be hard to solve and to be forgiven.
The second time Jane met Mr.Rochester is when he invited her and Adele for tea. As time went on you can tell that Mr.Rochester started having feelings for Jane. Later on in the book Jane’s aunt becomes sick so she goes back home to see her. When Jane comes back to Thornfield she finds out that Mr.Rochester and Blanche Ingram are suppose to be getting married. Jane sees Mr.Rochester in the garden and he tells her he loves her then kisses her. He also asks her to marry him and she says yes. One night while Mr.Rochester is away Jane wakes up and sees Antoinette trying on her veil then she rips it apart. When Mr.Rochester comes back Jane tries to tell him but he tells her it was probably dream. On the wedding day as their getting married the wedding is interrupted and the truth comes out. Jane finds out everything about Antoinette and Mr.Rochester takes Jane to see her. She learns just how crazy Antoinette is and that she is “ Grace Pole” Jane ends up running away but she comes back at the end of the book because she thinks she hears Mr.Rochester calling her name. When she gets to Thornfield she can see it's burnt down. She finds out Antoinette burnt the house down and killed
When Jane met Helen, she did not know their differences would make them friends. Jane, not knowing her parents and her uncle Reed dying, leaves her with her aunt and cousins who make her a victim of emotional and physical abuse. Helen however, being an orphan never really knew her family and stays at Lowood so that she can have an education. With both girls having a different view on the doctrine of suffering Jane has a mindset of "Why take the abuse and suffer it? Fight back." which comes from her childhood. Helen has learned from being at Lowood that it is best to endure the suffering and forgive those who hurt you. Jane rejects to live in the real world at first, then starts doubting her thoughts and thinking if she's
She grows in prestige after running away from Thornfield and refusing to recontact Mr. Rochester. Through the hardship she faces, Jane is tested to either stay with Mr. Rochester while keeping a second wife, or to defy persecution and leave Thornfield and her new, beloved friends. By leaving Mr. Rochester, Jane shows that she does not “buckle under ill treatment” and proves her worth as an individual
Within the novel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontё, Jane reckons with two driving forces when faced with problems during her journey from Gateshead back to Thornfield Hall: inclination and obligation. These feelings often bash heads and force Jane to make defining decisions that shape her as a person. The ample struggle between the ideas of what is expected and what is truly wanted illuminates the underlying feminist plea that Brontё is making for women of her era: to let desire drive action rather than expectation. Jane’s quarrel with the ideas of inclination and obligation gives way to the underlying notion that women of the time period were also struggling with the same two forces; however, Brontё’s ample use of Eyre’s ability to follow
During the Victorian Era, the Ideal woman’s life revolved around her family and the home. Middle class women were brought up to be “pure, innocent, tender, and obedient” to meet the typical Victorian society standards. However, in the novel “Jane Eyre” written by Charlotte Bronte, Jane the protagonist portrays herself as an independent individual, but desires love and the company of others. She struggles in obtaining this combination.
As an artifact of the Victorian Era, Charlotte Brontё’s, Jane Eyre, is seemingly scandalous. The novel initiates the conversation as to if women can achieve longstanding success in regards to their desires through the act of questioning authority despite societal standards. Using Jane as the female protagonist, Brontё delves into how women are wholly capable of championing autonomy and fulfilling female passion if they maintain a certain level of self-respect, courage, and humility.