Jane Eyre And Depression Essay

Jane, through much of the first half of the novel, is put into circumstances where she feels she must fight for herself. The plights she faces are seen with the incessant description of cold, dark, and frigid settings. She being a child and a girl no less is expected to be timid, respectful, and to simply take everything without malice, but she cannot. Symbolizing Jane as fire, the author is telling us that to be idle is simply against her nature. Even Mr. Rochenchester takes note of it stating what a “fire-spirit” she can be. We know, due to this, that Jane will be breaking or at least challenging a few societal conventions of her time period which she does in the case of her feelings about gender roles, love, and class. Like fire she is lively and not easily controlled (in her case not controlled by the familial and societal expectations of her).

If we look at the world, through Jane's eyes we see that she is a

Women who had no claim to wealth or beauty received the harshest of realities in America’s Victorian era. Author Charlotte Bronte – from America’s Victorian era – examines and follows the life of a girl born into these conditions in her gothic novel Jane Eyre (of which the main character’s name

Throughout Jane Eyre, as Jane herself moves from one physical location to another, the settings in which she finds herself vary considerably. Bronte makes the most of this necessity by carefully arranging those settings to match the differing circumstances Jane finds herself in at each. As Jane grows older and her hopes and dreams change, the settings she finds herself in are perfectly attuned to her state of mind, but her circumstances are always defined by the walls, real and figurative, around her.

In chapter 11 when Jane first arrives at Thornfield She is unsure of her surroundings and the description of the thorn trees alludes to fairytales such as Sleeping Beauty and Briar Rose. This conveys Jane’s innocence and shows the reader how childlike Jane is at this stage of the novel in terms of emotional development. The theme of Jane’s limitations is also highlighted, and Jane’s focus on Mrs

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

Jane begins her life in isolation at Gateshead, abused and misunderstood by her Aunt Reed and cousins. She is constantly reminded of her worthlessness to them and the fact that they view her as a burden, and is literally

In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, the title character’s journey is full of challenges that shape her development. These are constructed of times spent as four main places; Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, and Ferndean. At Gateshead Jane is too quick-tempered but only to lose her lively spirit at Lowood. At Thornfield she become overly passionate and guided by her emotions but balance is achieved at Ferndean. Jane Eyre becomes as complete character as she learns to find the balance between the intellect and the passions. In doing so, she touches the life of Edward Rochester and in fulling herself helps Rochester humble himself and achieve a perfect balance by example.

Charlotte Brontë’s “Jane Eyre” is not the most uplifting book to read with its gothic perimeters and spurious medieval nature. But, Brontë does do a great job at creating and maintaining the underlining motifs that can be seen throughout the novel. These motifs then influence Jane’s character development, which is normally seen as a coming of age but her growth is not necessarily positive. In Eyre’s process of coming of age she shows signs of bitterness and insecurity, solicitous and submissiveness, and ill-found love. All of these traits can be seen through three of her most interesting pieces of art, art which acts as medium to her emotions.

The scene is described as a dark night, but with an open deep blue sky. She says on the way to her new house that the scenery is less romantic. The and repeated use of “lingered” and “paced” makes the reader think that Jane is bored in some way. Why would she be lingering around if she had some place to be? She even says few pages before that she is constantly restless. “It is vain to say human beings out to be satisfied with tranquility; they must have action;” She finds herself in a safe and accepting environment and she gets bored. Jane tends to get lost in her imagination. She always looks for somewhere to escape. It is strange, however, that while she gets caught up in her fantasies, she believes that it is the “little things” that bring her back to earth. No matter how far away her visions take her, she always decides to come back to her “bored”

Everyone at some point hopes that their life could be different. It isn't however, until a person begins to work towards achieving their dreams that anything happens. The same is true for Jane in Jane Eyre. At some points throughout her life, Jane hopes to explore the world, to escape her current situation, or to run back to the past. Jane's mental desire for change and her physical actions to achieve change drastically shapes her life.

While at Gateshead, Jane is trapped by her relationship to the Reeds, which is reflected in the environment around her. At the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane states that “there was no possibility of taking a walk that day” (Brontë 6). This beginning immediately puts Jane in her own bubble and exemplifies that she has no other form of positive interaction in her life. Initially, Jane is “[connected to] the natural environment, but also separate[d from it] with an unnatural boundary” (Fuller 152). Thus, this begins the recurring symbolism of how Victorian women were held back by gender roles in society. During her time at Gateshead, Jane is restrained by her

Throughout the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronté, Jane grows up a lot. When Jane was a young lady, she taught herself to be proper and virtuous. During her youth, Jane is often criticized by her aunt and made to feel miserable. She was never treated as part of the family and never recognized herself as such. She was very independent and self-reliant and her goal was to become a better person and more superior each and every day she spent at Gateshead. During her time here, we can see how she truly feels when, on page 22, she states: “…I cry because I am miserable,” and on page 37 when she states “...I hate to live here.” This adds to the evidence that she desired to live elsewhere and how she detached herself from her aunt and the relationships she endured at Gateshead.

At a young Jane observes that beauty and status warrant kindness and in society which translates to a woman being slightly freer to have desires. Prominent examples in her life at the time were Eliza and Georgiana Reed who were able to be horrible little girls but were still doted upon by the adults and expected to lead carefree happy lives. Because Jane so greatly differs from the two, being a poor orphaned dependent of the family, she is regarded without kindness and love for the majority of her time at Gateshead. Jane in childhood at Gateshead is reactive she regards herself prisoner to a life that been detailed to her by members of the Reed family. It is perceived that all she is allowed in life is misery because of her impoverished situation in society. As an impulsive child Jane wants nothing more than to rebel against all whom try to put her in “her place” instead of giving her the love and care a family should provide. It is only after Jane’s psyche and

A main character is crucial to any story being told. Through this main character we see ourselves in them, emphasize with them, and root for them. Luckily Jane Eyre is these things which make her a lovable protagonist. At the beginning of the novel she is only ten years old and going through many unfortunate situations. Thereupon she finds herself felling alone and isolated. Nonetheless as she reaches adulthood we see her become more graceful and strong because of the things she faced from her childhood. Jane is admittedly meek at time but also strong and confident in her own way. Often, she is described as not being extremely exotic or beautiful but rather simple in her looks. For she has pale white skin and brown hair and eyes. Yet many characters in the novel are drawn to Jane for the beauty she possesses inside herself. One of these characters is Mr. Rochester the mysterious owner of Thornfield mansion. His description in the novel is described as just being plain ugly. Perhaps it is not solely his appearance that make him unattractive but also his