Essay about 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.

     Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is a coming-of-age story about an unconventional woman's development within a society of strict rules and expectations. At pivotal moments in Jane's life, she makes choices which are influenced by her emotions and/or her reason. Through the results of those choices, Jane learns to balance passion and practicality to achieve true happiness.

Jane Eyre's literary success of the time has been cheaply commercialized. In other words, Bronte's novel never got the appreciation it deserved, in the areas it deserved. Many 19th century critics merely assigned literary themes to their reviews to "get it over with". Critics commended Jane Eyre for everything from its themes to its form. However, their surface examinations amount to nothing without careful consideration of the deeper underlying background in Jane's life where their hasty principles originate. The widely discussed free will of Jane's, her strong individuality, and independence are segments of a greater scheme, her life. For example: Jane's childhood serves as the

Through a close reading of the selected passage of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: An Autobiography, a reader can see that Jane attempts to separate herself from her decisions by personifying her emotions and giving them a specific voice, which strongly reflects the societal views of the time. At this point in the story, Jane has discovered, on her wedding day, that Mr. Rochester is still married to a woman named Bertha, and that woman still lives in his house. Distraught, Jane locks herself in her room and tries to decide what she should do. When she wakes up the next day, she is again confronted with what she needs to do in the wake of her discovery.

The conclusion focuses on St. John’s odyssey to India, and how the travails of the mission practically destroy his life. While the novel has emphasized the effects of love and ethics, it ends with the line “Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus!” (461). An objective of this could be to contrast the adamantine will and religious viewpoint of St. John, with the versatile beliefs that Jane harbors at the end of the novel. Throughout her life, Jane has difficulty unveiling religion for herself. Ending with St. John’s utterance of heaven tethers together the heaven that Jane has found in her love for Rochester, with the unyielding affinity for religion that St. John possesses.

How can a girl, who started out with nothing, blossom into a well educated, generous, blissful woman? Well, in Jane Eyre, the main character overcomes all obstacles thrown at her and makes a great life for herself. From a miserable, orphaned young girl to a happily married, well educated woman, Jane Eyre transforms immensely throughout the novel. Through her many experiences in essential locations, she grows significantly at Gateshead, Lowood School, Thornfield, Marsh End, and Ferndean.

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.

In the critical essay, “Almost my hope of heaven’: idolatry and messianic symbolism in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre,” Joshua analyzes the theme of idolatry and messianic symbolism in Jane Eyre. Joshua believes that Jane Eyre is a novel that revolves wholly on religion. He argues that, “one of the novel's purpose...is to show that human relationships are successful only if the partners in the relationship avoid the dangers of idolizing each other” (Joshua). I strongly agree with his opinion. One main reason Jane denies Rochester’s proposal is because she does not want to be inferior to him. When Rochester and Jane argue over whether or not Jane is going to let him order her around she says “‘I like to serve you, sir, and to obey you in all that is right’” (Bronte 250). From the beginning, Jane sees Rochester as a sort of messiah. Due to this, she refuses to marry him for she believes they will never truly be equals. However, as the novel progresses, Jane goes through internal developments that enable her to realize that her and Rochester can be equals. She realizes her self-worth and finds a balance between her principles and feelings. In one of the final passages of the novel, Jane says that her and Rochester have been married for ten years and she is “[her] husband’s life as fully as he is [hers]” (Bronte PAGE NUMBER). Here, we can see the Jane and Rochester are equals. This supports Joshua’s claim, for their relationship is only successful because of their equality. Rochester is no longer Janes “master” and she still remains her own-self.

At Gateshead Jane Eyre grew up with her malicious cousins and Aunt. This fictitious location is placed in a part of England north to London. The name Gateshead has significant meaning in the book. This location was the “gateway” to the rest of the world. Also, this is where Jane grew up, so evidentially it was the “head” or beginning of all her tribulations in life. Throughout the rest of the book, all that Jane has to deal with is linked back to her childhood there at Gateshead. Abused verbally and physically by her Aunt and cousins, Jane felt an outsider among her kinsmen. She was ostracized by Aunt Reed from the rest of the family. At one point when her Aunt became extremely oppressive, she locked adolescent Jane into the dreaded

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.

The first passage is from when Jane Eyre is locked in the attic room by force by Abbot and Bessie. Despite her just being punished, along with her earlier treatments, young Jane sees this room as a “jail.” She feels trapped. Unable to express herself in the ways that she sees fit without being tormented by John, or scorned by Mrs. Reed, Jane is forced to accept and take the abuse. When she passes the mirror, she sees a tiny white figure. “All looked colder and darker” to her “than in reality.” She was looking at herself. It is a case of Jane’s internal feelings reflecting on her external appearance and situation. Jane wants to break free and express herself, but feels restrained by her body and her restrictions. The “glittering eyes” that she describes represent her will to be free. It shows a shimmering of hope that she holds on to. The description of “moving while all else was still” also shows how Jane is the only one in the house that is capable of this type of expression. Everything else in comparison to her

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.

Parallel to many of the great feministic novels throughout literary history, Jane Eyre is a story about the quest for authentic love. However, Jane Eyre is unique and separate from other romantic pieces, in that it is also about a woman searching for a sense of self-worth through achieving a degree of independence. Orphaned and dismissed at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle that was characterized by a form of oppressive servitude of which she had no autonomy. She was busy spending much of her adolescent years locked in chains, both imaginary and real, as well as catering to the needs of her peers. Jane was never being able to enjoy the pleasures and joys that an ordinary and independent child values. Jane struggles

The major criticisms of the novel in question to be the melodrama used by the author and the wickedness of character shown in Jane and Mr. Rochester. While most critics admired the style of writing and truth of character portrayal, they did not admire the improbability of circumstances or the characters portrayed.

A feminist is a person whose beliefs and behavior are based on feminism (belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes). Jane Eyre is clearly a critique of assumptions about both gender and social class. It contains a strong feminist stance; it speaks to deep, timeless human urges and fears, using the principles of literature to chart the mind?s recesses. Thus, Jane Eyre is an epitome of femininity - a young independent individual steadfast in her morals and has strong Christian virtues, dominant, assertive and principled. That itself is no small feat.