Essays on Jane Eyre

The Victorian Period

The Victorian era indicates a certain ideology, a way of thinking and living, spiritual atmosphere, the complex moral and ethical principles and successful progressive development of society. The term "The Victorian Period" received the broadest interpretation. It was reduced to only the positive sides of Victorian culture, stable aesthetic and ethical standards, which are not present in today's society. The Victorian Period is associated with the long reign of Queen Victoria (1837- 1901), but it is very significant for the subsequent development of English history, culture, and literature. During this period England acquired the status of a great colonial ...

Introduction

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte has representations of trauma woven within its narrative. Hailed as a manifestation of Bronte’s life, almost an autobiographical work, Jane Eyre is a story of a young woman who’s dealing with the ghosts of the childhood while she endeavours to shape her life as an adult. Jane Eyre in the eponymous classic tries to negotiate through the different stages of her adult life on the basis of her impressions and learnings as a kid. Beneath her simple person lies a childhood and adolescence of isolation marked by bouts of traumatic experiences. She ...

Mary Stevenson Cassatt was a prominent American Impressionist and the first female to launch her own exhibit in the Paris Salon. In her time, there few women who managed to succeed in the field of art, especially for a colonial. She was educated by famous French masters such as Degas and spent most of her time copying the artworks of the previous masters. Cassatt first studied arts in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts between 1860 up to 1862. As a woman, her determination is quite remarkable as she managed to successfully persuade her parents to let her ...

Response Essay "Jane Eyre" – The Emerging Feminist Self

Primary to understanding first, the novel "Jane Eyre" and, second, following the eloquently expressed reading on the subject of the novel's protagonist is the dire need for having a fundamental understanding of the times the author lived. Understanding the limitations of every woman of that era who maintained a superficial no matter her social status, education, and sense of self, she remained almost invisible in the world run by men. This academic response to "A Dialogue of Self and Soul: Plain Jane's Progress" reading focuses on how the characterization of Jane forms the underpinnings of the fundamental angst experienced by women ...

English Literature

Introduction Charlotte Brontë, Edith Wharton, and Willa Cather created heroines who deal with issues of love and marriage. For the most part, men play a central part in all of their lives. The narratives are told from a variety of perspectives in the three novels. The endings differ substantively as well. Jane Eyre was first published in 1847 as a kind of autobiography. Jane is plain looking but filled with good sense and bravery. She triumphs over her cruel guardian and an inflexible social class order. When Jane becomes the governess in Edward Rochester’s house, she falls in love with ...

Throughout the novel Jane Eyre, the central character constantly grows in her understanding of misfortune and forgiveness. In the beginning, the young heroine suffers her fate but is unfalteringly vindictive towards those who are mean to her, like her aunt Reed, with little consideration of their fate. By the end, Jane offers forgiveness to her aunt in light of the patience exhibited by her childhood friend Helen Burns and her conversation with Rochester in the orchard. In Helen Burns, Jane experiences her first encounter with unquestioning understanding. Despite all the antagonism from her teacher and Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen ...

- Characterization: Characterization is defined as a literary device that the writer uses to highlight and explain step by step a character’s details in a story. - Flat character: A flat character in a work of fiction is a character with little development. The character does not change or undergo significant change as the story progresses. - Round Character: A round character is a term coined by E. M. Foster. It is opposite to a flat character, and is defined as a complex character that changes and is developed by the writer during the course of the story. - Stock Character: A stock ...

Gothic literature is often defined by a combination of romanticism and the macabre; conflating the feelings of darkness, isolation and ostentatiousness are part and parcel of what makes that genre so compelling. Female Gothic stories focus those elements particularly on the plight of women, who suffered through an especially systemic submission and oppression during the 18th and 19th centuries. Women in Female Gothic stories are often isolated, set apart from other people, and constantly have their desires, needs and fears downplayed or dismissed by their male counterparts. This leads to a tremendous level of anxiety and tension within them, as a direct ...

Alcott's Little Women and Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper" seem to express very different attitudes toward the expected role of women in the 19th century. Analyze what you think are the main differences and similarities. Nineteenth-century heroines in the literature realm were characterized by different and exact social desires, including conduct and qualities. Female leads exemplified the desires of society and were flawless illustrations of the perfect women. In Gilman's, The Yellow Wallpaper and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, the customary perspective of ladies is smashed and always supplanted by desires closer to those of the current period ...

Throughout the second half the 1800’s England was the most powerful country on Earth, undergoing rapid industrialization and experiencing tremendous social change. At the time, the “women’s question” was a societal conversation about the nature, identity and role of woman in society (Norton Anthology). With a growing middle class, and increased literacy rates, novels and periodicals became a popular medium which was often used to investigate and debate the "women's question" since “the fate meted to characters could reflect opinions of their behavior”(Waller). During the Victorian era, a woman’s fate and lifestyle were largely determined by their perceived social, ...

Jane Eyre is one of the most famous novels written by Charlotte Bronte. This novel is widely popular among all kinds of readers even today despite that it has been first published in 1847. The book has become especially popular among girls and young women because it illustrates the character of a strong woman who bravely faces the injustice and inequality of the world with a head held up and knows how to be a descent human being. Jane Eyre demonstrates the power of personality giving young ladies around the world a good example and an ideal of a woman to aspire (Peel 28). However, ...

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte shows the hierarchical class system prevalent in England in the 19th century. The strict class system during the 19th century required everyone to continue the circumscribed class positions. Through the character of Jane, Bronte tries to question this system. For instance, the novel raises the issue of whether a governess should be considered upper class due to her superior education or lower class due to her servant-like status in the family. Her journey through the established class structure results in her judgments based on the class stereotype. Part of her judgment arises because she cannot ...

There are various poems that any average literature student can study. Each poem, depending on the fundamental ideologies, and or past experiences of their authors, can be uniquely parallel from, or somewhat similar to each other. The objective of this paper is to discuss side by side Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Davis’ Life in the Iron Mills and compare the two based on the style of their writing and expression, and the themes and ideologies that were evident in their respective poetry-related work.

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre was the name of the fictional main character in Charlotte Bronte’s book ...

Jane Eyre is proto-feminist persona at a time when feminism was not a concept let alone a movement. In that era the thought that she and Rochester could enjoy a marriage based upon equality was a totally novel possibility. Jane is allowed to be strong, and so Rochester is freed to sometimes be weak. This inter-dependence is what allows them both a freedom of action and emotion ususlly denied by the society of that time. Jane has her freedom of choice because she earned it. She grew up as an the orphan, endured her cousins, the school, the epidemic, faced mortality when her friend died and ...

Introduction

If life is to be generally characterized in one word, then this word could indeed be the word ‘journey’. Life no matter the unique meaning each individual gives it, has always been considered as the journey of human existence in universe. The route of each journey, its destination, the places which are to be visited and its aim are all different according to the unique personality of each traveler. But one thing is for sure. Each individual once provided with this valuable, priceless gift knows that this gift is only given once so the journey had better worth it. ...

Gilbert, Sandra M. “Plain Jane’s Progress.”

Introduction:

Jane Eyre is probably one of the most famous women novels of all time with its wonderful story of trials, tribulations and finally eternal happiness found in redemption. Charlotte Bronte’ creates a character which has been immortalized in several films and other articles although there have been critiques of the story’s structure especially in authors such as Sandra Gilbert.

Gilbert argues that even the beginning of Jane Eyre is unlike other Victorian novels which normally begin with elaborate paragraphs. She simply begins with Jane’s musings on the possibility of taking a walk. ...

Charles Dickens is well known for his thematic books, especially David Copperfield and Oliver Twist, both of which revolve around the concept of ‘social class’ that existed in England in the early nineteenth century. Dickens uses the tragic experiences of his characters to evoke empathy from his readers. David Copperfield, in particular, reflects the plight of the people who belong to ‘lower social classes’. Throughout the story, it is seen that people who are economically well-off have the upper hand in society. Further, ‘It is right for the rich to suppress and reign over the poor’ is shown to ...

Throughout chapters 23-28 of “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, we are introduced to Jane’s thoughts on the concept of marriage. In chapter 23, Rochester and Jane confess their love to one another. Jane becomes rather nervous about their impending marriage, despite loving Rochester she fears that something will cause the wedding to be called off. She is unwilling to accept her happiness as reality. Jane’s dreams greatly contribute to her fears. She finds it difficult to distinguish reality from her dreams. In chapter 26, Jane and Rochester are set to be wed when the wedding is ...

Other Characters’ Influence on Jane Eyre’s Development

Charlotte Brontë’s book, Jane Eyre, follows the life of the title character as she grows up as an orphan, receives her education as a charity school, finds work with a wealthy family as a governess, and unexpectedly finds family and love. Throughout the stages of Jane’s life, many characters have a direct influence on her character and the decisions she makes. While almost everyone Jane meets has influence, three characters that make the most difference in Jane’s life are Mrs. Reed, Miss Temple, and Mr. Rochester. Mrs. Reed, Jane’s adopted mother and Mistress of Gateshead, has influence over ...

Today, when someone hears the name of Jane Eyre, a classic story of female emancipation and personal development, struggle against society-imposed norms and unjust gender segregation system in times when woman was treated as nothing but men’s addition and reason for his pride and showing-up are imagined. Indeed, the story of Jane Eyre is nothing new for the modern society, just as two centuries ago, there are places in the modern world, where women do not favor equal rights with men, where the main role of woman is to serve and obey to male malicious will and desire to ...

The novel Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847, tells the tale of a young, beautiful, driven woman who attempts to reconcile her high morals with her own desires and temptations. One of these struggles involves her religion; Jane is an extremely pious person who believes in God, but her own sense of self often conflicts with what she feels God wants from her. In this essay, the motif of religion will be explored, particularly through the interactions with religious and religiously-minded characters within the book. Throughout Jane Eyre, Jane is attempting to reconcile her desire for happiness ...

In Charlotte Bronte’s popular book Jane Eyre, the main theme of the story is finding personal space within the greater society. As her main character, Jane, progresses from childhood through to adulthood, she struggles between the Victorian society life she inhabits and her own inner inclinations. Within the strict social view, Jane, as a glorified servant and a woman, was expected to control all her impulses, emotions and passions, willingly relegating herself to her subservient position so as to avoid any embarrassing social confrontations such as in her confrontations with her cousin and her aunt.

As Jane grows through the ...