..."A book for and about the neglected and the neglectful". Explore the methods which writers use to present the idea of neglect in light of this statement. 'Neglect' is defined as 'the state of being uncared for' and within Jane Eyre, neglect is a constant theme. This is evident in the way Jane is neglected from childhood, and how this has a knock-on effect on the way she behaves throughout the rest of her life. Other minor characters such as: Adela Varens, Mrs Fairfax and Bertha are victims of neglect. Through language, structure and the form of the novel Bronte creates an air of isolation. This in turn emphasises, primarily, Jane's neglect. The main way in which this is explored throughout Jane Eyre is how the main protagonist finds herself in states of constant isolation in every main stage of her life. It can be said that, essentially one of Jane's main aims during her journey through life is to finally experience reciprocated love and care, that lasts. Jane was arguably at her height of neglect during her childhood years and it is here that Bronte is able to present it most effectively. By emphasising that Jane was a neglected child, Bronte can elicit the most amount of sympathy from the reader. This theme is most apparent; firstly during her early childhood with the Reeds' and then at Lowood Institute. In the opening chapter, Jane sits at window sill which is described as the following; "Folds of scarlet drapery shut in my view to the right". The use of the phrase 'folds...
Words: 1872 - Pages: 8
...ESSAY ON JANE EYRE Question: “Jane’s passionate nature and unconventional behaviour is rewarded by Bronte in the novel’s happy ending.” I agree with this statement and set out my reasons below. ‘Jane Eyre’ written by Charlotte Bronte is the story of the life of an orphan set in 19th century Victorian England. In the first chapter Jane is introduced as a ten year old living in the home of her Aunt Reed and three cousins, John, Eliza and Georgiana. She is living with her Aunt Reed only because her husband (Jane’s mother’s brother) made her promise on his deathbed to look after Jane. Jane is treated cruelly and is never loved by her aunt and cousins. From the early chapters of the novel we see Jane’s passionate nature and unconventional behaviour emerging through her confrontations with John and Mrs Reed. In chapter 4 page 37 after Mrs Reed’s meeting with Mr Brocklehurst and it is decided that she is going to Lowood, Jane declares determinedly “I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to visit you when I am grown up; and if anyone asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty.” In chapters 5 to 10, Jane attends Lowood where she lives for nine years, seven as a student and then two years as a teacher. During this time Jane suffers under harsh conditions, cruel teachers and the strict rules of Mr...
Words: 927 - Pages: 4
...Consider the presentation of romantic love in “Jane Eyre” making wider reference to “Wide Sargasso Sea” “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte, published in 1847, has one key theme which is love. However it also contains Gothic conventions throughout which prevents the novel from being merely an archetypal romance. The novel is about a young woman who is isolated from people. However, when she gets a job working for Mr Rochester she falls in love with him. Later it is revealed that he's married to a woman, who is portrayed as being mad. In contrast, the romantic love in "Wide Sargasso Sea" written in 1966 is presented in a different way. Although Antoinette initially has a hopeful attitude to romantic love in Wide Sargasso Sea, the attitude of the man, especially in section two reveals that he only marries her for her money. Ellen Michetetii says “the heart and soul of ‘Jane Eyre’ is the passionate love between Jane and her employer.” "Romance" is defined in the Chambers dictionary as "expressive and pleasurable feeling from an emotional attraction towards another person associated with love". Leslie Gelbman says a romance must make the “romantic relationship between the hero and heroine… the core of the book”. This is what “Jane Eyre” does. Similarly “Wide Sargasso Sea” focuses on a single relationship the one between “the man” and Antoinette; however, although the relationship in “Jane Eyre” is reciprocal, in “Wide Sargasso Sea” Antoinette’s love is not returned. Rhys based Antoinette...
Words: 1690 - Pages: 7
...Elizabeth Gaskell's Mary Barton may be characterised as a 'social problem' novel. Basch (1974: 263) states, 'Mrs Gaskell's impure women came from ... the work and exploitation which she knew, relatively speaking, better than other novelists.' Gaskell was the wife of a Unitarian clergyman in Manchester. She devoted her time to setting up homes for fallen women, and after Mary Barton women became her central characters, her novels primarily seen through women's eyes. Thomas Hardy, since his career began, has been notably associated with his portrayal of female characters. Erving Howe even writes about 'Hardy's gift for creeping intuitively into the emotional life of women.' (Boumelha 1982: 3) From this point of view, I intend this essay to establish a comparison between Gaskell's 'fallen woman' in Mary Barton and the way in which Thomas Hardy frames his central female character in Tess of the D'Urbervilles. In the context of the nineteenth century, there emerged an increasingly ideological 'rethinking' of sexuality, particularly of the female. Darwin's Origin of Species in 1859 and The Descent of Man later in 1871 argued that men and women were somehow mentally different. Darwinian sociology led to sexual stereotypes such as Clement Scott's 'men are born "animals" and women "angels" so it is in effect only natural for men to indulge their sexual appetites and, hence, perverse, "unnatural" for women to act in the same way.' (Quotation from Boumelha 1982: 18). The centrality of the...
Words: 548 - Pages: 3
...Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë has been around for more than 150 years with schools around the nation still studying this work of art. It is a novel that has ““...less to do with the conflict of great forces that typifies great works of literature, and more to do with the subtle irritation of a delayed resolution to its most important episode.” (Thornton). With the opportunity to stand the test of time, the novel by Brontë is now on the goodreads list of popular merit books. However, not all books can withstand the test of time. Jodi Picoult’s novel My Sister’s Keeper may not be as fortunate as Jane Eyre in terms of literary merit because it lacks the certain aspects such as maturity in themes and writing style, deeper analytic meanings, and...
Words: 1100 - Pages: 5
...In conclusion, Jane Eyre was able to gain freedom and integrity due to her moral principles and growing as an adult. Jane’s journey to find self-fulfillment and going through many emotional swings and disappointment was part of her development from a child to an adult. She was able to achieve self-fulfillment through her development not only by her moral principles but also by not sacrificing her integrity. She has also shown a sense of capability when it comes to making decision. By making hard decisions involving her emotional decisions, she was able to find her true love and freedom without sacrificing her integrity. Even though it took Jane years to finally find what she has been looking for, she had to make difficult decision along the...
Words: 304 - Pages: 2
...Although most readers of Jane Eyre are enthralled by the illusion of suspense surrounding the climax of the novel and its subsequent falling action, Charlotte Brontë has, in fact, already delivered a subtle clue concerning her Jane’s fate through her use of a first-person narrative and her personal experiences in nineteenth century Victorian society. During this era, women were relegated to domestic tasks and frivolous hobbies meant to distract them from more satisfying aspirations such as authorship, which Jane, the novel’s protagonist, desires. However, the mere existence of the novel Jane Eyre foreshadows Jane’s eventual achievement of the personal agency that enables her to explore creative and intellectual gratification through her memoir...
Words: 1607 - Pages: 7
...Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. The painting describes the murder of Jean-Paul Marat that happened in his bathtub. The painting shows a realistic point of view. There are details in the painting that was in his actual home. David visited Marat the day before his murder and added objects he observed such as the rug. Upon looking closer, you can see a gash around his collarbone where he was stabbed by Charlotte Corday. His tilted head was wrapped in a white cloth. The lighting makes his face the focal point. His right arm draped over the tub thus allowing a quill to fall...
Words: 429 - Pages: 2
...Paper Jane Eyre: Charlotte Brontë One of the most brilliant works of Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre was published in 1847 during a time when women were considered social embellishments, and nothing more than offspring bearers for that matter. She defied these beliefs by doing something no women did in that time, write. This book was revolutionary, especially since the release of Jane Austen’s works, which had a lot more of a happy ending feel that were published a century before. Charlotte Brontë and her sisters Emily and Anne, wrote novels that were much more dark and mysterious. Jane Eyre became one of the most successful novels of its era. This novel is set in the early decades of the nineteenth century, and depicts themes such as social class, religion, and gender relations. The novel is a hybrid of three genres: a romantic novel, a bildungsroman novel, and a gothic novel. Each of these genres are used in Jane Eyre, and rightfully so. They help to tell the story of Jane Eyre’s life in the most mysterious, sometimes supernatural, and retrospective way. I believe that Charlotte Brontë depicted her life through the novel of Jane Eyre, she did this by using her own experiences in life, namely through some key developments from her life translated into Jane Eyre’s life. Jane Eyre and Charlotte Brontë embody each others lives. This is clear through all the similarities between the novel and real life. Some examples of these are: both Jane and Charlotte being orphans, both living...
Words: 1606 - Pages: 7
...The pursuit of women: equality and respect --Jane Eyre Jane Eyre is known as one of the greatest and most permanently popular novel in the world of English literature in the nineteenth century. Written by Charlotte Bronte, a great woman writer in England, it is the first English book I have ever read. I can’t forget how excited I was when I read the novel three years ago for the first time.” It is such an amazing and excellent work that it attracts me deeply,” I thought to myself. Up till now, I have read the novel several times and each time I read it, there were some new feelings and thoughts occurring to me, which made me gain a lot. Charlotte Bronte, the author of Jane Eyre, was born in 1816 in northern England. She lived in a family of poets and her father Patrick Bronte was a curate of Haworth. Charlotte has one brother and four sisters. The young Brontes learned their lessons under the guidance of their father and read books borrowed from local library. With their vivid imagination and hard work, some of them have made great achievements in literature. Charlotte Bronte finished her great work Jane Eyre while her sister Emily Bronte is famous for the novel Wuthering Heights. Jane Eyre is an influential work. It is widely believed that the book is a reflection of its author Charlotte’s real life. It tells a story about an orphaned poor British girl, who suffers a lot of pain but still pursues love and respect bravely. The girl’s name is Jane Eyre. Her early life at Gateshead...
Words: 1410 - Pages: 6
...Jane Eyre In-Class Writing Quiz Part I. Answer the following questions as directed: 1. Jane sees Rochester almost as a god; is this, in the context of the novel, a good or bad thing? What hints are given that Jane is deceiving herself about Rochester? It is a bad thing because Jane only looks up to Rochester due to his older age, wealth, and social status. Jane is more intelligent than Rochester and is proven to also maintain higher morals when it becomes known that Rochester is already married, despite his love for Jane. However, she continues to rely on Rochester for comfort. Jane realizes that’s she’s deceiving herself about Rochester and is skeptical about their relationship when hints pop up such as saving Rochester from a fire and her torn wedding veil. 2. What happens during Jane and Rochester’s wedding ceremony? When Jane and Rochester are entering the wedding ceremony at the church, a stranger who was already present declares that Rochester cannot get married to Jane because he’s already married. Rochester admits to his mistake but wants to take everyone to show them Bertha and the room where she stabbed Rochester’s brother. 3. Describe how Jane’s reaction and choice regarding Mr. Rochester’s proposal are consistent with her character. Jane is skeptical about the marriage with Rochester, but she still accepts his proposal because she is reliant on Rochester for compassion and social status. Her reaction is consistent with her unsteady,...
Words: 738 - Pages: 3
...TEXTUAL ANALYSIS 1. The passage is taken from Volume II, chapter xx of the novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. The bildungsroman begins to focus on the turning point in Jane’s maturity. She will have to make moral decisions and the passage relates her inner forebodings. The novel cannot be truly characterized as gothic however; this chapter appears to have a very gothic tone. This can be seen in the ghostly vision and weather which exhibit supernatural tones, the damaged chestnut tree, and Jane’s restlessness for no apparent reason which she describes as “hypochondriac”. Other gothic elements include Jane’s sense of terror at seeing a vision, wearing and ultimately ruining her wedding veil, the weather, and the symbolic imagery of the Chestnut tree. The passage also represents a significant issue in regards to the morale personae of Mr. Rochester. His untruth at leading Jane to the door of marriage knowing he had an insane wife, whom he could not divorce. One may suppose he should not have offered marriage to Jane. Jane would have to make a moral decision in spite of her deep love for Mr. Rochester and make choices which will affect her life from this time forward on societal and inner morality. TEXTUAL ANALYSIS 2. The passage is taken from the novel Mill on the Floss, by George Eliot, page 68. The passage refers to the narrator speaking of Mr. Riley a “gentleman” who was a very educated auctioneer and appraiser. The passage can be analyzed on different perspectives:...
Words: 2381 - Pages: 10
...[p. 272] 10. Fiction Overview The super-productive Dickens is the dominant figure of the Victorian novel, combiningelements of the Gothic - a genre made serious by the Brontë sisters - with a remarkablyimagined account of the social institutions of Victorian London. The mode of his novelsowes much to popular stage and melodrama, though language and character-creation arehis own. His rival, Thackeray, is represented here by Vanity Fair. A less theatricalrealism comes in with Mrs Gaskell and Trollope, and with the historian of imperfectlives in their fullest social settings, George Eliot. The triumph of the novel Modern images of 19th-century English life owe much to novels, and versions of novels.By 1850, fiction had shouldered aside the theatre, its old rival as the main form of literary entertainment. As with the drama at the Renaissance, it took intellectuals sometime to realize that a popular form might be rather significant. Human beings havealways told stories, but not always read the long prose narratives of the kind known asnovels. The reign of the novel has now lasted solong as to appear natural. There had been crazesfor the Gothic novel and for Scott’s fiction, yet itwas only in the 1840s, with Charles Dickens, thatthe novel again reached the popularity it hadenjoyed in the 1740s. Between 1847 and 1850appeared Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, VanityFair and David Copperfield. In 1860, Dickens wasstill at his peak, Mrs Gaskell and Trollope were going strong...
Words: 859 - Pages: 4
...Charlotte Brontë’s use of imagery throughout Jane Eyre symbolizes clashing emotions of many different characters. Most of the imagery present in Jane Eyre symbolizes characters’ moral struggles against their conscience ("Jane Eyre." Novels for Students 12). Jane Eyre is full of diverse forms of imagery from nature (Gregor, 115). Different forms of imagery serve important roles in the novel by displaying the wild passion and also self control of the characters (Solomon, 2). In order to completely understand Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, the reader must first start with the symbolic form of the novel (Solomon, 2). Two ubiquitous images that dominate Jane Eyre are fire and water. These two images symbolize the great heat of lust and also the...
Words: 1968 - Pages: 8
...Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë has a heroine who refuses to be placed in the traditional female position of subservience and who disagrees with her superiors. She stands up for her rights, and ventures creative thoughts. Jane is a narrator who comments on the role of women in society and the greater constraint imposed on them. Family was extremely important to a woman in the Victorian period. It provided emotional and financial support to her as a child and an unmarried woman. Later in life, it defined a woman as a wife and mother. Due to Jane being an orphan, she is cast into a sort of societal wilderness. Without a mother to show Jane her proper place in society and without a father to care for her until her husband can take his place, Jane is left totally astray from societal values. Lacking support, Jane has to face her problems head on and alone....
Words: 624 - Pages: 3
