...Project Jane Eyre There are many themes within Jane Eyre including religion, order and education. However the greatest one of all is love. This is why the topic for my ISP is the effect love has on the story and the reader in Jane Eyre. I chose this topic simply because while reading the novel I found that love had a crucial role in the novel. It seemed to have the richest descriptions and most alluring imagery. Therefore in this ISP I will demonstrate how love is the most important theme in Jane Eyre, as it greatly affects the plot, is present in many forms throughout the whole book and gives the story a deeper connection to its readers than any other themes. The major points in my essay are: In Jane Eyre there are many important themes including order, education, love and religion. Education is important because Jane is a governess and enjoys learning throughout the book. Order is important because it restricts Jane from being happy at the Reed mansion and restricts her passionate nature. Religion is important because it is the main reason she left Thronfeild. But none of these themes has such a major role in continuing the plot then love . Love is present in many forms throughout the novel such as when she is staying at the Reeds, at Lowood, at Moor House and at Thornfeild. Since it is seen in so many different forms, it is easy for anyone to connect with it. Throughout the novel Jane never revokes her love for Mr. Rochester. The narrator, an older Jane, assures...
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...Themes in Jane Eyre Love and Passion One of the secrets to the success of Jane Eyre, and the source of its strength in spite of numerous flaws, lies in the way that it touches on a number of important themes while telling a compelling story. Indeed, so lively and dramatic is the story that the reader might not be fully conscious of all the thematic strands that weave through this work. Critics have argued about what comprises the main theme of Jane Eyre. There can be little doubt, however, that love and passion together form a major thematic element of the novel. On its most simple and obvious level, Jane Eyre is a love story. The love between the orphaned and initially impoverished Jane and the wealthy but tormented Rochester is at its heart. The obstacles to the fulfillment of this love provide the main dramatic conflict in the work. However, the novel explores other types of love as well. Helen Burns, for example, exemplifies the selfless love of a friend. We also see some of the consequences of the absence of love, as in the relationship between Jane and Mrs. Reed, in the selfish relations among the Reed children, and in the mocking marriage of Rochester and Bertha. Jane realizes that the absence of love between herself and St. John Rivers would make their marriage a living death, too. Throughout the work, Brontë suggests that a life that is not lived passionately is not lived fully. Jane undoubtedly is the central passionate character; her nature is shot through with...
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...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...
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...Supernaturality, love, as well as hypocrisy as a sub unit of religion,are dominant themes combined in the retrospective novel 'Jane Eyre'. The novel depicts characters, such as Mr Brocklehurst and St.John Rivers that are challenges to the ideal christian way and faith throughout the novel. The eccentric romantic gothic genre and the surrounding supernatural presence lurks around crowds of chapters. The contrastive saint Helen Burns used as a reverence to the good aspect and purity of christianity. Banned after it was originally published.Questioning christianity was highly seen as blasphemous.This novel was considered controversial at the time of it's original production, as the victorian England were engulfed in religion and thus lifestyles was dominantly influenced by christianity. Implications that Mr Brocklehurst and Mrs Reed might be participating in a false religion, through the course of their actions and descriptions. The metaphor ‘black pillar’ is used to describe Brocklehurst and others inability to religion and matters of spirituality from any other perspective apart from their own, such austere characters mirror evangelical Christians sense of imperative regulations. Such distasteful representive’s being compared to that of evangelical Christians, may seem anti-Christian. Hypocritisy is thoroughly appreciated as one of the constructions of many living in a false religion. Bronte exposes Mr Brocklehurst desire’s to uphold his...
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...GNST 200 Term 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...
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...Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is usually seen as either the story of a young girl coming into her own or the story of a young girl falling in love with a corrupted soul. The entire story is intertwined with symbolism and other imagery, tying details of Jane’s life together. One cannot adequately assess the masculine presence in Jane’s life without considering the feminine influences. Upon each new location Jane is brought to, she comes in contact with a new female influence, from her Aunt Reed and Helen Burns to Bertha Mason and Mother Nature herself; these influences are often symbolic in nature and demonstrate that, underneath the wild love affair with an unknowingly married man, the story of Jane Eyre is not only a coming-of-age story, but...
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...test of time. Jane Eyre and The Joy Luck Club both connect the maternal figure and use the narrative language to tell the stories of the women in both novels. Charlotte Brontë has created a novel that is referenced often and allows coming of age novels to spring-board off of her beliefs. Amy Tan’s coming of age novel could stand to be the test of time and can be modeled after Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre not only stands the test of time by showing the importance of women in society through Jane, but also first person to iterate the importance that Charlotte Brontë draws the reader into the narrator’s feelings. The Joy Luck Club uses the narrative language which can stand the test of time for the future similarly to Jane Eyre and develop characters through first person. Often times Brontë does not mention Jane’s mother, however, when she does elaborate on a...
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...I Will not Be Yours from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Self-respect helps remember what we value and who we wish to be. If you do not respect yourself and cannot stay true to your own morals and standards it is difficult to be satisfied with your choices - what it truly takes to be happy with our actions is not the respect given by others, but the ability to respect yourself and keep your self-respect intact. Self-respect is closely connected with the feeling of dignity and confidence in oneself. “I Will not Be Yours” is a fictional text, an extract from a novel called Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë published in 1847. Jane Eyre is the protagonist and a first person narrator in the extract. The extract is a dialogue between Jane Eyre and Mr Rochester. The dialogue tells a lot about Jane Eyre and of her self-respect and beliefs. Jane appears to be a religious person who indeed believes in God and his words for example when she tells Rochester to trust in God and believe in heaven and justifies herself “I will keep the law given by God; Sanctioned by man.”, if Jane does as Rochester wants her to and becomes his mistress, it would be bigamy and secondly offend the marriage and laws given by God. Jane does not want to give up her integrity to become Mr Rochester’s mistress and have a chance to love and free her passion. Although Jane does stay true to herself and God a part of her wants to give in and allow herself to break the laws of God, “Soothe him; save him; love him; tell...
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...JANE EYRE: HER PERSONAL AND MORAL VICTORIES All people live by their own codes of conduct. Everyone, be they male or female, young or old, has their own sets of values, which they adhere to and which are unchanging even in the face of personal or societal pressures and conflicts to give them up. In Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Jane is tempted many times to acquiesce to others' wishes and, thereby, give up her own moral standards and beliefs. Yet Jane remains steadfast in adhering to her personal code of conduct, namely to maintain feelings of high self-esteem, not to let herself be used and abused by others, and never to give up her religious convictions. Through many disappointments that she is faced with and with her constant struggle to gain independence and love, Jane never loses her self of self, nor does she give up her moral and spiritual values. Jane Eyre, from the very beginning of the novel, shows courage and self-confidence when she stands up to Mrs. Reed for wrongly accusing her to Mr. Brocklehurst of being a liar. Jane, a quiet, pensive girl, who until now took her aunt and cousins' torment without saying a word, suddenly could no longer hold her tongue. She suddenly felt a need to tell her aunt that as much as she appreciated having her put a roof over her head and providing food for her, her existence in Gateshead was nothing less than abominable. She says that servants are treated better than she is, and that Mrs. Reed was not keeping her promise to her...
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...life sometimes reflects the history of their life. Charlotte Bronte reveals her personal life and beliefs through Jane Eyre who experiences a difficult childhood and a spiritual journey toward knowing God. In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte’s Christian worldview is seen through man’s sinful nature from her experiences as a child which is shown through Mr. Brocklehurst, St. John’s and Helen’s view...
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...general prosperity of England as a whole an account of its colonial hold over other countries, immense growth in scientific and industrial development, are some of the clearly noticeable characteristics of this age. Lord Tennyson, the poet laureate of Victorian era glorifies the reign of Queen Victorian through his ode On the Jubilee of Queen Victoria. On the other side of this picture of commercial and scientific expansion we see the appalling social condition of new industrial cities, the squalid slums, and the exploitation of cheap labour ,the painful fight by the enlightened to introduce social legislation and Victorians were caught between materialism and spiritualism, between realism and romanticism, peace and unrest, science and religion, mechanism and humanism .They could not give up the conventional morality or religious practices so, they try to reconcile religious dogma and scientific truth. Thus Victorian age is often known as an age of compromise. The Victorian age was not only the longest, but also the greatest age in the history of English Fiction. The Novel was the most appealing form of literature during the Victorian age. It was partially because of the steady increase of reading public with...
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...Q2: Comparison of Jane Eyre and “Goblin Market” Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” are both texts written in the Victorian period. They both carry similar themes of the evils of patriarchy and the importance of empowering women to assert their identity in this time period. Both Jane Eyre and Laura are characters that are affected by the issues that mainly affected women in the male-dominated Victorian society. This is clearly portrayed when the men in both texts try to confine women physically and emotionally through deception and force. The different portrayal of both male and female characters also plays a very important role in communicating these issues. Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” can be read as a criticism of Victorian arrangement of marriage. She stresses the importance of women’s friendship as the main agent that can help in fighting against or changing society’s exploitation of women. The two sisters represent two different kinds of women; Lizzie, the submissive ones and Laura, those that fought against patriarchy, and the goblins represent the patriarchal system. It shows that women can control their destinies, gain some level of independence, and avoid society’s oppressive rules and work towards their liberation and happiness. In the Victorians society men where more educated, powerful and rich hence they dominated women. Women were subjugated to the home as housewives whilst their husbands earned money for the family. This gave the men even more...
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...that distorts Jane’s image gives an eerie mood, making the reader wary of what is to happen. (links to identity) * Jane imagines how the ghost haunts the room, heightening the sense of horror she feels. The supernatural is a key element in a Gothic novel. * There is an overall sense of foreboding and spookiness that makes the reader empathise with Jane as she is so young. * The lack of realism heightens the sense of the supernatural. * The romantic scene of the rain in the moors sets up the Gothic theme for the rest of the novel. Passion * The purity of her childhood as she endures intense and bitter feelings that arise due to unpleasant life experiences. * She cannot control her temper, and is therefore punished. She is labelled a “picture of passion” as women were expected to remain calm and ladylike. Her anger comes as a shock to everyone at Gateshead, hence her punishment. * Red is the colour of passion, as well as danger and embarrassment. If she cannot learn to control her emotions. She will end up being shunned by society as she does not fit in, and will be considered “mad” and a “savage”. This creates a sense of foreboding as this is a possibility of what could happen to Jane later on in the novel. * This reminds us of Antoinette from WSS. (links to oppression) Family * Shown in a negative light. 10 year old Jane...
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...How does Bronte use the first two sections of the novel to create interest in the character of Jane Eyre? Through the character of Jane, Bronte portrays the Victorian perspectives and beliefs on religion to many people at the time the novel is set. Throughout her childhood, Jane rejects the idea of religion and dismisses all religious teachings and thoughts. However, in chapter when her closest friend Helen is dying we see Jane begin to question the ideas of religion and Christianity. lonely To be questioning faith at such a young age causes us, as the reader, to gain a real interest and urge to engage in Jane’s character as we soon learn that she is far more mature and independently strong-willed than a typical Victorian girl of her age. This may suggest that because of Jane’s unfortunate upbringing, she has never believed that she could ask for help in such a figure as God because faith has never really been on her side. When Jane is next to Helen’s sick bed she begins to question, “ She does not abandon spirituality or the existence of God at this needful time. The way her speech is structured Her hope and faith is put into God to save Helen’s life and prevent her from entering the afterlife as it means that Jane will once again be isolated and alone. Even beyond chapter ten, Jane prays to God for support at imperative moments in her life such as during her wedding ceremony to Mr Rochester when it is interrupted and when she leaves Lowood in chapter 26 as is left starving...
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...Reading Jane Eyre definitely proved to me that it is called a classic for a reason. It had profound techniques in conveying her points of view, which seems very personal. Although it was a long read, it had such quality and expertise, and the mystery of it all had kept me with it all. I try to stay positive before reading my book, but my feelings were a little mixed in the beginning; this novel has a monumental amount of prestige, but it does have some years behind it. I am so glad to have had the opportunity to give it a chance and experience the rhythmic tune this novel had. Jane Eyre made me think about our society as a whole; many of the issues considered in the text are very true now. The world still has class issues, as well as gender inequality and the fact that two centuries have gone by...
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