“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë
When it comes to classic novels,Charlotte Brontë is one of the authors that immediately come to the reader’s mind.The English novelist has brought to the public some masterpieces of literature, inwhich she manages to create a magnetic atmosphere that leads the readers to a time travel,portray very complex,symbolic characters and discuss important social issues. “Jane Eyre”,released on 16 October 1847, is one of those masterpieces and thus it is very interesting to deepen into it.
Before we dive into the book’s analysis, it is important to get to know the author and the issues of her time.Brontë(1816-1855) was an English poet,novelist,teacher and governess.Some memories that she gained while working as a teacher and governess,her father’s profession as a clergyman as well as her belief to God were significant inspirations for her.The author lived during a period of social inequalities.This is clearly seen in “Jane Eyre”,in the way children are educated.Girls would not be as educated as boys and of course,poor kids would not receive the same education as high society’s kids.She herself had to publish her first collection of poems in 1846 using pseudonyms due to the fact that women’s position was underrated and any attempt of theirs to influence the public was strictly criticized.This major issue is often discussed in her novels,such as “Jane Eyre”, “Shirley” and “Villette”.In her book “Shirley”,she focuses on the society’s and economy’s shift from rural to industrial, which was also an important issue of the historical period of the 19th century. Since “Jane Eyre”’s success,Brontë started visiting London and revealing her real identity.In this way,Brontë was introduced into high society, where she was highly respected, although she was a female author.She married Arthur Nicholls, going against stereotypes that wanted people from different social and financial classes to be separated,as well as the fact that marriage during their time was a beneficial financial compromise.Brontë died in 1855 because of a disease that was spread all over Europe in the 19th century due to the industrial revolution that forced people to live under unhealthy conditions.
“Jane Eyre”’s all facts take place in England of the 19th century.The book follows the psychological and moral development of young,very mature and intelligent but traumatized by her cruel childhoodJane Eyre, who is hired by mister Rochester,a rich man with a dark past,as his ward’s,Adele’s,governess and their love story.
First of all,it is necessary to study the book’s main characters.Jane Eyre,the main protagonist,has learned to stand for herself as she has grown up in a cruel environment without her parents.She is an advocate of truth and justice,is not afraid of expressing her opinion even when this means going against people that are more powerful than her and she passionately wants to be cultivated and educated.She is a very loving person as well as forgiving and understanding,since she does not hesitate to forgive every character that has mistreated or lied to her such as her aunt,Miss Reed, and mister Rochester.She is independent and has self-esteem and dignity as she leaves mister Rochester after his secrets are revealed and starts a new life all by herself.Having grown up as an orphan, she always seeks for a family-like environment.Jane has a strong belief but recognizes that religion’s exaggerations cannot always control people’s choices and feelings,which is why in the end she reunites with mister Rochester,her wealthy employer and love interest.
Rochester seems to be a person who is mainly guided by his strong passions and does not act rationally,which is clearly seen in his marriage to Bertha Mason,a beautiful but mentally disturbed woman.He is constantly brooding because of his past mistakes and is followed by a deep darkness that does not let him get emotionally attached to people.He is inspired by Jane and also believes that his marriage to her will be his chance to finally be purified and find peace.Rochester also seems to indulge in immorality as he is willing to become bigamist and tries to persuade Jane to be his mistress after his secrets are revealed.A totally opposite person to mister Rochester is St.John Rivers,Jane’s cousin and a clergyman.He appears to be a distant and cold person.He is very strict,repressively conservative and sometimes tyrannical.Although he is a clergyman and believes in Christ, he is not affected by the meaning of love and compassion Christianity expresses and does not show any personal interest for the people he helps as a clergyman.He also desires power and fame, which is why he decides to become a missionary and travel to India in order to spread Christianity to the colonies.
A special mention should be done to some secondary but important characters,starting with Jane’s best friend at the Lowood School,Helen Burns.Helen is kind,compassionate and has a very strong belief in God.Although she is often mistreated by the teacher Miss Scatcherd and mister Brocklehurst, she stoically endures it all and believes that justice will be given by God.We could say she is submissive and tolerant.Two other very kind and sympathetic figures are and Diana and Mary Rivers.They are Jane’s caring and friendly cousins.Although they are minor characters, they have to be mentioned because of the impact of their interaction with Jane on her.They set an example to her as intelligent and educated women who are independent and work in order to maintain themselves.On the contrary,Miss Reed,Jane’s aunt,is an arrogant,cold-hearted,cruel person with no sympathy and understanding.She is egocentric and has no self-esteem and respect as she is jealous of her niece,a young orphan girl.She is also a hypocrite as she unfairly accuses Jane of lying and tells Jane’s uncle,John,that Jane is dead in order to prevent her from inheriting his legacy.
A significant part of the book’s analysis is the main themes.Clearly,family and its effect on someone’s personality is one of them.It seems that family always plays a major role in a person’s life.Jane has a traumatizing and cruel childhood because of her aunt.This explains her constant search of a family and her excitement when she finds out that the Rivers are her family. Fortunately,despite her difficult childhood,she still becomes loving and independent.
Different forms of inequalities are also presented by the writer.Women’s discrimination is one of them as it was a major issue in societies during the 19th century. Men are shown to be dominant.Mister Rochester believes that Jane will abandon her morals and turn into his mistress.He hides his mentally ill wife in his attic and travels around the world pretending that she does not exist.Men can achieve a successful career all by themselves whereas women are only able to do so if their career is dependent to a man.For example,Jane could travel to India and provide her help to the colonies there only as John’s wife.
Additionally,inequalities are indicated in relation to social classes.A person’s social status was defined by their financial status.People from upper classes were not supposed to build relationships with the poor.Mister Rochester marries Bertha Mason because they belong to the same social and financial class. People who were poor were dependent on their dignity and morals since they could not rely on their social status or their fortune in order to be respected.This is another reason why Jane strictly sticks with her morals and does not become mister Rochester’s mistress. These social stereotypes can be seen in marriage as well.The institution used to be a compromise.People from upper classes would get married in order to unite their power.Rochester’s marriage to Bertha Mason was a marriage of this kind.In general,marriage was a way of covering some needs.For instance,St.John proposes to Jane not because he loves her but because he believes that she would be perfect as a missionary’s wife.
Brontë also talks about religion in the book.Jane comes across different kinds of Christianity and although she has a strong belief, she questions some of her religion’s excessive forms that do not express its message of love and forgiveness.For example, she does not support mister Brocklehurst’s hypocritical belief in God.Religious miracles also appear in Jane’s life that empower her belief such as the incident when she is able to hear mister Rochester calling her out for help even though they are miles away from each other after she asks God for a sign in order to help her realizewhether she should go find him or marry St.John and follow him to India.
“Jane Eyre” also emphasizesthe fact that external beauty does not always come with inner beauty.For example,Jane is not very beautiful but mister Rochester falls in love with her because he admires her intelligence,morals and innocence.More important than beauty is the character’s personal development.The book focuses on it as well,since it follows Jane’s evolvement from childhood to adulthood.During the narration,the reader sees the protagonist turning from a traumatized child who seeks for love and a family-like environment into an intelligent, independent,mature young woman.Rochester also follows a process of self-discovery and self-improvement.
A special mention should be done for the book’s symbols.First and foremost,Jane is a symbol of feminism as she represents an independent, cultivated woman, who works in order to maintain herself and goes against her time’s stereotypes.It is also important to mention that at the end of the story Jane is actually superior to mister Rochester as he is blind and accepts to be guided and taken care of by her. On the other hand,Bertha Mason,Rochester’s mentally ill wife,represents all the repressed women in society.Bertha is a symbol for all these women who are obliged to bow down to patriarchy and other social imperatives that forced them to be treated as if they did not exist.Whatever could have made Jane like Bertha and prevented her from turning into the woman that she eventually becomes,such as stereotypes about her gender and her class, are represented by the red room where Jane is held after her fight with John Reed.There are also some symbols of materialism.These are Adele and Blanche Ingram.Miss Ingram wants to marry mister Rochester to enjoy the perks of his financial status.Adele always expects from mister Rochester to bring her gifts from his trips.They do not care about other people’s inner beauty or more sentimental and substantial values.
Lastly, Helen is a symbol of pure Christianity.She endures every maltreatment without fighting back and believes that true justice will be given to those who treated her unfairly and with cruelty.She lives an ascetic life and even accepts her death without fear as she believes that she will be near God in heaven. She is loving and stands next to those who need her, like Christ did.In contrast to Helen,Mister Brocklehurst represents a hypocritical form of Christian religion.He pretends that he supports the idea of living without wasting when knowing that there are people in need but he actually lives a luxurious life.He wants to be considered a good Christian without losing his comforts.
In conclusion,Jane Eyre is definitely well worth reading.The reader can be intrigued by the characters’ development.It is very impressive how Jane and Rochester are challenged in different ways and after this process of evolvement is finished, they are both ready to reunite and live together happily.The book also manages to make the reader feel a bittersweet melancholy for those characters that were consumed by their defects, such as Miss Reed or St.John).In addition,it gives representative examples of inequality between the genders as well as different social classes.It provides the reader with accurate information about the 19th century’s societies as well as timeless models.Jane Eyre,for instance,sets the example of an independent woman who managed to grow beyond her historical period’s stereotypes. A special mention should be made to Brontë’s innovative choice to use first-person narration.It helps the readers understand every part of the story from a woman’s perspective empowering the book’s intention to talk about women’s independence.There is also a compelling atmosphere created by the narration of the people’s habits,the landscapes and all the events.The combination of all these elements proves that the book is not unfairly considered to be one of the best romance novels of all times.
Χριστίνα Καραβά (Β2), Πρότυπο ΓΕΛ Ευαγγελικής Σχολής Σμύρνης