MAIN THEMES IN THE NOVEL
FAMILY
The primary journey in Jane Eyre is Jane 's scan for family, for a feeling of having a place and love. Be that as it may, this hunt is continually tempered by Jane 's requirement for independance. She starts the novel as a disliked vagrant who is relatively fixated on discovering love as an approach to set up her own personality and accomplish bliss. In spite of the fact that she doesn 't get any parental love from Mrs. Reed, Jane discovers surrogate maternal figures all through whatever remains of the novel. Bessie, Miss Temple, and even Mrs. Fairfax watch over Jane and give her the affection and direction that she needs, and she furnishes a proportional payback via looking after Adèle and the understudies at her school. All things considered, Jane does not feel as if she has discovered her actual family until she fell in love with Mr. Rochester at Thornfield; he turns out to be even more a related soul to her than any of her organic relatives could be. In any case, she can 't acknowledge Mr. Rochester 's first proposition to be engaged in light of the fact that she understands that their marriage - one in view of unequal social standing - would trade off her self-sufficiency. Jane also denies St. John 's engagement proposal, as it would be one of obligation, not of enthusiasm. Just when she increases money related and enthusiastic self-sufficiency, in the wake of having gotten her legacy and the familial love of her cousins, can Jane
Mrs. Reed likewise separates Jane from the Reeds’ social circle by confining her to the nursery while her cousins spend their days in the drawing room (22) and calling Mr. Lloyd, the apothecary for “ailing servants,” instead of the family physician for Jane’s illness (15), thus placing her among the servants. However, the servants too reject Jane from their group—Miss Abbot told Jane that she is “less than a servant” because she does “nothing for [her] keep” (9). Jane thus
She falls in love with the man that she gets to know on the inside, not by what is on the outside. She falls in love with the man who speaks French to her and tries to spoil her any chance that he gets. Rochester said to Jane “My bride is here," he said, again drawing me to him, "because my equal is here, and my likeness. Jane, will you marry me?” (Bronte, 87).
Finally, the details about society show that Jane recognizes the standards of her victorian society and needs to abide by them. After Jane had thought awhile, she no longer “felt justified in judging” Mr. Rochester and Blanche for “acting in conformity to ideas and principles instilled into them.” Though Jane wishes to be loved by Mr. Rochester, she comes to the realization that rich men do not marry lower-class women in her
Jane requests to return to the Reed house, after learning about her cousin’s suicide and her aunt, Mrs. Reed’s, illness; however Rochester questions, “And what good can you do her… you say she cast you off,” Jane replies, “Yes, sir, but that is long ago; and when her circumstances were very different: I could not be easy to neglect her wishes now” (Brontë 227). Jane looks beyond that Mrs. Reed “cast[ed] her off,” implying that she has grown to let go of grudges and developed a mature mentality. The irony of Jane’s inability to “neglect her wishes,” infers how the injustice treatment of Mrs. Reed unaffectedly brings Jane to look past the situation by visiting the Reeds in a time of sorrow. In addition, Rochester attempts to convince his wedded Jane to stay with him, after learning about his mad wife; Rochester claims that his father had “sent [him] out to Jamaica, to espouse a bride already courted for” him but only so his brother and father to get “thirty thousand pounds,” Rochester further admits to Jane that “you know now that I had but a hideous demon. I was wrong to attempt to deceive you…
Both characters, venturing out of their gender roles, find ways to compliment and figure out who the other person really is, and, in the end, a burgeoning love fully blooms. When examining the gender roles of Mr. Rochester and Jane, both are a blend of each and life seems better when conventional gender roles are forgotten. In Rochester and Jane’s first meeting, the two begin to show their blended gender roles immediately. Rochester is first described as having a “dark face” with “stern features”, with a complexion that seems, “ireful and thwarted” (146).
Rochester to act in questionable ways towards his relationship with Jane, and affects Jane’s life and her relationship with Mr. Rochester. Prior to meeting Jane, Mr. Rochester got tricked into marrying an insane woman, and the effects of that relationship on Mr. Rochester causes issues involving trust and secrecy surrounding his and Jane’s relationship. At Jane and Edward’s wedding, Mr. Mason interrupts the wedding and accuses Mr. Rochester of already having a currently living wife, and although at first he tries to deny it, he then admits that he has “been married: and the woman to whom I was married lives!... I daresay you have many a time inclined your ear to gossip about the mysterious lunatic kept there under watch and ward.” (Brontë 296).
To simply the question, does she choose the Prince, who is saintly, and on a mission to help others, or does she choose the Beast who hold so much passion, that it is hard to contain? When meeting a stranger you immediately take in their appearance and features, just as Jane does after coming face to face with Mr. Rochester for the first time, noting that he had a “dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow; his eyes and gathered eyebrows looked ireful and thwarted” (Bronte Ch.12). During this encounter it becomes obvious that Rochester is more than a little rough around the edges, being rude and abrupt, while openly judging Jane. Shortly after her encounter with Rochester, Jane realized that the craggy faced man is the wealthy owner of Thornfield Hall.
Deception can prove to be a powerful tool—both in the real world and in literature. While it is typically viewed as malicious, some forms of deception can prove to be beneficial in the long run. This kind of deceit is very prevalent in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Mr. Rochester, specifically, spends a large portion of the story deceiving many characters, but most of his lies are directed towards Jane. At first, the façade he puts on seems questionable, but his motives behind his actions show that he had good intentions.
Certain ideas and concepts that are discussed in How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster are evident in the two pieces of literature Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Foster opens with the popular quest story type and what are its elements. There must be a quester, a destination, a basic objective, obstacles, and a hidden significance. In Jane Eyre Jane’s experience at Lowood could be exemplified. Jane being the perfect quester at this point in the novel since she is young, unwise, and inexperienced in the real world.
Rochester was a major influence on Jane as this was a critical time she was maturing, yet she did not let him get in the way of her work. The work that was expected of her what always her top priority, Rochester was her second. “I believe he is of mine;—I am sure he is,—I feel akin to him,—I understand the language of his countenance and movements: though rank and wealth sever us widely, I have something in my brain and heart, in my blood and nerves, that assimilates me mentally to him” (Bronte 266). The relationship between Rochester and Jane was undeniable.
In Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre” Edward Fairfax Rochester plays a contributing role in Janes development and growth as a character and human being in the Victorian time period. Not only does he play a large role in her independency, but in her emotional and spiritual growth as well. She grows around him whether she likes it or not. Due to Edwards manipulative and seductive nature, jane has to grow and develop in a way that has her frequently questioning her own ideals, whether that be spiritually or morally, and strengthening her independence by constantly refusing her feelings for him and adapting to punishing situations. Edward also opens Janes eyes to a world that is bigger than she realized due to his company at the house, wealth, and opportunities at the favorable Thornfeild manor at which she was employed by him.
Jane constantly chooses to disbelieve that Miss. Bingley is trying to separate between her and Mr. Bingley. One example of Janes’ simplicity and falsehood in trusting her emotions is Miss. Bingley’s clear indications that Mr. Bingley should marry Ms. Darcy that are overlooked by Jane,“ My brother admires her greatly already; he will have frequent opportunity now of seeing her on the most intimate footing; her relations all wish the connection as much as his own; and a sister 's partiality is not misleading me, I think, when I call Charles most capable of engaging any woman 's heart.”
Jane Eyre is a novel where a modern view on gender roles get in the discourse of the traditional Victorian social hierarchy and patriarchal
Jane goes against the expected type by “refusing subservience, disagreeing with her superiors, standing up for her rights, and venturing creative thoughts” (Margaret, 1997, p. 325-346). She is not only successful in terms of wealth and position, but more importantly, in terms of family and love. These two needs that have evaded Jane for so long are finally hers. Adding to her victory is her ability to enjoy both without losing her hard-won independence. Everybody has the rights to pursue happiness, to pursue the true spirit of life, which can be seen from Jane Eyre’s struggle for independence and equality.
- Edward is an economically independent man with a favorable status and influential connections still looking for a profitable match. Jane will be the one in charge to unmask him to the audience: “I saw he was going to marry her [Blanche Ingram] for family, perhaps political reasons, because her rank and connections suited him” (Brontë 205) This manner of conduct converts Mr. Rochester from a hero into a villain, a perpetrator and “his project of