Let me begin by first apologising to my Grade 11 &
12 Lit teacher (can’t remember her name), most of my uni lecturers, myself, my
parents and Jane Eyre. At the time I was not ready to read too substantially in to a
rich collection of “L”iterature en masse. I was dealing with shit that does not
need to be expressed in detail here and managed what I could. Though Jane Eyre
never let ‘shit’ get on top of her and for that I am truly grateful to Charlotte
Bronté for giving me the opportunity to experience knowing her. Now, years
later, I am ready to re-address & immerse myself in some key works and
lavish them, appreciate, and consider them in the good stead in which they
deserve. Having said that, this analysis is brief and produced without wider reading. I just felt so affected after reading I needed to produce my thoughts. Here they are:
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| Image from: https://prismaticjaneeyre.org |
Headteacher at the orphanage, is a woman, apart from the housekeeper, who sees Jane’s character based on her behaviour though provision of challenging tasks, make themselves available for Jane to learn to grow into herself. Her closest friend at the orphanage too, teaches Jane deeply about humility & grief and leaves her world at a time when Jane E is most impressionable.
Figure
of man is somewhat distant at this point whereby she is humiliated in front of
her entire school. A moment where her spirit is crushed, thinking that she would
be outcast once again, after having been treated so poorly by her aunt and sent
to the orphanage. Themes of grief, judgment and discrimination in society are
foreboding at this point.
As Jane learns that a vocation is what will truly give
her freedom, she pours herself into learning, up-skilling and self-sufficient
behaviours, giving herself a sense of worth, esteem and love that can never
been taken away from her. These are all things we can control in our lives,
thankfully, living in western Society. Though women in the 1800s were almost always
dependent on men in the social structure, Jane, as an outcast, fell out of the
network and because of that, could at least depend on herself and not have to
answer to anybody. It is only because of this that she could make the decisions
on the direction her life took. Rochester himself sees an equal in her and falls in
love with Janet because of this. She even claims her equality, standing up to him. (If
I was doing this properly I'd be putting quotes in).
However, I still question Rochester’s authenticity. Is he really in love with her? After having lived a life now of my own challenges, I see his behaviour demonstrates traits within ‘trendy’ current terms of gas lighting and manipulation. At a point where he is caught out at having lied to her about being married, and to a woman who has been held captive in his attic, he pushes such pressure on Jane to hold fast her undying love and commitment to him.
There of course, should be an entire post-colonial examination [insert here] of how Rochester’s Creole wife was imprisoned and portrayed as mad and savage. And why indeed did Mason go in to her and become attacked? Why should he be attacked by her? What was his intention behind his approach? Jane, although in love, does the right thing for her sense of worth and leaves him. The difficulties she goes through after this affected me deeply as I saw how she chose to act honourably but suffered because of it. Thankfully the suffering was short lived (although no-one would know this for themselves, if they had made the same choices). Note - for further reading: 'Wide Sargasso Sea'.
The theme of mother nature as nurturer, while Jane travels
through a storm, we see parallels life. While we live through our own storms, we
must go headstrong through them sometimes. Nurturing (i.e. the maternal) to some degree, offers a certain amount of protection. Jane finds
protection in some bushes and lays her head on soft moss. Notably later on, we
read of the way the Clergyman brother leans on a soft pile of heather, almost as
if he is taking advantage of the gentle nature, as he awaits Jane’s probable acceptance of his proposition, given as he considers her to have no
other choice, once she becomes a female suitor.
We see weakness in other women who are reliant on
the men of the household. Mrs. Reid, Jane’s aunt, a mature woman has to
support and profess unconditional love to her son, who is unashamedly gambling
and bringing the family into disrepute, until she dies old and poor but holding
on so dearly to her pride. Pride is the one-character trait which Jane abhors
and sees time and time again. from her cousin John Reid, his sisters, the Oliver
girl, her newfound brother and Rochester himself. Interesting that I found
myself becoming aware of similarities in the way brother clergyman tries to convince Jane
in the same manner as Rochester. Oh the words, the spinning, the gabble, the
convincing!
The final climax at which Janey decides whether or not to go with the Clergyman sees her making an altogether unexpected decision. I will not spoil this for those who have not read it, but I do ask Janey, what was it all leading to? Why did you go through all that to make this final decision. There could be any number of reasons;
- It was true love
- She was scared of where society would place her and couldn’t be bothered anymore.
- She would become the person of power within the relationship
- She would stand to inherit a great amount after some time
- His form of manipulation was greater than the other’s.
- She realised she would have to choose between one or the other now and so this was the most suitable.
So herein lies my quick version of a feminist analysis
with no real quoting and minimal character name reproduction. However, my
thoughts are my own and I own it & I hope you make it a point of yours to
read or listen to and cherish every moment of the brilliant mind this wonderful
character Jane Eyre is.