Charlotte Brontë - Jane
Eyre (1847)
I. Charlotte Brontë:
Biographical Sketch
- Birth & Early Adversity:
Ø Shifted
to Haworth (1820); mother died of cancer (1821); elder sisters Maria and
Elizabeth dead from tuberculosis (1825).
- Education & Formative Experiences:
Ø Attended Clergy
Daughters’ School (inspiration for Lowood School in Jane Eyre),
later educated at home.
Ø Collaborated
with siblings in creating fictional worlds (e.g., Angria),
cultivating literary imagination.
- Career & Pseudonym:
Ø Worked
as governess/teacher, reporting critiques of gender/class in her
novels.
Ø Studied
in Brussels (1842–44); unrequited love for Constantin Heger (married)
inspired Villette and The Professor.
Ø Published
under androgynous pseudonym "Currer Bell" to
circumvent Victorian gender bias.
- Major Works & Publication:
Ø Jane
Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), Villette (1853), The
Professor (posthumous, 1857).
- Personal Life & Death:
Ø Married
Arthur Bell Nicholls (1854); died during pregnancy (March 31, 1855), aged 38.
Ø Buried
at St. Michael and All Angels Church, Haworth.
Charles Dickens - Great Expectations
II. Jane Eyre (1847):
Overview
- Publication & Reception:
Ø Published
under "Currer Bell"; immediate commercial/critical success.
Ø Renowned
for strong female protagonist and innovative first-person
narrative.
- Plot Trajectory:
Ø Orphaned
protagonist Jane Eyre endures abuse at
Gateshead, hardship at Lowood School, employment as governess at Thornfield
Hall.
Ø Forges
complex relationship with Byronic hero Edward Rochester; discovers
his confined wife (Bertha Mason, the "madwoman in the attic").
Ø Rejects
bigamous marriage; achieves independence; returns to Rochester after Bertha’s
death and his disabling injuries.
- Central Themes:
Ø Morality
& Religion: Jane’s decisions guided by Christian
ethics (e.g., refusal to marry Rochester while Bertha lives).
Ø Gender
Equality: Protagonist challenges Victorian separate
spheres ideology, demanding intellectual/emotional parity.
"I am no bird; and
no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will."
Ø Social
Class: Critiques Victorian class hierarchy (e.g.,
Jane’s marginalization as governess).
Ø Love
vs. Autonomy: Jane prioritizes self-respect over
romantic passion.
"I would always
rather be happy than dignified."
- Literary Techniques:
Ø Gothic
Elements: Haunted settings (Thornfield Hall), psychological
terror, Bertha as Gothic double.
Ø Autobiographical
Resonance: Jane’s experiences mirror Brontë’s life (e.g.,
governess role, Brussels schooling).
Ø First-Person
Narrative: Creates immediacy and psychological depth;
focuses feminist subjectivity.
III. Critical Reception
& Legacy
- Contemporary Reviews:
Ø Praised
for emotional intensity and character complexity;
condemned for "coarseness" and moral subversion.
- Modern Perspectives:
Ø Hailed
as foundational feminist text; proto-feminist readings
of Jane’s agency.
Ø Postcolonial
critiques (e.g., Bertha as racialized "Other" in
Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea).
- Literary Endorsements:
Ø Virginia
Woolf: "We read Charlotte Brontë not for
exquisite observation... but for her poetry."
Ø Harold
Bloom: Classifies Jane Eyre as a "classic
of Gothic and Victorian literature".
- Adaptations & Influence:
Ø Numerous film,
television, and theatrical adaptations; inspired intertextual works (e.g., Rebecca by
Daphne du Maurier).
IV. Key Characters
- Jane Eyre: Resilient
protagonist; embodies moral integrity and quest for
self-actualization.
- Edward Rochester: Byronic
hero; represents restrained passion and patriarchal
ambiguity.
- Bertha Mason: Antillean
Creole heiress; confined as "mad"; Gothic symbol of
repressed female rage.
- Helen Burns:
Jane’s devout friend at Lowood; exemplifies Christian stoicism.
- St. John Rivers: Austerely
religious suitor; contrasts Rochester’s passion with cold
pragmatism.
V. Brontë’s Enduring
Significance
- Literary Innovation:
Ø Merged Gothic
conventions with social realism and autobiographical
narrative.
- Cultural Impact:
Ø Pioneered
complex female subjectivity in Victorian literature;
influenced New Woman writing.
Ø Continues
to inspire feminist, psychoanalytic, and postcolonial scholarship.
- Timeless Relevance:
Ø Explores universal
tensions: morality/desire, independence/belonging, silence/self-expression.
"The more solitary,
the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect
myself."
Literary Glossary:
- Byronic Hero:
Charismatic but flawed protagonist embodying rebellion and introspection.
- Gothic Double:
Character (e.g., Bertha) reflecting the protagonist’s suppressed
fears/desires.
- Separate Spheres:
Victorian ideology confining women to domestic/private realms.
- Proto-Feminism:
Early literary challenges to patriarchal norms preceding organized
feminism.
"Jane Eyre remains
a beacon of moral courage and feminist resolve, illuminating the struggle for selfhood
in a constraining world."
Excerpts from Jane Eyre
- On Independence: "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will."
- On Love: "I would always rather be happy than dignified."
- On Morality: "I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself."
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre remains a timeless exploration of love, morality, and independence. Brontë's life and works continue to inspire readers and scholars, cementing her place as one of the most important figures in English literature.
