jane eyre.doc

8/14/2019 jane eyre.doc

1/4

Prof. : Maria- Ana Tupan MoisoiuAdelina- MihaelaCourse: English Literature I st year,Chinese- English, group 11

Jane Eyrebeteen history and ro!an"e

ROMANTICISM IN JANE EYRE

Jane Eyre is a novel with an obvious theme of romanticism. After reading and fully

understanding Jane Eyre, one is able to understand the different techniques and styles of writing that

Charlotte Bront used to create the romantic genre thread that is found throughout the entire novel.

In the novel, Jane Eyre, a high moral tone is evident in author Charlotte Bronts writing. !he

novel is set in the "ictorian era, a time during which the Emotionalist #oral $hiloso%hy was %o%ular.

Bront, whose father was a reverend, e&%resses her own dee%ly religious views and morals through

her writing, %lacing Jane Eyre in the romantic novel genre. Although seemingly insignificant at first

glance, there are many religious references throughout this novel. !he title character, Jane, follows a

strict moral code and has a very religious u%bringing at 'owood (chool. #r. )ochester, her love

interest, on the other hand, a%%ears to have no conce%t of morality and chooses instead to ignore his

%roblems and deny any religion. At the end of the novel, however, after )ochester is blinded in the

fire, his %hysical disability causes him to have a s%iritual and moral resurrection.

In addition, social, %ersonal, and religious integrity often de%ended u%on a choice between sensuality

and morality . *hen Jane discovers that )ochester is already married to Bertha #ason, she chooses

not to marry him because by doing so, she would render herself not his wife, but his mistress. Janes

choice in this situation was a way for Bront to add her own morals to the story. Choices li+e this

throughout the novel ma+e it obvious that Bronts writing is in a high moral tone.

In this novel, as well as in other romantic novels, actions s%ea+ louder than words.- !his means that

more action ta+es %lace than words of e&%lanation and detail that sim%ly describe scenes. Beginning as

early as Janes childhood, Bront em%loys this actions over words- modus o%erandi. *hen Jane sees

her cousin, John )eed, lift and %oise the boo+ and stand in act to hurl it -, Jane starts to bic+er withJohn obno&iously. et rather than /ust continuing with useless ranting, Jane and John begin to quarrel

%hysically. As John ran headlong at 0Jane12 0(he struc+1 a young gentleman-. !he form of action

instead of /ust descri%tion gives the reader a better sense of what ha%%ens in the novel. By having the

actual %hysical drama of Jane and John fighting, the reader is able to understand the scene fully and

create an image in their mind rather than /ust e&%laining that both children were mad at each other.

3urther %roving that Jane Eyre is a romantic genre novel is the conce%t of the hero, Jane, struggling to

attain an ideal. Jane strives for such things as freedom, love, social equality, education, and s%iritual

wholeness throughout the novel. In the beginning, when Jane is at 'owood (chool, she struggles to

find s%iritual wholeness. Jane comes across several models of religion, beginning with 4elen Burns

and #r. Broc+lehurst, and later on, (t. John )ivers. Jane re/ects 4elens mee+ and %assive

inter%retation of Christianity, #r. Broc+lehursts hy%ocritical and humiliating mode of Christianity,

Page 1of 4


2/4

Prof. : Maria- Ana Tupan MoisoiuAdelina- MihaelaCourse: English Literature I st year,Chinese- English, group 11and (t. Johns ambitious, self5righteous form of Christianity.

Jane also searches not /ust for romantic love, but also for a sense of being valued, of belonging.

!owards the beginning of the novel, Jane she says to 4elen, to gain some real affection from you, or

#iss !em%le, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm

bro+en, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a +ic+ing horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest-.

Jane eventually finds both love and social class equality when she marries #r. )ochester after he is

blinded in the fire. (he feels as though she is now his equal and the master vs. servant- roles are no

longer in %lace. !his struggle to attain an ideal is evidence of the romantic genre.

All of the as%ects of a romantic genre novel are noticeably and clearly evident to the reader in Jane

Eyre. A romantic novel is considered to be one with high moral tone, an o%timistic outloo+, focus on

action rather than character develo%ment, setting and nature which reflect the feelings of the

characters, heroes struggling to attain ideals, and reading %roviding an esca%e from the daily e&istence

of the %rotagonist. Charlotte Bront effectively utili6es each of these e&am%les to convey a romantic

theme in her novel Jane Eyre.

4I(!7)ICA' $7I8! 73 "IE*

Jane Eyre is set in the north of England sometime in the first half of the nineteenth century.

9uring this %eriod, British society was undergoing slow but significant change. $erha%s most a%%arent

was the transition from a rural to an industrial economy. !he Industrial )evolutionhad begun in

Britain in the late :;


3/4

Prof. : Maria- Ana Tupan MoisoiuAdelina- MihaelaCourse: English Literature I st year,Chinese- English, group 11as dum%ing grounds for or%hans and other unwanted children. !hese establishments focused less on

education than on disci%line. 'owood Institution, in Bront?s novel, re%resents one such establishment.

!he "ictorian governess. Another form of education during the %eriod was %rovided by female

instructors that lived and taught within a family?s home. @nown as governesses, these women were

hired by u%%er5middleclass and u%%er5class %arents to %rovide schooling for their children. In the

novel, Jane earns her living in this occu%ation. Because the ability to hire this ty%e of hel% was

regarded as an indication of gentility and membershi% in elite society, families that could afford the

services of a governess were rarely without one. !he term governess was used to refer to a woman

who taught in a school, traveled to her em%loyee?s house to teach, or resided with her %u%ils. By the

year ::, England em%loyed over ;


4/4

Prof. : Maria- Ana Tupan MoisoiuAdelina- MihaelaCourse: English Literature I st year,Chinese- English, group 11slaveholder5 in Jane Eyre, the madwoman Bertha becomes a living e&am%le of this argument.

Page 4of 4

jane eyre.doc

Documents