StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Critique of Jane Eyre - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The essay "Critique of Jane Eyre" focuses on the critical analysis of Jane Eyre, a story about women in the Victorian Period. The main character, Jane Eyre, growing as a humble, polite, orphan girl who was always under oppression from her guardian, Mrs. Reed, and school teacher, Mr. Brocklehurst…
Download free paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER96.2% of users find it useful
Critique of Jane Eyre
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Critique of Jane Eyre"

Jane Eyre Jane Eyre is one of a kind story about women in that Victorian Period. The main character, Jane Eyre, growing as a humble, polite, orphan girl who was always under oppression from her guardian, Mrs. Reed and school teacher, Mr. Brocklehurst, managed to become an autonomous lady. In a society where women always became oppressed and their voices could not be heard, the author, Jane Eyre, tried to bring out the plight of women by the use of the character, Bertha Mason. Jane Eyre, by using Bertha Mason, present her own plight and other women through anger, feeling of entrapment and madness. Jane Eyre, in using the character, Bertha Mason, tries to talk about the issue of oppression to women in the society. Jane always felt entrapped in her life, since she always dreamt of achieving autonomy in her life. Bertha Mason on the other hand represented a woman who had broken loose from entrapment and causing havoc (Gilbert 23). As Jane grew up, she was orphan, but she was not accorded the warm love she expected from her guardian, Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed at one point punishes Jane after she was caught fighting her cousin, John Reed, a bully. It is ironical that Jane got punished instead of the bully. That clearly implied that women in that society were expected always to be under men’s authority, explaining Mrs. Reed punishment. In the punishment room, when Jane faints after claiming to see her dead uncle’s ghost, Jane is shocked when Mr. Llyod suggest to her aunt for her to be taken to school, and she agrees without hesitation (Gilbert 67) That clearly showed how women in that era made decisions based on what their male counterparts said. Women were oppressed not to make important decisions. In regard to the character, oppression is brought out by her representation that Bertha Mason was always entrapped in a room and always ran away at the slightest opportunity she got, “Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigour ... If at my convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?” (Bronte 154). Grace Poole, a drunkard, is in fact placed to guard Bertha Mason from not escaping to cause havoc. In the society, women always became oppressed and the society feared what might likely become of them of women became empowered, just as represented by the fire case. In as much as Bertha Mason used to be a rich and beautiful woman, she reached a point she wanted to get out of the oppression other women underwent, thereby becoming a vicious, angered, mad woman (Gilbert 134). These were the same feelings Jane had after the numerous years of living in oppression, but used Bertha Mason to represent her plight on oppression of women in the society. At the end of the story, Jane manages to acquire autonomy in her life as she marries, Edward Rochester, and she becomes treated like an equal. Jane at one point is reported to have said "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you ” (Bronte 78). Jane always wanted to break herself loose from the oppression she felt to become autonomous. Jane used the character Bertha Mason to present the anger she had to the society. From the critic book by Sandra Gilbert, Mad Woman in the attic, Bertha Mason is represented as an angered, violent woman ready who had the capability of burning Thornfield on any slight opportunity she got (Gilbert 234). Sandra criticized that Bertha Mason representation of anger, is what all women, including Jane Eyre felt towards that society that continuously oppressed them. In regard to charlotte’s writing, Jane was angered at how other women supported their oppression, for instance, her aunt, Mrs. Reed. She was angered at how her cruel headmaster, Mr. Blocklehurst, openly was hypocritical towards girls. “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do … It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex” (Bronte 135). During the wedding day to Edward Rochester, Jane discovered of her husband’s past clandestine lady, Bertha Mason. This woman is attributed as a violent and angered lady. She was angered at the society in which she lived in, that why she had the intention of burning it down. It is that anger that eventually led Bertha to burn down Thornfield together with herself. Jane ran away after discovering David Rochester, other wife to go and stay away from him since she was angry. After Bertha Mason burnt Thornfield, it’s when Jane returned, and started a new life with David Rochester, and that time, felt no anger (Gilbert 345). The burning of Thornfield, symbolized the eradication of inequality and oppression of women in the society. Jane Eyre used Bertha Mason in a way to express her feeling of turning mad in a society that was not welcoming to women. Bertha Mason, who once was a rich and beautiful woman, turned mad and became unattractive to her husband, as she behaved like an animal. She even became locked in a room and guarded all throughout (Gilbert 256). "In the deep shade, at the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards.  What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight tell: it groveled, seemingly on all fours: it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair wild as a mane, hid its head and face" (Bronte 345). Jane Eyre faced a lot that at some point thought she was becoming mad, for instance, after she ran away from her wedding when told of Bertha story, she went into poverty and became a beggar. Throughout her life, she was mad at how women became oppressed in the society and nothing became done. In using the character, Bertha Mason, a strong representation of the plight of women becomes evident as Bertha Mason becomes driven by the society to an extent that she turns mad, and wants to burn it down. Eventually, her madness overcomes her and she burns Thornfield including herself (Gilbert 320). In conclusion, one could evidently deduce that the character, Bertha Mason, represented the psychological double of Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre, the narrator, in fact uses her character to present some of the plights of women in the society, therefore, Bertha Mason acts more so for Jane. Through Bertha Mason, one could see how Jane represented a woman who had been under oppression for so long, and wanted to be autonomous (Gilbert 49). Bertha wanted to free herself from the bondages society had placed on her, on the bigger scale, women in the Victorian Era. She eventually ended up becoming violent, angry, and mad to an extent of burning Thornfield down (Gilbert 319). As the story ends, a situation of equality which Jane had always wished for creates itself when she ends up marrying a disabled David Rochester and lived a happy life “I have now been married ten years. I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest - blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine” (Bronte 689). Works Cited Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Forgotten Books, 2008. Print. Gilbert, Sandra. The Madwoman in the Attic. New York: Yale Nota Bene, 2000. Print. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Jane eyre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/literature/1461275-jane-eyre
(Jane Eyre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
https://studentshare.org/literature/1461275-jane-eyre.
“Jane Eyre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/literature/1461275-jane-eyre.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Critique of Jane Eyre

The Emergence of the New Woman

The paper "The Emergence of the New Woman" analyzes the cult of Reason mingled with Foucault's assessment of it finds perfect illustration in Rhys' novel.... At the same time, Pygmalion becomes a revolutionary cry for feminism amidst a Victorian rigidity of religion's patriarchal discourses.... ... ...
6 Pages (1500 words) Book Report/Review

Jane Eyre: the Story of Oppression and Protest

The main aim of this paper is to analyze the ide of the Bronte's autobiographical novel entitled "jane eyre".... In that respect, 'jane eyre' cannot be termed as an autobiography.... However, from the very beginning of jane's story, the theme of oppression and suffering could be identified.... ronte's novel centers on the journey and growth of the protagonist jane from a temperamental child to a matured woman.... The course of her entire journey from Gateshead to Thornfield is marked by jane's experiences of torture in the name of punishment and discipline....
6 Pages (1500 words) Essay

Bertha Mason Character Analysis in the Context of Feminist Theory

This paper examines the feminist perspective and how it relates to the character of Bertha Antoinetta Mason, a fictional character in Charlotte Brontë's novel, jane eyre.... The paper tells that Edward Rochester's affair with jane eyre was one of love and passion.... In this case, it appears that jane eyre was given the right to make a choice.... Adultery is wrong and Edward Rochester should have either legitimately divorced Bertha to carry on the relationship or he should have at least told jane eyre about the situation in order to ensure Jane's proper consent to the relationship....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Female Characters in Jane Eyre and Rebecca

The climactic death jump of Bertha in Jane Eyre and of Antoinette in Wide Sargasso Sea, present a drastic contrast to the quiet, pious brush surrounding the death of jane eyre on the moors.... This essay " Female Characters in jane eyre and Rebecca" presents the use of imagery of enclosed spaces of the houses used to explore the constrictions that are placed on the female body and the fear that the narration has of female incarceration within domestic spaces....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Cultural Influence on English Literature

In the paper 'Cultural Influence on English Literature,' the author discusses the cultural influence on English Literature from those cultures impacted during England's Age of Imperialism.... The influence of culture and literature on the progress of any society is enormous and is highly dynamic in nature....
5 Pages (1250 words) Assignment

Evaluation of Post-colonialism Theorists

The following assignment "Evaluation of Post-colonialism Theorists" dwells on the ideas expressed by the theorists, Edward Said and Gayatri Spivak.... It is stated that the collapse of western colonization after the World War II did not, sadly, end the oppression of the once colonized countries.... ...
14 Pages (3500 words) Assignment

Jane Eyre: Conduct Manual

This assignment proposes another look on jane eyre and its meaning.... As a result, novels such as Charlotte Bronte's jane eyre were often used as conduct manuals, examples for the entertainment and simultaneous education of young men and women regarding the behavior expected of them....
19 Pages (4750 words) Assignment

The Rebellious Attitude of Jane Eyre

The paper "The Rebellious Attitude of jane eyre" discusses that most people like to see someone overcome the bad things that happen in their lives and this was one of the things that made Jane Eyre a good book to read although sometimes it was difficult to understand.... One of the issues that strike many critics is the fact that jane eyre was rebellious and did not allow others to tell her what to do.... ane eyre was a troubled woman in her early years because she went through many situations that caused her pain....
7 Pages (1750 words) Book Report/Review
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us