Literary Anlysis of Jane Eyre – Victorian Era

Many etymons, styles, genres, and modes of Victorian Literature are reflected in the works of the Bronte Sisters, especially that of Jane Eyre. Common themes of victorian literature are dual-lane with Jane Eyre. Food was a reoccurring theme of throughout many Victorian allegorys beca procedure of the smart that many people faced in this time period. This theme is reflected in the vivid description of under nourishment at Lowood School in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre. A nonher common theme was womens morality and sensuality.Before the publication of Jane Eyre, women were simple and reliable under the expectations of society, the wife and mother from whom all morality sprang (Lowes). After this novel was published, the new woman became predominant who was based gain the main event, Jane, who was independent, safe, forward, and natural in the sense of marriage and contraception opinions. The theme of sex turd goes along with womens morality and sensuality because it, also, wen t against the prior conservative social expectations and beliefs for women. This theme started to become common in victorian literature.An example of sex scandal is in Jane Eyre when Jane got involved with Rochester, her wealthy boss, and ended up marrying him. Jane Eyre is written in first-person from the point of view of Jane. The genre of Jane Eyre can be classified as many different types Romance, Mystery, and Gothic Fiction. It can be considered a important romantic novel because of the lustful relationship that Jane and Rochester form. It is a mystery in the sense that throughout the book, Jane suspects fewthing about Rochester and his past based on the adventure of Grace Pool accidently setting his bed on antiaircraft gun in a drunken state and not getting fired for it.She past discovers the secret of his past that he has a wife, Bertha, who has unrivalled wan and was the one who set his bed on fire. It is considered Gothic Fiction because of the supernatural and rom ance elements that Charlotte Bronte includes (http//www. shmoop. com/jane-eyre/literary-devices. html) Through Charlottes unique writing style, she incorporates fantasy elements in Jane Eyre through references to queen tales, prophetic dreams, mythic resourcefulness, and extraordinary plot twists, (Shwingen).An example of the mythic imagery is shown through Charlottes emphasis on the image of craze. Jane was always a passionate and emotional office since she was a child. Charlotte writes about Jane after her cousin hits her with the book, my short letter was still warm the pettishness of the revolted slave was still bracing me with its acetous vigor. The image of her warm blood and her intense anger compared to that of a revolted slave shows Janes great emotion even as a child.This image is accent through imagery when Charlotte writes of Janes feelings for Rochester as fiery iron and blackness and burning at the stake. These figurative images of a fire portray to the read er the intense passion that Jane has for Rochester. Fire is another image that Charlotte writes about throughout the novel in the bedroom blaze which Jane saved Rochester from, in the language that both Rochester and Jane use in describing their emotions towards each other, and in the final fire that destroyed Thornfield Hall, game Rochester, and killed Bertha, (Vaughon).In Vaughons opinion, this imagery of fire and passion was Charlottes way of emphasizing the unethical and criminal love life that Jane and Rochester shared with each other based on the fire of hell. As said before, in Victorian times, this relationship would be considered opprobrious not only based on the difference in their classes, only if also because they believed in purity. Charlotte goes against the traditional beliefs with her imagery of passion and lust in the midst of Jane and Rochester. Charlottes writing style is generally educated, obscure, and emotion filled.Most of her moveences are contain ma ny adjectives and sensual images. Her unique style may be overwhelming for some readers, but its powerful and strong. The reader is able to identify with Jane Eyre as a character through the complex sentence structure that is filled with emotion and imagery. (http//reviewmaterials. tripod. com/english/jane_eyre. html) gibe to George P. Landow, Jane Eyre is divided into five distinct settings. The story starts off when Jane is a child living in her relatives, the Reeds, house in Gateshead Hall.Then she is sent to Lowood school and has many experiences there with Miss. Temple, Helen Burns, and Mr. Brocklehurst. After eight years in boarding school, she lives at Thornfield as a governess to Adele. This is where she falls in love with her boss, Rochester. Then she moves out after he discovery of Bertha, Rochesters mad wife. She is hence taken into the Moor House by her cousins, the Rivers. In the end, she is reunited with Rochester at the Ferndean Manor. apiece setting of the book ha s its own unique mood in strong relation to the characters present at each place. For example,Robert B.Martin points out that the setting of Thornfield is ofttimes more personal than the two preceding settings at Gateshead and Lowood because of the federation Jane makes to Rochester and the connection Rochester has to Thornfield (George P. Landow). In chapter 11, Mrs. Fairfax first makes mention to Rochester when she says, Great houses and fine grounds use up the presence of the proprietor. Because Mrs. Fairfax said this, Jane felt as though it was not alive unless Rochester was present which is strongly connected to how Jane felt lonely and piling because when he was not there.This connection between character and setting reflects the complex mood of Thornfield depending on whether Rochester is there or not. When he is away on a trip, the mood is somber and desolate because the reader can consider and feel the longing that Jane has for Rochester and the loneliness she feels in the huge, empty house. When he is there, the mood changes to exciting and intimate because of the strong feelings that Jane has toward him and the liveliness that she associates with the house. Charlotte Bronte does a great melodic phrase with reflecting the characters in Jane Eyre to the reader through her writing.One very unique and interesting character is Bertha, Rochesters insane wife. The Victorians during the nineteenth century had a fascination with health, sometimes great than that of politics, religion, and Darwinism. They believed an interdependent mind-body connection gained capability, and many people saw physical and kind health as being interrelated rather than separate entities, (Sonja Mayer). According to Mayer, these attitudes of the time are reflected in Berthas character through her mental unsoundness and the physical nemesis she puts on Rochester.Compared to Jane, Bertha is her opposite and portrayed to the reader as a monster. Rochester describes her as having red balls for eyes, a mask kinda of a face, and bulk instead of an attractive form like Jane, (Sonja Mayer). Jane is strong in body and mind. She endured the varicose conditions at Lowood where many students had died and survived through cold and hunger when she had ran away from Thornfield and lived outside. Her mental strength is shown through her courage as a child with her poisonous aunt, bullying cousin, and hypocritical head master.She stayed true to herself and motivated to be thriving as a woman in this time despite the vexed situations these people had created for her. In contrast, Bertha is portrayed by Rochester as having gone mad. The Victorians would view this as a lack of mental strength. She, also, poses a threat to Rochester physically by her acts such as setting his bed on fire while he was sleeping, lunging at him and Jane in the room, and actually win in burning down the house at the the end of the book. Rochester is portrayed as the ideal hero of t he Victorian times.He is very romantic and lovely which adds to the gothic style of this novel (Lowes). Despite his charm, there was much competition over Rochesters character in Victorian times. English law at the time said that a man whose wife became insane could not get a divorce. To deal with his problem, he put his wife into confinement, locked in a room with a servant to care for her. He and so proceeded to almost partake in bigamy by marrying Jane. Many Victorians of the time questioned wherefore Jane would ever go back to such a man. (http//reviewmaterials. tripod. om/english/jane_eyre. html) The character of Jane isnt the traditional heroine of the time. In many romantic novels of the Victorian era, the heroine was beautiful. Jane is described by Charlotte as simple and plain. She also differs from the traditional heroine in her strength as a woman. Charlotte created a woman character that was equal to the phallic character. Jane is not equal in status or class, but i n emotional strength and maturity. This went against societys beliefs of the time because Victorians traditionally believed that women were not capable of strong.