Jane Eyre Essay

     Charlotte Brontë published Jane Eyre, a three-volume novel, in 1847 and till this day it is one of the greatest English nineteenth century novels. The novel tells the story of a young woman who, orphaned as a child, must first become a teacher and then a governess to survive. Accentuating one of the most unforgettable and independent female characters of all time, this novel constructs its plot and characters in terms of hypocrisy verses honesty, with Jane herself systematically on the side of righteousness.

     During the first volume of the novel, Jane is sent as a misfortunate orphan to "Lowood", a religion based public establishment in which the tyrannical Mr. Brocklehurst attempts to purify the girls by means of brutality and victimization. He dresses his daughters and wife in finery, whereas he makes the girls at Lowood cut their hair and practically starves them to death. Jane's best friend, Helen Burns, becomes a target of brutality in the novel and her mistreatment contributes to the advance of her severe case of tuberculosis. This portion of the novel distinctly depicts Jane as immune and resistant towards the hypocrisy of a world that can kill a young girl for her own good. Jane shows defiance again a few years later when Mr. Brocklehurst invites her to stay as an adult teacher at Lowood and she refuses to. Jane's rebelliousness and independence are represented as positives here, as the reader is expected to detest the casual cruelty Mr. Brocklehurst brings forth to the novel.

     Jane leaves Lowood behind and goes on to become a governess at the Thornfield Manor and tutors a French girl, Adele. Jane's boss, Mr. Rochester speaks to Jane with irony and brutal honesty, telling her that she is plain- to which she replies that he is not handsome. Later on in the novel, Rochester and Jane fall in love and he claims to have fallen for her because she is different than the rest. Rochester shows how hypocritical he is when he tries to dress up Jane in fancy clothes and jewels, for he had already claimed he fell in love with her because of her plain appearance. Jane does not make Rochester look bad in the reader's eyes at all throughout the novel, showing how honest she continues to remain while she is surrounded with hypocritical people.

    While Jane Eyre is clearly a romantic novel, it is also an early illustration of a feminist novel. The issue of honesty is at the center of the story. Those who are dishonest are clearly intended to earn the disapproval of the reader, and those who are honest are expected to win the reader's admiration. The reader respects Jane for the genuine nature of her virtues- she may be plain visually, but she is wise and has a compassionate heart, as well as a burning desire to do the right thing. Desire is evidently a theme in the novel, but a powerful moral code as well, one that captures the heart of fairness in social relations, not just one that focuses on soul-less rule making. The theme of righteousness verses hypocrisy further develops the character of Jane Eyre in this novel, and she also helps to establish the theme.  

Jane Eyre

Klara Sulce

Mr. Perez

English AP

13 February 2012

     “Jane Eyre” is written in the form Bildungsroman and takes place in Victorian England during the mid-nineteenth century. It is one of the most famous works of Charlotte Brontë because it is a memoir of her arduous life and the obstacles she overcame. The people Jane Eyre encountered had a huge impact on her life, particularly the females, including Mrs. Reed, Bessie, Helen Burns, Miss Temple, and Diana and Mary Rivers. Jane based her relationship with the women on a reciprocal nature because she lacked motherly guidance and therefore needed an affectionate woman to show her respect and love.

     The first woman that Jane Eyre was introduced to after her mother's death was Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed showered her no kind of motherly love, therefore Jane was witty towards her and suffered from emotional scarring throughout her teen years. Jane underwent many struggles due to Mrs. Reed and the most challenging one was attending Lowood School. Mrs. Reed sends her off to a private school because she hopes that Jane’s time at Lowood will reform her, particularly her tendency to lie. Although the family mistreats her, Jane still wishes that she could have the same attention and love that her cousins receive from her aunt.

     Contrasting from Mrs. Reed tremendously are Miss Temple, Jane's teacher at Lowood and Bessie-the nurse in the Reed household. Bessie is the only figure in Jane's childhood who regularly treats her kindly, telling her stories and signing her songs. She gives Jane hope that things will get better and visits her later on in the novel only to find out that Jane is now a lady. Miss Temple treats Jane and her best friend Helen with respect and compassion and serves as one of Jane's first positive female role models, encouraging the spirit of independence and dignity in Jane. She even goes out of her way to clear Jane of Mrs. Reed's accusations against her. Both Bessie and Miss Temple impacted Jane positively and reminded Jane that there are women out there that do in fact care about her and are not out to get her. She was so used to the idea of being tormented by the Reed family, that once exposed to true compassion by others, she did not know how to react to it or feel worthy.

     Helen is Jane's closest friend at the Lowood school and serves as Jane's foil. The two young ladies differ immensely in personality. Helen endures her miserable life with a passive dignity that Jane cannot understand, whereas Jane answerers back to all her elders and will not tolerate being disrespected. Helen dies of consumption in Jane's arms at the age of ten and this has a powerful effect on Jane. How can someone that so firmly believes in a loving God die so early in their life? What Jane learns from Helen becomes a part of her value system and affects her emotional responses, behavior, and decisions.

     Diana and Mary Rivers are the final two females that truly have a lasting impact on Jane. Jane tells us directly that, when she’s hanging out with Diana and Mary, she aspires to their level of intelligence, saying, "They were both more accomplished and better read than I was; but with eagerness I followed in the path of knowledge they had trodden before me" (Bronte 308). In relation to her female friends, then, Jane often reverts to the dynamic she learned as a child, where she is the loyal pupil and the compassionate women around her are her teachers. The loss of a mother figure that Jane experienced early in her childhood lead to the way she judges the women that later came into her life. In other words, the way Jane relates to most of the women in her life is either as their master or their pupil and in some instances, as both.

     The encounters Jane made with all the women in her life helped her to become the woman she presents herself as as the Bildungsroman novel progresses. Jane's development in character starts because of Mrs. Reed and continues as she meets Helen, Mrs. Temple, and Diana and Mary Rivers. These women are not Jane's equals, some are her teachers, that Jane hero-worships and learns from, whereas some are her students. As the novel comes to a close, Jane becomes an independent woman because of all the experiences she underwent with all the women in her life and she has the ability to form her own religion regarding right and wrong.