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Jane Eyre and The Search for Independence

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Published: Jun 29, 2018

Words: 2131 | Pages: 4.5 | 11 min read

Works Cited

  • Brontë, C. (2016). Jane Eyre. Penguin.
  • Gilbert, S. M., & Gubar, S. (2000). The madwoman in the attic: The woman writer and the nineteenth-century literary imagination. Yale University Press.
  • Grosz, E. (2017). The autonomy of the female subject in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. Bronte Studies, 42(2), 117-127.
  • Harrison, G. B. (1999). The interiority of Jane Eyre. Narrative, 7(1), 1-18.
  • Jung, S. (2019). Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: A casebook. Oxford University Press.
  • Levine, C. P. (2003). Introduction. In The cambridge companion to Jane Eyre (pp. 1-18). Cambridge University Press.
  • McMaster, J. (2004). Jane Eyre: Case studies in contemporary criticism. Bedford/St. Martin's.
  • Miller, J. (2008). Why Charlotte Bronte opposed slavery in Jane Eyre. The Victorian, 5(1), 1-17.
  • Oates, J. C. (2016). Introduction. In Charlotte Bronte: Jane Eyre (pp. ix-xxix). Barnes & Noble.
  • Schneider, R. L. (2009). Beyond the window: New readings of Jane Eyre. University of Missouri Press.

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jane eyre independence essay

jane eyre independence essay

Charlotte Brontë

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Love, Family, and Independence Theme Icon

Love, Family, and Independence

As an orphan at Gateshead, Jane is oppressed and dependent. For Jane to discover herself, she must break out of these restrictive conditions and find love and independence. Jane must have the freedom to think and feel, and she seeks out other independent-minded people as the loving family she craves. Jane, Helen Burns , and Ms. Temple enjoy a deep mutual respect, and form emotional bonds that anticipate the actual family Jane finds in Mary …

Love, Family, and Independence Theme Icon

Social Class and Social Rules

Life in 19th-century Britain was governed by social class, and people typically stayed in the class into which they were born. Both as an orphan at Gateshead and as a governess at Thornfield, Jane holds a position that is between classes, and interacts with people of every level, from working-class servants to aristocrats. Jane's social mobility lets Brontë create a vast social landscape in her novel in which she examines the sources and consequences of…

Social Class and Social Rules Theme Icon

Gender Roles

In 19th-century England, gender roles strongly influenced people's behavior and identities, and women endured condescending attitudes about a woman's place, intelligence, and voice. Jane has an uphill battle to become independent and recognized for her personal qualities. She faces off with a series of men who do not respect women as their equals. Mr. Brocklehurst , Rochester , and St. John all attempt to command or master women. Brontë uses marriage in the novel to…

Gender Roles Theme Icon

Religion and spirituality are key factors in how characters develop in the novel. Jane matures partly because she learns to follow Christian lessons and resist temptation. Helen Burns introduces Jane to the New Testament, which becomes a moral guidepost for Jane throughout her life. As Jane develops her relationship with God, Mr. Rochester must also reform his pride, learn to pray, and become humble. Brontë depicts different forms of religion: Helen trusts in salvation; Eliza …

Religion Theme Icon

Feeling vs. Judgment

Just as Jane Eyre can be described as Jane's quest to balance her contradictory natural instincts toward independence and submission, it can also be described as her quest to find a balance between passionate feeling on the one had and judgment, or repression of those feelings, on the other. Through the examples of other characters in the novel, such as Eliza and Georgiana, Rochester and St. John—or Bertha, who has no control over her emotions…

Feeling vs. Judgment Theme Icon

The Spiritual and the Supernatural

Brontë uses many themes of Gothic novels to add drama and suspense to Jane Eyre . But the novel isn't just a ghost story because Brontë also reveals the reasons behind supernatural events. For instance, Mr. Reed's ghost in the red-room is a figment of Jane's stressed-out mind, while Bertha is the "demon" in Thornfield. In Jane Eyre , the effects of the supernatural matter more than the causes. The supernatural allows Brontë to explore…

The Spiritual and the Supernatural Theme Icon

Themes and Analysis

By charlotte brontë.

‘Jane Eyre’ represents the typical contemporary feminist woman who loves herself and searches for respect from others. Some of the well-thought-out themes she personifies anchor around self-love, romantic love, spirituality, independence, and social class.

Victor Onuorah

Article written by Victor Onuorah

Degree in Journalism from University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Among other themes, religion also comes up top as a major influencing factor that goes on to shape the protagonist in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘ Jane Eyre ,’ and the lessons learned to stay with her for the rest of her life – often serving as a curb to her immoderations and moral excesses.

Jane Eyre Themes

Spirituality.

Spirituality makes a major part of Charlotte Brontë’s ‘ Jane Eyre ’ – and goes on to have a massive influence on several of the book’s characters , especially on Jane, the protagonist. Because the book’s time setting is centered around Victorian English society , from the early 1800s, Christianity became the prevalent religion that had the most influence on the people. 

Jane certainly has a few people in her life – like Helen and St. John Rivers- that help sharpen her spirituality and build a moral life. Although, like these characters whose views are extreme, she finds a middle ground that works well with her personality.

Independence and Self Love

Charlotte Brontë succeeded in building Jane into a strong, independent woman who develops a sort of iron-clad mentality on her selfhood and integrity. She discovers the kind of woman she wants to be from early on, and It’s not life, and actions are dictated by men or society. She works towards this goal without compromises, even though she has no close family, home, or social security to make the decision easier. 

Social Class

Social class is another such theme dealt with heavily by Charlotte Brontë in her book, ‘ Jane Eyre ,’ and readers get to see this being called into action throughout the book. As is normal with the class system, the people at the low end of the class tend to suffer the most, and Jane finds herself in this position – having lost her parents at a tender age and left to stay with her mean aunt who, despite her affluent status, is unable to lift Jane the social ladder instead causes more troubles for her by horribly treating her.

Key Moments in Jane Eyre

  • At Gateshead, ten years old, Jane endures the most horrible treatment living with Mrs. Reed, a wealthy but cruel widow and mother of three, and also Jane’s aunt. 
  • Aside from putting up with her mean aunt, Jane also has to manage her mean cousins – especially John Reed, who often bullies her at the slightest chance. 
  • Jane soon gets into trouble with Mrs. Reed for challenging John and is put into a chamber called the ‘red room,’ the same place where Mrs. Reed’s husband and Jane’s uncle had spent his final hours.
  • Jane is traumatized by a possible ghostly presence and reacts to it by crying and fainting. 
  • After her release, she is tended to by two persons, Bessie – a servant who is the only one in the house that feeds and truly cares for her; and Mr. Lloyd, a pharmacist who has come to treat her. 
  • After examining Jane and feeling pity for her, Mr. Lloyd advises Mrs. Reed that allowing Jane to go to a distant school may be the only way to get rid of her troubles. 
  • Jane is sent to a highly disciplinary Lowood School where she meets some nice people, but also deplorable ones. One of the latter is her headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, who is later fired for his hypocrisy, extravagance, and poor management skill. 
  • At Lowood, Jane also meets the kind and virtuous Helen Burn – who sadly dies prematurely, and a caring mother figure-like Miss Temple – who replaces Mr. Brocklehurst.
  • Jane stays at Lowood for eight years and leaves afterward – seeking new experiences from the outer world. She finds a job as a home tutor at Thornfield, where she attends to the young and vibrant Adéle, an illegitimate stepdaughter of the shrewd and aggressive Mr. Rochester, Jane’s boss and owner of the Thornfield mansion. 
  • Shortly after, Jane begins falling for her boss, and one time saves him from a fire set by Mr. Rochester’s mentally sick wife, Bertha Mason, although Jane doesn’t know about this as housekeeper Grace Poole takes the blame instead. 
  • Mr. Rochester, who secretly now has feelings for Jane, intends to make her jealous and brings home Blanche Ingram, a beautiful woman, as his mistress. Jane is devastated by this and doesn’t say anything. 
  • Suddenly and unexpectedly, Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane. Astonished and dumbfounded, Jane accepts, but the wedding is not about to stand Richard Mason, Mr. Rochester’s in-law, flies into town with a lawyer to disrupt the marriage. 
  • Jane learns that Mr. Rochester has a living wife after he takes them to the attic where she’s kept. This is too much for Jane to handle, so she leaves Thornfield. 
  • Depressed and without any clear destination, Jane wanders the street for three days – sleeping outside and begging for bread. 
  • On the third day, and to Jane’s luck, a clergyman, St. John Rivers, and his two sisters find Jane around their residence, the Moor House, and bring her in. He helps Jane secure a teaching job in Morton and helps Jane claim an inheritance of 20,000 pounds left by her John Eyre, which Jane knows nothing about.
  • St. John also tells Jane that John Eyre was also their uncle – this makes Jane and the Rivers siblings cousins. 
  • St. John plans a missionary trip to India and asks Jane to marry and accompany him. Jane wants to travel but doesn’t love him enough to marry him. She continues to ponder about it until one, and in what feels like a dream, Mr. Rochester calls out to her to come home to him. 
  • She leaves for Thornfield the next morning only to find the house is burnt to ashes by Bertha – who died in the fire, leaving Mr. Rochester with an arm and blind after he managed to rescue the servants. 
  • Jane locates Mr. Rochester at his new home in Ferndean and marries him.
  • After one decade of marriage, the couple stays very happy with their children. Jane shares that her husband regained half of his sight early enough to see his first son being born.

Style and Tone 

In the story of ‘ Jane Eyre ,’ Charlotte Brontë utilizes a descriptive first-person perspective – allowing her protagonist, Jane, to share her deeply touching story with her readers for a chance to fully understand her plight and the pains she passed through on her way to becoming an independent, well-respected wife and society woman. 

Charlotte’s tone for ‘ Jane Eyre ’ is warm and welcoming , thanks to the personality of the book’s protagonist. However, the book is by designation a gothic romance and so is characteristically imbued with plot mysteriousness, occasional dread, and horror.

Figurative Languages

Charlotte Brontë brings to play a wide range of figurative languages in her masterwork, ‘ Jane Eyre ,’ and except for a good few, quotes therein are typically stretchered using sentence joiners like commas, semicolons et cetera. For the figurative language, readers should expect to find a bulk of metaphors, similes, and personification being used throughout the pages of the book. 

Analysis of Symbols in Jane Eyre  

Fire is portrayed on several occasions in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘ Jane Eyre ,’ and outside of its literal meaning, concerning Jane, it’s a clear motif for her drive, delicateness, and passion towards achieving her goals.

Ice and Chills

These hold a motif of loneliness, personal pains, and suffering Jane faces at different points in her life – from Gateshead, under her cruel aunt and her children – to Lowood school, then to sleeping three days in the streets. Ice and chills are a representation of the harsh conditions Jane faces throughout the book.

The Red-Room 

Restrictive, repressive, and scary, the red room symbolizes how society represses Jane’s shine and ability to become an independent, self-sustaining woman of her time, seeing as that is nearly impossible for any woman to achieve in such a society. 

What is a frontal theme in ‘ Jane Eyre ’?

Search for one’s voice, freedom and independence prove a prevalent theme in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘ Jane Eyre ,’ however, there are also the themes of love, religion and spirituality, and social class. 

What does the red room signify in Charlotte Brontë’s ‘ Jane Eyre ’?

One important sign of the red room is its restrictive and scary nature, and this is similar to the limitations and challenges Jane would later face in the outer society.

In Charlotte Brontë’s ‘ Jane Eyre ,’ how does Jane become the woman she always wanted to be?

Jane becomes the best version of herself because she sets a goal for herself, follows through on it, and in the end, becomes an independent woman with her voice and obtains respect and equality for her gender. 

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Victor Onuorah

About Victor Onuorah

Victor is as much a prolific writer as he is an avid reader. With a degree in Journalism, he goes around scouring literary storehouses and archives; picking up, dusting the dirt off, and leaving clean even the most crooked pieces of literature all with the skill of analysis.

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Jane Eyre: An Evolution of Independence Ashley Elizabeth Harrison College

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre presents a woman’s struggle for freedom in early 19th century England. Male suppression, societal conceptions, religious authority, and even self-inhibition threaten Jane’s independence. But perhaps the greatest impediment to her autonomy is her question of self. Throughout the novel, as Jane grows into adulthood and becomes increasingly self-aware, her idea of independence evolves with her to encompass a worldview that is neither conventional nor unrivaled.

As a child at Gateshead, Jane is fully dependant on the Reeds (Brontë 13). In many ways she is a prisoner. Indeed, Jane’s imprisonment in the red room is the complete physical manifestation of her forced submission (13). Lower than the servants, for she does “nothing for [her] keep,” Jane is beaten by her cousin and begrudged by her aunt (10, 12). Jane scoffs at the term “benefactress” for Mrs. Reed since her aunt’s aid comes with the hefty price of subjugation (31). Jane is told that she “ought not to think [her]self on an equality with the Misses Reed and Master Reed . . . it is [her] place to be humble, and to try to make [her]self agreeable to them,” (13). Yet, as much as she tries, Jane cannot manage to make this happen (15):

“All John Reed...

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jane eyre independence essay

Individuality and Self-Worth: Feminist Accomplishment in Jane Eyre

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jane eyre independence essay

  • Ph.D., English Language and Literature, Northern Illinois University
  • M.A., English, California State University–Long Beach
  • B.A., English, Northern Illinois University

Whether or not Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is a feminist work has been widely debated among critics for decades. Some argue that the novel speaks more about religion and romance than it does of female empowerment; however, this is not a wholly accurate judgment. The work can, in fact, be read as a feminist piece from beginning to end. 

The main character, Jane, asserts herself from the first pages as an independent woman (girl), unwilling to rely on or relent to any outside force. Though a child when the novel starts, Jane follows her own intuition and instinct rather than submitting to the oppressive statutes of her family and educators. Later, when Jane becomes a young woman and is faced with overbearing male influences, she again asserts her individuality by demanding to live according to her own necessity. In the end, and most importantly, Brontë stresses the significance of choice to the feminist identity when she allows Jane to go back to Rochester. Jane eventually chooses to marry the man she once left, and chooses to live out the remainder of her life in seclusion; these choices, and the terms of that seclusion, are what prove Jane’s feminism.

Early on, Jane is recognizable as someone atypical to the young ladies of the nineteenth century. Immediately in the first chapter, Jane’s aunt, Mrs. Reed, describes Jane as a “caviller,” stating that “there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in [such a] manner.” A young woman questioning or speaking out of turn to an elder is shocking, especially one in Jane’s situation, where she is essentially a guest in her aunt’s house.

Yet, Jane never regrets her attitude; in fact, she further questions the motives of others while in solitude, when she has been put off from questioning them in person. For instance, when she has been scolded for her actions toward her cousin John, after he provokes her, she is sent away to the red room and, rather than reflecting on how her actions could be considered unladylike or severe, she thinks to herself: “I had to stem a rapid rush of retrospective thought before I quailed to the dismal present.” 

Also, she later thinks, “[r]esolve . . . instigated some strange expedient to achieve escape from insupportable oppression – as running away, or, . . . letting myself die” (Chapter 1). Neither actions, having to suppress backlash or considering flight, would have been considered possible in a young lady, especially a child of no means who is in the “kind” care of a relative. 

Furthermore, even as a child, Jane considers herself an equal to all around her. Bessie brings this to her attention, condemning it, when she says, “you ought not to think yourself on an equality with the Misses Reed and Master Reed” (Chapter 1). However, when Jane asserts herself in a “more frank and fearless” action than she had ever before displayed, Bessie is actually pleased (38). At that point, Bessie tells Jane that she is scolded because she is “a queer, frightened, shy, little thing” who must “be bolder” (39).  Thus, from the very start of the novel, Jane Eyre is presented as a curious girl, outspoken and conscious of the need to improve her situation in life, though it is required of her by society to simply acquiesce.

Jane’s individuality and feminine strength is again demonstrated at the Lowood Institution for girls. She does her best to convince her only friend, Helen Burns, to stand up for herself. Helen, representing the acceptable female character of the time, waves Jane’s ideas aside, instructing her that she, Jane, need only study the Bible more, and be more compliant to those of a higher social status than she. When Helen says, “it would be your duty to bear [being flogged], if you could not avoid it: it is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to be required to bear,” Jane is appalled, which foreshadows and demonstrates that her character will not be “fated” to subservience (Chapter 6). 

Another example of Jane’s courage and individualism is shown when Brocklehurst makes false claims about her and forces her to sit in shame before all her teachers and classmates. Jane bears it, then tells the truth to Miss Temple rather than hold her tongue as would be expected of a child and student. Finally, at the end of her stay at Lowood, after Jane has been a teacher there for two years, she takes it upon herself to find a job, to better her situation, crying, “I [desire] liberty; for liberty I [gasp]; for liberty I [utter] a prayer” (Chapter 10). She does not ask for any man’s assistance, nor does she allow the school to find a place for her. This self-sufficient act seems natural to Jane’s character; however, it would not be thought of as natural for a woman of the time, as demonstrated by Jane’s need to keep her plan secret from the masters of the school.

At this point, Jane’s individuality has advanced from the eager, rash outbursts of her childhood. She has learned to keep true to herself and her ideals while maintaining a level of sophistication and piety, thus creating a more positive notion of feminine individuality than was displayed in her youth.  

The next obstacles for Jane’s feminist individuality come in the form of two male suitors, Rochester and St John. In Rochester, Jane finds her true love, and had she been any less of a feminist person, any less demanding of her equality in all relationships, she would have married him when he first asked. However, when Jane realizes that Rochester is already married, though his first wife is insane and essentially irrelevant, she immediately flees from the situation.

Unlike the stereotypical female character of the time, who might be expected to care only about being a good wife and servant to her husband , Jane stands firm: “Whenever I marry, I am resolved my husband shall not be a rival, but a foil to me. I will suffer no competitor near the throne; I shall exact an undivided homage” (Chapter 17). 

When she is asked again to be married, this time by St John, her cousin, she again intends to accept. Yet, she discovers that he, too, would be choosing her second, this time not to another wife, but to his missionary calling. She ponders his proposal for a long time before concluding, “If I join St. John, I abandon half myself.” Jane then decides that she cannot go to India unless she “may go free” (Chapter 34). These musings pronounce an ideal that a woman’s interest in marriage should be just as equal as her husband’s, and that her interests must be treated with just as much respect.

At the end of the novel, Jane returns to Rochester, her true love, and takes residence in the private Ferndean. Some critics argue that both the marriage to Rochester and the acceptance of a life withdrawn from the world overturn all efforts made on Jane’s part to assert her individuality and independence. It should be noted, however, that Jane only goes back to Rochester when the obstacles which create inequality between the two have been eliminated.

The death of Rochester’s first wife allows Jane to be the first and only female priority in his life. It also allows for the marriage that Jane feels she deserves, a marriage of equals. Indeed, the balance has even shifted in Jane’s favor at the end, due to her inheritance and Rochester’s loss of estate. Jane tells Rochester, “I am independent, as well as rich: I am my own mistress,” and relates that, if he will not have her, she can build her own home and he may visit her when he wishes (Chapter 37). Thus, she becomes empowered and an otherwise impossible equality is established. 

Further, the seclusion in which Jane finds herself is not a burden to her; rather, it is a pleasure. Throughout her life, Jane has been forced into seclusion, whether by her Aunt Reed, Brocklehurst and the girls, or the small town that shunned her when she had nothing. Yet, Jane never despaired in her seclusion. At Lowood, for example, she said, “I stood lonely enough: but to that feeling of isolation I was accustomed; it did not oppress me much” (Chapter 5). Indeed, Jane finds at the end of her tale exactly what she had been looking for, a place to be herself, without scrutiny, and with a man whom she equaled and could therefore love. All of this is accomplished due to her strength of character, her individuality.

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre can certainly be read as a feminist novel. Jane is a woman coming into her own, choosing her own path and finding her own destiny, without stipulation. Brontë gives Jane all that she needs to succeed: a strong sense of self, intelligence, determination and, finally, wealth. The impediments that Jane encounters along the way, such as her suffocating aunt, the three male oppressors (Brocklehurst, St. John, and Rochester), and her destitution, are met head-on, and overcome. In the end, Jane is the only character allowed real choice. She is the woman, built up from nothing, who gains all she wants in life, little though it seems.

In Jane, Brontë successfully created a feminist character who broke barriers in social standards, but who did it so subtly that critics can still debate whether or not it happened. 

Bronte, Charlotte .  Jane Eyre (1847). New York: New American Library, 1997. 

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Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

Here’s a seemingly uncontroversial statement: in 1847, a novel called Jane Eyre was published; the author was Charlotte Brontë. One of the most famous things about Jane Eyre is that the male love interest, Mr Rochester, has locked his first wife, Bertha Mason, in the attic of his house.

Whilst this statement is fine as far as it goes, there are several things we might question about it. But we’ll come to those in our textual analysis of the novel. First, let’s briefly summarise the plot of Jane Eyre , which is now regarded as one of the great Victorian novels: not bad for an author whose school report had once said that she ‘writes indifferently’ and ‘knows nothing of grammar, geography, history, or accomplishments’.

Jane Eyre : plot summary

Jane Eyre is perhaps the original ‘plain Jane’: ordinary-looking rather than beautiful, and a penniless orphan, she lacks the two things, beauty and wealth, which would greatly improve her marriage prospects in adulthood. Her uncle, Mr Reed, had taken her in when her parents died, but upon his death she fell under the care of Mrs Reed, who disliked Jane and treated her differently from her own children.

After Jane strikes out at her step-brother, John Reed, when he bullies her, she is locked in the ‘red room’ of the house, in which her uncle died. She is then sent away to Lowood, an orphan asylum run by a strict Calvinist clergyman named Mr Brocklehurst. There, Jane makes friends with Helen Burns, but Helen dies of typhus soon after. Conditions at the school subsequently improve and Jane stays on as one of the teachers, but when the teacher who had shown her kindness, Miss Temple, leaves the school, Jane decides to apply to become a governess.

Jane is offered the post of governess at Thornfield Hall, owned by Mr Edward Rochester, who is away on business. Mrs Fairfax, the housekeeper, introduces Jane to the young girl she will be teaching and looking after, who is a ward in Mr Rochester’s care. Mr Rochester returns and Jane is attracted to this brooding, haunted, Byronic figure. One night, she sees smoke coming out of his bedroom and rescues him from being burnt to death. He tells her that Grace Poole, a sewing-woman who lives in the house, was probably responsible for the fire.

When Mr Rochester brings home the beautiful Blanche Ingram, Jane realises she has been deluding herself with thoughts that he might love her, plain governess that she is. A man named Mr Mason from the West Indies arrives at Thornfield Hall and is attacked while in the upper portions of the house; once again, Jane assumes that Grace Poole was responsible. Mr Rochester announces to Jane that he plans to marry Blanche Ingram.

Jane is summoned by Mrs Reed, who is dying. Mrs Reed confesses to Jane that another of her uncles, Mr Eyre, had written to her because he wanted to make Jane his heiress. Mrs Reed had lied to him, writing back that his niece was dead. And then, when Jane returns to Thornfield, she discovers that Mr Rochester isn’t going to marry Blanche but wants her to be his wife instead. Jane accepts, but she also writes to her uncle to tell him that she is alive, in the hope that she will receive her inheritance and, with it, some financial independence.

Before the wedding, a mysterious woman enters Jane’s bedroom and tears her bridal veil in two. Then, on the day of their wedding, the ceremony is interrupted by Mr Mason, who declares that Rochester is already married, and his wife is concealed within Thornfield Hall.

Jane discovers that Rochester had married this woman, Bertha Mason, while out in Jamaica, under pressure from her family to do so. There’s a history of insanity in the family, and it was Bertha who set fire to Rochester’s bed and tore Jane’s bridal veil. Grace Poole is the one who keeps watch over Bertha, not the one responsible for these crimes.

Jane doesn’t want to be Rochester’s mistress, so she leaves Thornfield Hall and falls into poverty, almost starving to death until she is taken in by a clergyman named St John Rivers and befriended by his sisters, who live on the brink of poverty.

Although Jane conceals her true identity, St John discovers the truth after reading in the papers that her wealthy uncle has died, leaving her his fortune. By (rather far-fetched) coincidence, it turns out that St John Rivers’ sisters are Jane’s cousins, and Jane promises to share her inheritance with them.

St John wishes to travel to India as a Christian missionary, but before he leaves he proposes marriage to Jane, not out of love for her but because he wants to enlist her to his cause. In a romantic plot line that mirrors Rochester’s wooing of her, St John gradually wears her down until she is on the verge of accepting his offer. But then, from outside, she hears a voice calling her name: it’s Mr Rochester.

Jane returns to Thornfield Hall to discover that Rochester has been living as a recluse since the revelations came out on their wedding day. Bertha set fire to the house, destroying it, and fatally falling from the roof in the process. Rochester went to live at another house, having become blind in the fire.

Jane marries Rochester and nurses him back to health. He partially recovers his sight and Jane gives birth to their first child. Jane hears from St John Rivers in India, where he is pursuing his Christian mission with zeal.

Jane Eyre : analysis

Jane Eyre is, like Wuthering Heights , a novel which bears the influence of Gothic fiction: the haunted castle has become a country house, the ghost has become the (still very much alive) madwoman, Rochester’s first wife; and, in true Gothic fashion, there is a secret that threatens to destroy the house and its inhabitants if (or when) it comes to light. Brontë fuses these Gothic elements with the genres of romance and melodrama, with Jane’s two suitors representing erotic love and Christian fervour respectively.

As Gilbert Phelps observes in his analysis of Jane Eyre in Introduction to Fifty British Novels, 1600-1900 (Reader’s Guides) , the fire at Thornfield is symbolic, mirroring Jane’s own act of purgation as she rejects relationships founded on both the body and the soul at the expense of the other, until she and Rochester are ready to be together.

Curiously, the namesake of Edward Rochester, the Earl of Rochester, was one of the most erotic poets in English literature (we have gathered some of his most famous poems together here ). Lord Rochester was a kind of Byronic hero before Byron himself even existed, with his work dominated by the physical and sensuous side of love and relationships. St John Rivers, by contrast, has a name derived (in rather heavy-handed fashion, it must be said) from the Christian Evangelist, so we can never forget what he represents.

Jane’s journey of self-knowledge and experience leads her to understand that she must reject both extremes: to be Rochester’s mistress is to privilege the physical at the expense of the spiritual (because their union is unlawful in the eyes of God), but to marry St John when he does not love her nor she him would be a betrayal of the physical and romantic love that Jane realises is equally important.

But in terms of its central romantic plot between the plain, poor orphan girl and the rich, noble male protagonist, Jane Eyre owes something to the fairy tales of Cinderella , Snow White , Beauty and the Beast , and, in a more sinister turn, Bluebeard , with his castle concealing his (dead) wives. Brontë weaves together these various influences into a largely successful whole, even if the plot hinges (as noted above) on some pretty wild coincidences.

In his study of plot, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories , Christopher Booker goes so far as to categorise Jane Eyre as a ‘rags to riches’ story, comparing it with the tale of Aladdin . Both are poor children who attain a romantic partner above their social station, only for the presence of some other (Bertha Rochester; the sorcerer in the Aladdin story) to bring their plans crashing down. They must then rebuild everything until they can legitimately attain the life they want.

To conclude this analysis, let’s return to where we started, with those opening statements about Jane Eyre . Of course we know the author of the novel now as Charlotte Brontë, but that wasn’t the name that appeared on the title-page of the first edition in 1847.

There, the book was credited to Currer Bell, the androgynous pseudonym chosen by Brontë, much as her sisters Anne and Emily published as Acton and Ellis Bell respectively.

The novel soon won her the respect of a number of high-profile literary figures, including her hero William Makepeace Thackeray, who was reportedly so moved by Jane Eyre that he broke down in tears in front of his butler. Brontë would dedicate the second edition of the book to the Vanity Fair author and later met Thackeray (in 1849).

jane eyre independence essay

To England, then, I conveyed her; a fearful voyage I had with such a monster in the vessel. Glad was I when I at last got her to Thornfield, and saw her safely lodged in that third-storey room, of whose secret inner cabinet she has now for ten years made a wild beast’s den – a goblin’s cell.

‘That third-storey room’, not ‘that attic’. And Jane makes it clear that the attic of the house is above the third storey of the house: ‘Mrs. Fairfax stayed behind a moment to fasten the trap-door; I, by dint of groping, found the outlet from the attic, and proceeded to descend the narrow garret staircase. I lingered in the long passage to which this led, separating the front and back rooms of the third storey ’ (emphases added).

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2 thoughts on “A Summary and Analysis of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre”

I love this book, despite the totally bonkers plot!

So glad it’s cleared up Rochester did not lock his wife in the attic. It should be mentioned how horrible insane asylums were at that time, so Rochester should get credit for saving Bertha from that fate. However, the bigamy stunt is definitely inexcusable.

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Struggle for independence in Jane Eyre

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Leila Gharbi (Researcher/English Teacher)

jane eyre independence essay

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EDITOR IJREAM

This research paper aims to focus on the protagonist’s defying nature in the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. It also aims to picture the nineteenth century woman nature from various perspectives. It is not a single thought emerging from a single discipline. This paper defines the life of helpless woman all over the world. Bronte (1831-1855) belongs to British literature. She is a nineteenth century novelist. Bronte in her novel Jane Eyre (1847) exposes the urbanity of puritans. During Victorian era feminist ideas spread among the educated middle class women and inequitable laws were repealed.

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Since its publication in 1847, readers of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre have debated the subversive implications of this text. The plot conventions of Jane's rise to fortune and the marriage union that concludes the novel suggest conservative affirmations of class and gender identities ...

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The paper aims at analysing the parent-child relationships in Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre, with special emphasis on the relationship between Jane Eyre, the protagonist of the novel, and her aunt, Mrs. Reed. For this purpose, it begins by presenting the traits of the domestic Victorian ideal as well as those of the so-called "transnormative family", to ultimately show that the Victorian domestic ideal was not valid for everyone, which had a great impact on both parents and children in the process of upbringing. Then, the paper considers the representations of Victorian domestic relationships in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, which the author of the novel uses to demonstrate that a strong character and an iron will, like those of the protagonist, can make a difference and change destinies.

Camila Ávila

Thesis statement: The novel " Jane Eyre " by Charlotte Brontë deals with gothic elements in order to deal with a new female language. "That the real world was wide, and that a varied field of hopes and fears, of, sensations and excitements, awaited those who had courage to go forth into its expanse, to seek real knowledge of life amidst its perils"-Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë. In order to develop the analysis it is necessary to make a short close up to different important elements present in the novel. First of all the historical context in which the novel emerged in order to understand its relevance and influence in the gothic literature. Later it will be illustrated the characteristics of the gothic literature, some of the elements from this sub-genre present in the novel, and finally it will be explain how Charlotte Brontë deals with the new female language throughout the story.

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Independence in Jane Eyre Essay

Jane Eyre, a novel written by Charlotte Bronte, is about a young girl named Jane that struggles to discover her identity. Jane’s a girl who is “unhappy, very unhappy”(23). She grows up with relatives that treat her unfairly because her diseased family was not wealthy. Jane’s uncle Mr. Reed had reminded his wife and family to consider Jane as their own, but in contrast she experienced physical abuse by her aunt and cousin John. “John Reed knocked me down and my aunt shut me up in the red-room...”(23), the abuse that Jane experienced impacted her young soul, but also helped her grow into a stronger person. Unlike her cousins, Jane’s childhood was unpleasant because “...I have no father or mother, brothers or sister...”(23). Years later, Jane goes to Lowood institution where she succeeds and becomes a school teacher. From there, Jane meets Mr. Rochester who turns out to be the love of her life. Throughout the novel the readers see a dependent girl transform into an independent young lady that overcomes all her tribulations.  Charlotte Bronte allows us to trace Jane‘s character. While at Gateshead, Jane is a dependent young girl learning and yearning to be independent. Jane acknowledges that without Mrs. Reed’s assistance of financial issues and disciplinary actions, she wouldn’t be able to survive. “Benefactress!...They all called Mrs. Reed my benefactress;”, here Jane declares she knows who's responsible for raising her. Jane’s independency is also shown at Gateshead because she grows up on her own. She ate, read and played by herself, Jane also knew how to please herself without the presence of others. Although Mrs. Reed and her children were mean and cruel to Jane, they made a substantial difference in her life. In chapters one through ten, we noticed that Jane was both needy and self-directed, but starting in chapter eleven Jane becomes fully independent. At Thornfield she’s a governess, Jane adapts to the new environment without the help of those around her. An independent woman has many characteristics; those include helping others, being happy by themselves, not being controlled by others, not requiring or relying on something or someone else and being free to their own will. In chapter thirteen, Jane helps Mr. Rodchester when he has an accident with his horse. Mr. Rodchester says, “...necessity compels me to make you useful...”, this proves to the reader that someone besides Jane saw her as an independent woman who can make herself dependable. From this point on, Jane is a new person, she’s strong and tough.  Jane was always surrounded with wealth, but that wealth was not her own. Mr. Rodchester continuously babied her, but Jane did not think anything of it and didn’t care if she had a lot of money. Her main goal was to be a successful governess. Jane’s independency is shown when Mr. Rodchester started to baby her. She did not always accept what he wanted to buy her and this shows the reader that Jane was not devoted to money and his wealth. This makes Jane a stronger person because women that grow up poor are usually unhappy and they would change themselves so that they could acquire the wealth, but Jane was different. She stuck to who she was and did not fall for wealth. Things like money and wealth can change people, but it did not change who Jane Eyre was. In the novel Jane Eyre, there are many themes that people come up with. One that I agree with is the theme of aggressiveness and women becoming stronger. Jane is such a strong person from the beginning until the end. One literary device that was used in this book in conjunction with this theme is shown with this quote by Jane, “...send me to school soon Mrs. Reed, for I hate to live here...”(37). This shows foreshadowing of Jane’s independence. After this is stated, Mrs. Reed does send Jane to school and she grows into her own person. Jane is an admirable person because she did not alter who she was although her surroundings did change. Charlotte Bronte allows us to see Jane overcome all hurdles in her life and at the same time grow into an independent woman.

Teresa Nelson

Author: Teresa Nelson

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Jane Eyre And The Theme Of Independence

Filed Under: Essays

In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, a theme of independence is portrayed throughout the entire book. The main character, Jane Eyre, is constantly seeking ways in which she can achieve independence. She has always depended on herself since she was a young child due to the death of both her parents and eventually becoming an unwanted orphan. Jane has been through many painful situations throughout the book and understands then eed for independence. The beginning of Jane’s life is spent living at her aunt’s house which is known as Gateshead. Although Jane is a relative to the Reed family, she is treated more or less like a servant.

Her aunt is cold and makes Jane aware that she is unwanted, ugly, and stupid. Jane is caught reading a book by her cousin John Reed and John throws the book at Jane. Jane is seriously injured and in need of health care. Mr. Lloyd is called to examine Jane. Mr.

Lloyd suggests to Mrs. Reed that Jane might be happier in a school. Mrs. Reed does allow Jane to leave Gateshead.

She is extremely excited and decides that it is necessary to express her feelings to Mrs. Reed. Jane feels that she is the victor and states to herself, “My soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph… and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for liberty.” (page 30) Jane begins to feel freedom and independence from the restraints that Mrs. Reed had put upon Jane. Jane arrives at Lowood and sees that it is not as luxurious as Gateshead but she would much rather be here than with the Reed’s.

The Essay on Jane Eyre Independence Aunt Reed

In Charlotte Bronte s famous book Jane Eyre, a girl was portrayed that was growing up around the turn of the nineteenth century. Jane was an orphan with no family or friends. She was mistreated and misunderstood by the people around her. Jane seemed doomed for a life of failure, until she decided to go against all odds and stand up for the life of success she deserved. Jane s actions opened the ...

Everything at Lowood seems to revolve around a full schedule and it is very orderly. The uniforms which every girl wears is plain and boring. Jane befriends Helen Burns who is a strong girl who gives advice to Jane. Jane learns from Helen to learn from criticism which will avoid any type of punishment.

A typhus epidemic hits Lowood in the spring and many girls are sick and dying. One day, after returning from an outing, Jane sees the surgeon enter Lowood and learns that He lenis dying. She finds her way to where Helen is and falls asleep with Helen who dies during the night. Eight years later, Jane is still at Lowood but sees the need to move on out. Jane places an ad in the newspaper for the position of a governess. She gets a response to head from a lady named Mrs.

Fairfax. Jane accepts the position and before leaving Lowood she says, ” I mounted the vehicle which was to bear me to new duties and a new life in the unknown environs of Millcote.” Jane sees the need to break free from Lowood and lead amore independent life. Jane takes a sixteen-hour ride to Millcote and then an additional six miles to arrive at Thornfield. Mrs. Fairfax greets Jane and serves refreshments.

The next day, Jane meets Adele and tells Jane how she arrived at Thornfield. One day, Jane walking home she meets a man who has fallen off his horse. She helps him and has a brief conversation with the stranger. Later on, she finds out it is Mr. Rochester, her employer. One night, Jane wakes up to find smoke coming out of Mr.

Rochester’s room. His bed had been set on fire. Jane believes that Grace Poole had set flames to his bed and Rochester agrees but makes her promise not to tell anyone what truly did happen. As time passes, Jane and Rochester become closer and closer. Rochester shares with Jane many personal thoughts and experiences.

Rochester eventually proposes marriage to Jane and Jane accepts. Suddenly, a storm arrives and the tree which Jane and Rochester were sitting.

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jane eyre independence essay

Independence in Jane Eyre

“Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel” (Bronte 123). The Victorian period stereotyped women to be calm, domestic, and submissive to their male counterparts. But Charlotte Bronte developed Jane Eyre’s personality from a powerless child to an independent woman on her journey through Thornsfield in order to address the gender role issues of men’s dominance over women.

In the novel, Jane Eyre tended to express a thirst for freedom and equality from her experiences of being a “she” rather than “he.” Her stubborn personality aided her in breaking down society’s norms. During her stay in Thornsfield, Jane Eyre encountered a battle between her will and the manor walls that threatened to trap her inside. Starting from when Jane first met Mr. Rochester, Jane clearly stated, “I don’t think, sir, you have a right to command me” (151). When facing Mr. Rochester, Jane didn’t allow herself to feel inferior for her status as a governess. Rather than allowing Mr. Rochester to push her around, Jane didn’t hesitate to lecture him when he abused his power, implying that he cannot and will not control her.

Another example was when Mr. Rochester attempted to prevent Jane from leaving; Jane spoke out: “Do you think I am an automaton?—a machine without feelings? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you, and full as much heart!… and we stood at God’s feet, equal, as we are!” (291). Jane refused to bow down to the social norms of a “silent angel,” a maiden with beauty, selflessness, and innocence. Instead, she gathered her courage and fought back with words and deeds. In addition, she expressed her wishes to pursue love while also keeping her dignity. All in all, Bronte molded Jane to be a female who had the boldness and persistence to retain her own independence and liberation of thought.

One of Jane’s most influential personality’s aspects was her liberation of thought. Akin to the writer of the Feminist Criticism, Jane was a woman fighting against her cultural programming. “I was socially programmed…not see the ways in which women are oppressed by traditional gender roles. I say that I’m recovering because I learned to recognize and resist that programming” (Tyson 82). Men justified patriarchy to undermine women’s assertiveness and confidence.

The absence of these qualities was seen as evidence that women were naturally submissive- an “angel in the house” (86). But women who resisted this brainwashing, who achieved their own perspective, were in a way, free. The notion that “gender categories are constructed by society” and are not biologically produced was what strived women such as Bronte to construct Jane Eyre’s character as a stubborn, unwavering will to resist the encroachments of men (82).

Works Cited:

  • Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre: With Connections. Austin; Holt, Rinehart And Winston; 1999.
  • Tyson, Lois. Critical Theory Today: A User-Friendly Guide. New York, Routledge, 2006.

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    The Essay on Jane Eyre Independence Aunt Reed. In Charlotte Bronte s famous book Jane Eyre, a girl was portrayed that was growing up around the turn of the nineteenth century. Jane was an orphan with no family or friends. She was mistreated and misunderstood by the people around her. Jane seemed doomed for a life of failure, until she decided ...

  21. PDF Reflection on Feminism in Jane Eyre

    When the famous work Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte was first published in 1847, it had a great influence upon the society at that time. For a long time, numerous readers favored the image of Jane Eyre very much. Jane Eyre is the first, also the most powerful and popular novel to represent the modern view of women's position in society. Since its

  22. Jane Eyre: Context

    In Jane Eyre, Brontё addresses the gender inequality of her time directly: In Chapter 12, Jane reflects that "millions are in silent revolt against their lot…. Women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do". Brontё also addresses gender inequality ...

  23. Independence in Jane Eyre

    Independence in Jane Eyre. "Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel" (Bronte 123). The Victorian period stereotyped women to be calm, domestic, and submissive to their male counterparts. But Charlotte Bronte developed Jane Eyre's personality from a powerless child to an independent woman on her ...