The Subtle Truth of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essay

The Subtle Truth of Jane Eyre The role of a woman in Victorian England was an unenviable one. Social demands and personal desires were often at cross-purposes. This predicament was nothing new in the 19th century, yet it was this period that would see the waters begin to stir in anticipation of the cascading changes about to shake the very foundation of an empire on the brink of global colonization and industrialization. The question of what role women would play in this transformation came to the forefront. Charlotte Brontà «s female bildungsroman, Jane Eyre, attempts to spotlight many of the issues of the woman question facing this period and to draw a balance between a womans social role and her need for personal†¦show more content†¦When we are first introduced to Jane, she is a nine-year-old girl humbled by the consciousness of [her] physical inferiority ... [who is excluded] from privileges intended only for contented, happy little children (7). She is a withdrawn daydreamer, ostracized dependent and unwanted ward whose only solace is herself and her penchant for books. The effect on Jane of her early trauma involving her incarceration in the red room, is significant for later developments in the novel, for it represents her vision of the society in which she is trapped: one which seeks to harness her human drive. Critics have often noted that Brontà « uses the properties of fire and ice throughout Jane Eyre to isolate the dueling drives of the novels heroine. Janes experiences in the red room, probably the most metaphorically vibrant in the book, shows us clearly the dilemma women of her disposition faced. That a naturally occurring drive should be deemed necessary to be contained was a frustration shared by many energetic women who seeked an outlet for their individuality in a world of double standards. But this was a time when conformity and observance of decorum were valued significantly, while placing personal desires over the requirements of social station was a sign of pride: un-Christian and undesirable. From theShow MoreRelatedEssay on Criticisms of Jane Eyre1615 Words   |  7 PagesCriticisms of Jane Eyre The major criticisms of the novel in question to be the melodrama used by the author and the wickedness of character shown in Jane and Mr. Rochester. While most critics admired the style of writing and truth of character portrayal, they did not admire the improbability of circumstances or the characters portrayed. Elizabeth Rigby (later Lady Eastlake) was probably the harshest critic, calling Jane Eyre â€Å"the personification of an unregenerate and undisciplinedRead MoreSatire : Humor And Satire2675 Words   |  11 Pagesjokes with the author and reader, and with satire, including that of irony and parody, with each style and type delivering humour in its own unique way. These differing styles of humour can be found in a variety of forms including Jasper Forde’s The Eyre Affair (2001), with its silly atmosphere, word play and grammar jokes, and the use of light hearted satire and parody to brighten up the text, and Julian Barnes A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters (1989), where there is a more serious atmosphereRead MoreVictorian Novel9605 Words   |  39 Pagesstability and rising standards of living. Artists of ‘Pre- Raphaelite Brotherhood’ claimed to write only true about nature, concentrate only on the true ideas. These three years saw the rise of such works: of Bronte sisters’ Poems, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, William Thackeray’s Vanity Fair. The Following twenty years could be seen as the high period of ‘Victorian novel’. Despite being a mixture of boom and slump, the years of 1850-1870 were recognized by the economic