Jane Eyre, One of the Greatest Love Stories of All Time?
“Jane Eyre” is a novel of passion, desire, rage and defiance, combining to form a literary sensation that has withstood the test of time. The novel’s sense of mystery, betrayal and deceit create the perfect romance narrative which has been evoking passion from its readers for over a century. Jane’s enduring quest for love, love of a family and of an equal fulfill the human ideals of romance as she defies all obstacles in her way. The love between Rochester and Jane dissolves the constraints of Victorian society where social status becomes of little significance. “Jane Eyre” epitomizes triumph over impossible odds as two people of different status can love each other for who they are and nothing more.
A major theme of “Jane Eyre” is Jane’s quest for love, which is made plain very early on in the novel. Before the novel has even begun, Jane has lost the love of her parents and her Uncle through their deaths. Jane seeks and finds certain degrees of maternal love in characters from each volume of her life, such as Bessie at Gateshead, Miss Temple at Lowood and Mrs. Fairfax at Thornfield Hall. However, these characters are promptly taken away from her. Jane finds not only a romantic love with Mr. Rochester, he is also a Byronic father-figure to her, Jane’s love for Rochester stems from the fact that he is the first to offer her a lasting love and a home, ‘I ask you to pass through life at my side- to be my second self, and best earthly companion,’ they are also ‘kindred spirits’ and although Rochester is Jane’s social and economic superior, they are spiritually and intellectually equal, however after chapter 11, volume 2, Jane becomes Rochester’s moral superior.
Jane searches not just for romantic love, but also for a sense of belonging and being valued. ‘To gain some real affection from you or Miss Temple… I would willingly submit to have the bone of my broken or to let a bull toss me.’ Although this is very melodramatic and derived from childish notions, it
A major theme of “Jane Eyre” is Jane’s quest for love, which is made plain very early on in the novel. Before the novel has even begun, Jane has lost the love of her parents and her Uncle through their deaths. Jane seeks and finds certain degrees of maternal love in characters from each volume of her life, such as Bessie at Gateshead, Miss Temple at Lowood and Mrs. Fairfax at Thornfield Hall. However, these characters are promptly taken away from her. Jane finds not only a romantic love with Mr. Rochester, he is also a Byronic father-figure to her, Jane’s love for Rochester stems from the fact that he is the first to offer her a lasting love and a home, ‘I ask you to pass through life at my side- to be my second self, and best earthly companion,’ they are also ‘kindred spirits’ and although Rochester is Jane’s social and economic superior, they are spiritually and intellectually equal, however after chapter 11, volume 2, Jane becomes Rochester’s moral superior.
Jane searches not just for romantic love, but also for a sense of belonging and being valued. ‘To gain some real affection from you or Miss Temple… I would willingly submit to have the bone of my broken or to let a bull toss me.’ Although this is very melodramatic and derived from childish notions, it
Bibliography: • Bronte, Charlotte, Jane Eyre, Oxford University Press, (Oxford World Classics 2000.) • Stone, Donald. D, The Romantic Impulse in Victorian Fiction, Harvard University Press 1980. • Ingham, Patricia, The Brontes, Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford World Classics 2006. • Stoneman, Patsy. Bronte Transformations: The Cultural Dissemination of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, Prentice Hall, Harvester Wheatsheaf. University of Hull 1996.