The Eternal Charm of Jane Eyre

Lee Zhuo
Alice Chuang
English 102: Introduction to Literature
Nov.8.2012
The Eternal Charm of Jane Eyre
An Interpretation of the Formation of Women’s Rebellious Spirit In the middle 19th century, Charlotte Bronte successfully creates a character with a striking personality named Jane Eyre who is born unfortunate but dares to fight fate. There are four life scenes in this novel which show the embryo, emergence, development, and climax of Jane Eyre’s rebellious spirit. In 19the century, most women do not have right to vote, financial independence, or chance to acquire formal education. Definitely, Jane’s rough and rugged path of life is the reflection of ordinary women’s life at that time. Bronte blazes forth her notion of society and brings light to women’s issues, which promotes equal access to freedom, rights for women, and a new chapter for women’s literature. * Historical Background and the Biography of Author
Unfair fate and brutal life are the ultimate fountains of Bronte’s writing. Charlotte Bronte was born in a poor pastor family and she lost her mum when she was young. Her two sisters who studied with her in a charity school were died of bad living conditions. Later, she worked as a governess with her younger sister. To some extent, the image of Jane who holds a firm belief in beautiful life and an independent personality is the mirror of herself.
As a critical and realistic woman writer in middle 19th century, Charlotte Bronte makes an important breakthrough in literary creation: there are no tender finicky girls or venal hypocritical noblemen in her writing; she creates a female character that goes through thick and thin, revolts against fake and deceitful capitalism and is finally reborn. Also, in Jane Eyre, Bronte illustrates the societal standards at that time: in 19th century, women have no control of family and most of them have to stay at home, washing clothes and cooking. Not only that, but they have no financial independence at all: their properties all belong to their husbands. Women at that time act upon whatever their husbands say; they live in the society which is ruled and controlled by men. The main character Jane Eyre, in this novel is an educated woman in a patriarchal society who seeks true love, women rights, and equality, which is the mirror of some independently minded women: with the development of industrial revolution, England is industrialized gradually. Thus, women get chance to become workforces and achieve financial independence. At the same times, their interpersonal ability is improved and their self-esteem is increased. Since leaving their family and working liberate them from ideology, more and more women begin to grow the awareness of equality and they begin to claim for their rights, which develops Women’s Movement in England. Jane’s unique temperament and rich personal emotions capture millions of readers’ hearts. Because of this, Jane Eyre surpasses other literary works and be regarded as the first feminism novel in British literary history. A reader for Atlas once made such a comment on Jane Eyre: “It is a book to make the pulses gallop and the heart beat, and to fill the eyes with tears” (1847). * Different stages of Jane’s rebellious spirit formation 1. The embryonic stage – Gateshead
Jane Eyre’s first rebelling happens in the fighting with her cousin because she cannot put up with being subjected to endless bullying any more. During her ten years living with her vicious aunt and cousins, she is always obedient and never goes against anyone’s will. Although she has been accustomed to this unfair treatment for a long time, she is unwilling to submit to oppression meekly any more after being hit by a book and is bleeding. She accuses her cousin of being “wicked” loudly (4) and punches him in the nose bravely and heavily. At this moment, rebellious emotions have “predominated over fear” (4) and make her feel exhilarated, which is unprecedented. Her resistance is completely “a new thing” (5) for her, which makes her resolved “to go all lengths” (5). What she has suffered is unbearable to recall and has deeply marked her heart and pushes little Jane asks herself why she always tries to please others and win everyone’s favor (7). These excited emotions make this section of the novel come to a climax. When her aunt deems her a deceitful girl in front of Mr. Brocklehurst, she feels that her personality is being trampled and her angry and humiliations turn into a sonorous and forceful retort: “I dislike you, I hate you. People think you are a good woman, but you are bad, hardhearted, you are deceitful!” (20). Jane uses “hate” to reinforce her fierce hatred towards Mr. Reed. She has been oppressed for many years and never complains and resists. To speak out her savage angry in front of her aunt is “an epoch-making event” that releases her violent inner emotions. Jane is now able to be calm and dignified and voice “one bit of love” (20), with a slight sense of hatred to her aunt and happiness of being spiritually independent. Standing up and raising her head, little Jane finishes the first war of rebellion through to victory. To some extent, this victory makes her a sense of relief and satisfaction and makes her sure of her own faith that she should stand up and revolt against unfair treatments. In such a way, Bronte illustrates the image of Jane vividly. What cannot be denied is that at the beginning Jane hesitates and flinches: when she is imprisoned in the red room she doubts whether she is wrong or not; after denouncing her aunt, Jane feels that she is a lonely winner. This is the first time that she does not have to low her voice and stifle her anger. The success of her standing up comes so suddenly that she does not know how to react to this victory. She feels lonely because she is uncertain about her act: she has never thought to revolt against her aunt before, but now she does so and she succeeds. Jane has not been used to her rebellious spirit that bursts out of her body suddenly without any signs; she has not realized that her inner world has called for independence for a long time. Pain pushes her to realize that the only way to gain equal treatments is to revolt. The first success of Jane’s rebellion, definitely, answers her innermost call for independence and helps her stand up from that moment. 2. Development – Lowood
In the so-called charity school Lowood, Jane’s rebellious spirit has been further developed: she never submits to oppression, on contrary, her character becomes stronger. Her life in school is completely different from her expectation before: “forty-five out of eighty girls lay ill at one time, class were broken up, rules relaxed”(48). According to Jane’s memory, children in Lowood are abused and scolded, at the same time they do not have enough food and they are forced to recite scripture every day; hypocritical and cold-blooded headmaster tortures teachers and students both physically and mentally. Jane’s dreams of beautiful school life are broken bit by bit by reality, but how does she react to it? When her best friend Helen submits to cruel treatment, she points out angrily that if she is stricken without reason, she will “strike back very hard” (65) because if people always be obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, those wicked people will never be afraid and never stop their tyrannical behavior. Obviously, Jane never submits to dirty facts; she is ready to beat back unjust treatments and battle the forces of evil. It is very gratifying to see that Jane does not lose faith or sink into degradation because of her miserable life; instead, her goodness, sense of justice, and bravery make her stronger and rebellious. When her best friend Mrs. Temple leaves, her spirit of adventure comes back and makes her realize that there is nothing worth recalling in Lowood. The love she experiences makes her stronger and more confident: she decides to leave and seek for true enrichment of life. Thus, it can be seen that rebellious spirit is born with her and be developed over time. 3. The Sublimation of Jane’s Rebellious Spirit – Thornfield
Despite common views and ideas of family status, Jane falls in love with Mr. Rochester, which challenges and revolts against hierarchical bourgeoisie and sublimates her rebellious spirit. For Rochester, Jane’s love is like a breath of warm and fresh wind that refreshes him. Jane’s simplicity, intelligence and independent personality make him be fascinated with her deeply. He has been tired of those girls who come from polite society because they are almost the same: acrid, extravagant and arrogant. Coming from humble origins, being far away from beautiful, Jane Eyre has a peculiar personality and rich inner world: she has high self-esteem and rebellious spirit which makes her be outstanding and win the heart of Mr. Rochester. Although, Jane Eyre loves Mr. Rochester deeply, she chooses to leave him, thus keeping her independent personality and dignity rather than lose direction of life and stay with him when she finds that he has already gotten married. Jane knows that she is not a machine without feelings, so she asks him: “Do you think I can stay to be nothing to you?” (151); she cannot bear losing him but she will never commit herself to him without dignity so she questions him: “Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little I am soulless and heartless?” (151); she holds the firm belief that she is equal to him so she thunders: “I have much wealth, I should make it as hard for you to leave me, as now it is for me to leave you.” (151). Jane’s second question is full of satire and sadness. On one hand, she is questioning Mr. Rochester whether he looks upon her because he thinks she is obscure and plain. On the other hand, she is extremely sad because the trust between Mr. Rochester and her has been smashed. She bravely declares that she is equal to her employer who is superior, which is her strong crying for women’s rights and equality. Leaving Mr. Rochester distress both of them while staying with him will make her become “the other woman” though she will have wealth. For Mr. Rochester’s crazy wife, it is unequal because once Jane and Mr. Rochester get married, this poor woman will be betrayed by her own marriage and abandoned by her husband in law, which is caused by Jane; it is unequal for Jane because the love she seeks for is based on trust and sincerity rather than being hiding behind a lie; it is unequal for Mr. Rochester because the marriage of Jane and him will make him be convicted on bigamy. After intensive struggling with herself, she refuses the unequal and unmoral love and uses her self-control to restrain her love, which on one hand adds to Jane’s fascination of personality, and on another hand, shows that Jane has become the master of her life. 4. The Pinnacle of Jane’s Rebellious Spirit – St. John’s Home
Jane Eyre’s rebellion comes to a climactic moment when she repulses John’s offer of marriage because she does not want to lose herself in a marriage without true love nor become John’s instrument for preaching. After leaving Mr. Rochester, Jane almost die on the way because of bad weather and lacking food. It is St. John that saves her and finds her a job. However, St. John is a selfish, acerbic preacher who often makes unreasonable demands of Jane. Because he is the savior of Jane, and also her only relative, Jane tries to tolerate everything. But, she knows well at the beginning that he does not love her: she says to herself, “he prizes me as a soldier would a good weapon” (440) and “has no more of a husband's heart for me” (439) when John asks her to be his wife. For John, she is a “weapon”- a tool without life and any feelings, which is what Jane cannot bear. She can be his assistant but she will never accept the marriage without true love: “I cannot marry you and become part of you.' (327). She can give her money to John; she can go with him and become his fellow-missionary, but she cannot lose herself and become an instrument because the love Jane pursues is based on equality and freedom. By now, she has already seen through love and the true meaning of independence: a woman is not a machine; women should have completely free choices of lifestyle and marriage. Her desire of being the master of her own life and marriage and defending her personality has never been so strong: a life which is controlled by a man is unacceptable. Her rebellious spirit comes to a stirring moment, which shows well by her explicit refusal to John’s proposal.
When she goes back to Thornfield, she finds that Mr. Rochester has become a disabled and poor man who is not rich and healthy any more. Such a big change does not scare Jane: she is still independent, kind, and rebellious and she still loves Mr. Rochester. She chooses to marry him, which shows well her strong will of equality and her scorn for earthly standards. Jane thinks that love should be built on the spirit, and the basis of equality. For Jane, true love is noble and pure, which has nothing to do with socio-economic-status. As long as two people love each other deeply, their life is perfect happiness and appearance, wealth and social status are not the issue at all. Jane Eyre eventually embarks on a happy life through her struggle and revolt, which undoubtedly indicates that women will gain the inevitable triumph in protest of social injustice and social inequality. Also, it shows the aspirations of petty bourgeois women: they will be able to face up to obstacles in life and guard their personal dignity with their unique personality and toughness.
Charlotte Bronte successfully creates a heroine who experiences all that is bitter and sweet in Jane Eyre. Although romantic love runs throughout this novel, it does not mean that it is just a romantic novel – it is also a novel that reflects societal issues. The image of Jane Eyre is not only mirrors Bronte’s complex emotions and character, but also casts light on women’s issues. In one word, Bronte shows her reflection on women issues by describing Jane Eyre’s quest for love and equality, which drives the women’s movement and shows that their social consciousness has been awake in 19th century.

Works cited
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Bantam Dell, 1848.
Fraser, Rebecca. The Brontës: Charlotte Brontë and Her Family. New York: Crown Publishers, 1988.
Gates, Barbara Timm, ed. Critical Essays on Charlotte Brontë. Boston: G.K. Hall & Co., 1990.
Lambert, Tim. Women in the 19th Century. Localhistories.org.Web.4.Nov.2012.< http://www.localhistories.org/vicwomen.html>
Melani, Lilia. Department of English: Charlotte Bronte. Brooklyn College. 29. March 2005.Web.3.Nov.2012. <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/bronte.html#reviews>