Governess

In the film The Children's Hour by Lillian Hellman, two women, Martha and Karen, run an all girls boarding school. One of the girls, Mary Tilford, becomes upset when she is punished for disobeying the rules and decides that she does not want to return to school. She recalls one of her classmates, Rosalie, telling her that Martha’s Aunt, Lily Mortar, had said that Martha’s actions towards Karen were “unnatural”. To avoid returning to school, Mary uses this information and forms a lie that she…

“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will” – Jane Eyre. I think that Jane is an intelligent, simple, and honest girl who was forced to live through inequality, injustice, and humiliation. Jane Eyre is the protagonist of the novel “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë. She was an orphaned child. Throughout the years, she grows independent and strong. She receives cruel and unfair treatment from her Aunt Mrs. Reed. In her search of finding freedom, she meets…

The gothic novel, Jane Eyre, focuses on the life of a young, orphaned girl, who learns to balance her precarious station in 19th century England- a society whose culture is dictated by rigid social castes and protocols. She grows up in household of her Aunt, Mrs Reed, after the death of her parents, where she experiences neglect and estrangement until she moves to a charity school at the age of ten. The novel briefly narrates the story of her cousins, Georgiana and Eliza Reed, through brief…

During the time that Charlotte Bronte writes Jane Eyre, women in the lower class have conflicts to overcome and desires to fulfill. Through this novel, Bronte explains how a girl named Jane strives to conquer common issues in the time period of this novel. In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte depicts childhood and adolescence as times of tribulation and terror as Jane struggles to…

Charles Dickens once said that “no one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another.” This theme is present in Orphan Train a novel written by Christina Baker Kline. A beaten, broken, freezing little girl and a warm-hearted, lively individual. This is the relationship between a little girl and her teacher. Miss Larsen noticed a problem with a little girl’s life and did everything she could to help. Throughout this novel there is a progressing relationship between a little girl…

What is friendship? More importantly, what is female friendship? Jane Austen answers these questions in her book Pride and Prejudice , through the friendships of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet. Throughout the book, Austen takes us through two main friendships within Elizabeth's life. One that is shared with her sister Jane and the other with her neighbor Charlotte. These relationships offer different insights into what it takes to be in a female friendship. With Jane, the bond shared is much…

Narrative Nonfiction Michaela DePrince´s complicated, problematic and painful life from war orphan in Sierra Leone to a star ballerina in the United States is a story worth telling. Michealas life in Sierra Leone was devastating. Both of her parents passed away at a very young age, and her cruel uncle took her under his wing but he claimed she was ´unsightly´, so brought her to an orphanage to get rid of her. Things were not any better at the orphanage for Michaela in the beginning, she was…

Toni Cade Bambara’s short story “The Lesson,” illustrates the unequal distribution of wealth in America which causes the protagonist, Sylvia, to lose her innocence and reevaluate the social class spectrum she lives in. Miss Moore, who is the only person with a college degree in the area, wants to teach Sylvia and the other children a life-changing lesson in an outing to a toy store. From the group of children, Sylvia shows she is a naïve and stubborn child who does not value anyone’s opinion.…

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is the life story of Elizabeth Bennet, a young girl from an aristocratic, yet not wealthy family. Elizabeth places utmost value in five core qualities: knowledge, intellect, humility, judgement, and integrity. She only respects people who exhibit these values, and who also see these values in her. Elizabeth believes that men and women are equals along these qualities. Even though she believes this, she does not act that way in social situations. In fact, the…

Ratan is one of the simplest and yet one of the most enigmatic feminine characters in Rabindranath Tagore’s short stories. She is a twelve year old, poor orphan girl. Her parents died when she was very young and hence, she has lived in this solitude all her life. She is a simple, honest and caring girl. She is illiterate but slowly learns to read and write under the guidance of the postmaster. Infact, she has a high grasping power which is well proved by the speed with which she learns to read…