Charlotte Brontë, one of the most famous Victorian women writers, has inspired many with her writing of the novel Jane Eyre to produce adaptations of their own. The idea of combining Jane’s story and the concept of orphan-hood with more modern elements stimulated Patricia Park to retell the classic in her novel Re Jane, which was written from the perspective of a contemporary half-Korean, half-American young woman in New York City. This essay will use the two novels to analyze the conservative and radical changes Park makes to either reaffirm Brontë’s subversive arguments or modify them. Both Brontë and Park portray their respective female protagonist in a way that promotes freedom and independence in their pursuit of happiness. It speaks
…show more content…
These aspects start developing during childhood, therefore, a person’s family and how they grew up has great significance to how he/she socializes. In Jane Eyre, John Reed states, “You have no business to take our books; you are a dependant, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen’s children like us” (Brontë 67). This statement, made before he strikes Jane across the face with a book, illustrates the cruel treatment she receives from her cousins in order to bully Jane to feel exiled and ostracized as an orphan. Likewise, Jane’s Aunt Reed only instigates this cruelty and serves to undermine Jane in her hypocritical and cruel conventions. For example, Mrs. Reed warning to Mr. Brocklehurts, the headmaster of Lowood School, that Jane is deceitful (Brontë 92). This instance shows how Mrs. Reed does not give Jane a fair chance at life, even when sending her away to an orphan school. As a result, her family’s alienation causes Jane to be afraid that she will never find a true sense of family or community. Brontë reveals Jane’s desire to belong somewhere and find kinship in a way that only tempers her equally intense need for autonomy and …show more content…
Park presents a contemporary story based on culture to fulfill family expectations, but then resonates what it means to fit in, to belong, and to be who you want to be. Culture, defined as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group, has influenced and shaped the characteristics of Jane’s identity. Born in Korea to an American father and Korean mother, who died when Jane was just a baby, the orphaned girl was sent to live with her Uncle Sang in Queens, New York City. Jane Re’s life is ruled by the Korean principle of nunchi, which is “the ability to read a situation and anticipate how you were expected to behave” (Park 5). It is the concept of emotional intelligence within the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Uncle Sang instills this in Jane through his strict treatment and pressure while raising her and as she works for his grocery store. However, this only produces Jane to feel tap-tap-hae, which is “an overwhelming discomfort pressing down on you physically, psychologically” (Park 8). In other words, she feels like a slave trapped by his expectations of her and only wishes to escape his dominance. Under those circumstance, the cultural ideal to satisfy family expectation reinforces Jane’s prerogative to find her place and happiness somewhere else, thus, Jane’s assertion of her independence and freedom from her
These aspects start developing during childhood, therefore, a person’s family and how they grew up has great significance to how he/she socializes. In Jane Eyre, John Reed states, “You have no business to take our books; you are a dependant, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen’s children like us” (Brontë 67). This statement, made before he strikes Jane across the face with a book, illustrates the cruel treatment she receives from her cousins in order to bully Jane to feel exiled and ostracized as an orphan. Likewise, Jane’s Aunt Reed only instigates this cruelty and serves to undermine Jane in her hypocritical and cruel conventions. For example, Mrs. Reed warning to Mr. Brocklehurts, the headmaster of Lowood School, that Jane is deceitful (Brontë 92). This instance shows how Mrs. Reed does not give Jane a fair chance at life, even when sending her away to an orphan school. As a result, her family’s alienation causes Jane to be afraid that she will never find a true sense of family or community. Brontë reveals Jane’s desire to belong somewhere and find kinship in a way that only tempers her equally intense need for autonomy and …show more content…
Park presents a contemporary story based on culture to fulfill family expectations, but then resonates what it means to fit in, to belong, and to be who you want to be. Culture, defined as the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group, has influenced and shaped the characteristics of Jane’s identity. Born in Korea to an American father and Korean mother, who died when Jane was just a baby, the orphaned girl was sent to live with her Uncle Sang in Queens, New York City. Jane Re’s life is ruled by the Korean principle of nunchi, which is “the ability to read a situation and anticipate how you were expected to behave” (Park 5). It is the concept of emotional intelligence within the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Uncle Sang instills this in Jane through his strict treatment and pressure while raising her and as she works for his grocery store. However, this only produces Jane to feel tap-tap-hae, which is “an overwhelming discomfort pressing down on you physically, psychologically” (Park 8). In other words, she feels like a slave trapped by his expectations of her and only wishes to escape his dominance. Under those circumstance, the cultural ideal to satisfy family expectation reinforces Jane’s prerogative to find her place and happiness somewhere else, thus, Jane’s assertion of her independence and freedom from her