Perhaps one of the most emotionally appealing themes a writer can utilize is that of the social outcast endeavoring to find its place in the world, a theme utilized to great effect by both Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre despite their character’s different fates, the former featuring a supposedly monstrous creation who is ultimately rejected wholly by society and the latter an orphan child who is eventually able to carve an admittedly precarious foothold as a governess. Within this broad theme, there are also certain parallels within the particulars of the plot, mostly between the characters of Jane Eyre and the Creature.
First, one can point to the initial disownment of both Eyre and the Creature by their supposed …show more content…
Justine is a servant of the Frankensteins who is falsely accused of the murder of William, the child killed by the creature. Despite the impassioned testimony of her mistress, Elizabeth, with regard to Justine’s unblemished character, Justine is found guilty and sentenced to death. Throughout the proceedings, Justine is passive, declaring that “I must be condemned, although I would pledge my salvation on my innocence” (59). She places her trust entirely in God and her final home in Heaven to make amends for her present earthly suffering, though as a character in a work of the Romantic era she is by no means devoid of emotion (62). Helen is more representative of Victorian ideals in her equanimity, but there are other commonalities. Despite her kind, quiet nature Helen is perpetually punished for supposed wrongdoing, with her true virtues only appreciated by Jane and the headmistress, and is also facing death as a victim of consumption (see 45, 62, 66). In the face of these trials, Helen is meekly submissive and finds comfort in knowing that her final resting place is in Heaven, although unlike Justine she welcomes an end to her earthly existence (69).While the two characters have distinct differences, they seem to represent the changing ideas of the precise definition of pure female piety, nature, and virtue, with the core beliefs that these ideas expound on still
First, one can point to the initial disownment of both Eyre and the Creature by their supposed …show more content…
Justine is a servant of the Frankensteins who is falsely accused of the murder of William, the child killed by the creature. Despite the impassioned testimony of her mistress, Elizabeth, with regard to Justine’s unblemished character, Justine is found guilty and sentenced to death. Throughout the proceedings, Justine is passive, declaring that “I must be condemned, although I would pledge my salvation on my innocence” (59). She places her trust entirely in God and her final home in Heaven to make amends for her present earthly suffering, though as a character in a work of the Romantic era she is by no means devoid of emotion (62). Helen is more representative of Victorian ideals in her equanimity, but there are other commonalities. Despite her kind, quiet nature Helen is perpetually punished for supposed wrongdoing, with her true virtues only appreciated by Jane and the headmistress, and is also facing death as a victim of consumption (see 45, 62, 66). In the face of these trials, Helen is meekly submissive and finds comfort in knowing that her final resting place is in Heaven, although unlike Justine she welcomes an end to her earthly existence (69).While the two characters have distinct differences, they seem to represent the changing ideas of the precise definition of pure female piety, nature, and virtue, with the core beliefs that these ideas expound on still