Charlotte Brontë

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    In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte challenges the stereotypes and roles expected of women at the time by demonstrating abilities that men, as well as society do not expect her to have. Jane possesses qualities that are considered masculine according to the Victorian era such as thinking for herself and standing up to her values even when it means defying societal expectations of a female’s place. She ultimately overcomes the oppression of the male gaze that once limited her by dismissing these sexist expectations society has for her, including staying silent and dedicating her life to please a man against her will. Her interactions with Rochester, as well as St. John illustrate her resistance to passiveness and her desire for activeness, which is shown when she decides to live through her own values instead of a man’s. Despite Jane’s ability to overcome male oppression, women today are still greatly limited socially, economically, and politically solely because of their gender. Our patriarchal society enforces a double standard when it comes to having children and caring for them. A man’s masculinity is rarely ever questioned if he chooses not to get married, have children, or care for his kids, whereas it is always expected of a woman to seek actualization through finding a partner, having kids, and dedicating all her time to raising them. Women…

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    Jane Eyre is a novel whose main theme could be debated as being religion. The statement that the novel is an “anti-Christian novel” has a good basis as there are clearly anti-Christian sentiments expressed at various points in the novel primarily through the characters like Jane and Helen, Brocklehurst, and Mrs Temple. Jane herself, the protagonist within the novel, is the character that seems to hold the most anti-Christian philosophy and resentment for those who are followers of the religion.…

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    characters in literature as she breaks the mould of a typical feminine figure with her her unique insight and opinions. While the Wife of Bath herself believes she is empowering in her ideas and actions of pursuing a matriarchal society, she “empowers” herself by using sexual means to repress her husbands, physically and emotionally, hence destroying the feminist complex associated with her. Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, introduces an idea of a woman making conscious lifestyle choices for…

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    addresses the reader to reassure us that she is not just blindly telling a story, but rather she is telling this story to a specific audience. As this story is about someone’s life, there is an essence of Jane telling us this story of her life in her old age, however, there is controversy around when and to whom she is telling this story to. Jane throughout the novel is confiding in the reader for why she made these decisions, which is why she is making an argument to the reader throughout the…

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    Charlotte Bronte illustrates the hardships that women faced in the mid-19th century in England and worldwide in her first novel, The Professor. The novel is about an Englishman that seeks a new career as a teacher in Belgium. The effeminized Englishman, William Crimsworth, finds his wife in Belgium, but surprisingly, his wife Frances requests equal standards and rights. Although Bronte addresses topics such as nationality and religion, The Professor is known to be one of the first works of…

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    Independence is a state of solitude, self-determination, and freedom that everyone will crave at least once in their lifetime. During the 1840 's, feminism was beginning to spread, yet it was still a struggle for women to obtain independence, especially for those who truly wanted it. Charlotte Bronte 's romantic fiction novel, Jane Eyre, is named after the main character who encounters the same conflict as the majority of the women in her time period along with experiencing love. For some…

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    "Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession” according to the psychologist G. Stanley Hall, the founder of adolescent psychology. Adolescence is defined by Hall as a time when younger individuals experience emotional and behavioral confusion, prior to establishing stability and reaching adulthood. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain serve as examples of bildungsromans, where the…

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    Evaluating Passionate Text: Significance of the Chestnut Tree in Jane Eyre The thunder rumbled through the clouds and as a sudden streak flashed across the sky; the lightning violently hit the tree and the repercussions of this (God-like) action had little arcs that danced across the thick, black sky. The tree hung in despair and disbelief, almost as if it were a weeping willow instead of a horse chestnut tree. In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, “the chestnut tree is hit by lightning on the…

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    In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte employs birds a symbol in order to highlight important themes in her novel. While birds traditionally symbolize freedom and expression, Bronte uses them to show independence (or a lack of), freedom, and rifts in social class. Bronte also depicts some of her most prominent characters as birds such as Jane, Rochester, Adele, Bertha, and even Rochester’s guests. Through the use of bird symbolism Bronte highlights important topics in her novel, while giving the reader…

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    important in choosing the right governess, and the masters of the house hired the woman who would have the same religion as them, as the follow paragraph suggests: “In governess novels, the heroine’s background is of importance both for the plot and for the developement of the governess character. The personal humility and Christian values of the clergyman’s daughter is a topic of interest to several authors. It is often used as a way of emphasizing a morally wicked atmosphere in the…

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