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Jane Eyre Summer Essay One of the reasons why Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre received such a wide recognition among readers, is the fact that author was able to realistically portray books main character as a person, whose class affiliation did not define her essence as human being. Jane Eyre is described as woman, who despite numerous hardships was able to retain its integrity and to act in socially appropriate manner. This contradicted the main principles of class struggle theory, otherwise known as Marxism, which was gaining popularity during the late Victorian era. It appears that many prominent writers of 19 th century subconsciously felt that Marxism was doomed to failure, hundred years before it actually happened. At the same time, it would be wrong to suggest that the fact that Jane had to constantly struggle with the poverty, throughout the first half of her life, did not have any impact on Jane.
In this paper, we will analyze how Janes experiences formed her as individual. Jane Eyre learned how to distinguish hypocrisy from sincerity very early in her life, while staying at Logwood. During this period, Jane often used to starve and her suffering from it was especially intense, because she always possessed a rebellious spirit, which prevented Jane from accepting her fate with humility, as Helen did. Even before she came to Lowood, Jane already knew how to stand her grounds. Janes frequent confrontations with her aunt Mr.
Reed can serve as a best example of this: I gathered my energies and launched them in this blunt sentence - I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed (Chapter IV). Thus, we can say that Janes worldview was being substantially affected by her acute sense of injustice, which developed over the years of experiencing artificial limitations, imposed by the social environment. However, we cannot suggest that Bronte views Janes misfortunes in the negative light alone. Jane herself thinks of her time at Lowood as something that strengthened her as a person. Later in the novel, when Jane stays in Thornfield, she often acts more responsibly than Rochester. This is because the years spent in Lowood taught Jane how to choose in favor of doing what needs to be done rather than listening to its own heart, when it comes to making decisions.
We can say that Bronte promotes the idea of stoicism throughout the novel, while not even realizing it. What makes Jane a truly outstanding individual is the fact that she did not allow her negativity to take over, which would result in Jane becoming psychologically deficient. Even after having sustained a psychological blow, caused by the revelation of Rochester's married status, Jane did not give in to nihilism or to hypersensitivity. She preferred to live by some abstract principles, simply because it was a proper thing to do: The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mada's I am now.
Laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation... They have a worth I have always believed (Chapter 27). These lines reveal to us Jane as being more man then a woman, which it the main reason why we respect her moral stance. This stance is based on logical reasoning and is not being affected by the excessive emotionalism. The fact that Jane is described as individual with inner strength, despite her fragile appearance, leads us to conclusion that it was Janes upbringing, which turned her into the role model for many women at the time. However, since this upbringing was very repressive, Jane would not be able to become an intelligent person, as we see her at the end of the novel.
She would turn into a Bible thumper, as majority of people who surrounded her most of the time. This is why, we can only refer to upbringing as something that formed Janes individuality for as long as we talk about it in the context of main character simply going through different sets of experiences. It might seem that Janes lengthy walks at Lowood have nothing to do with her becoming inclined towards philosophizing, but they do. It is because Jane liked to be left alone for long periods of time that allowed her to contemplate on the variety of different topics, which in its turn, prevented her from succumbing to emotionalism. Bronte tells us that Jane used to work physically, when she was growing up. She also continued to do so later in her life, which is exactly the reason why she was not obsessed with making a fetish out of physical labor, as many educated women, who never held anything heavier than a pencil in their hands, were doing at the time.
The fact that Jane experienced real hardships, made her to appreciate freedom. Nevertheless, she never thought of freedom as something opposite to the concept of responsibility. Practice shows that, only people who went through a lot know how to combine personal independence with integration into society, as one of its elements. In fact, Jane also associated freedom with self-expression, which is why she almost agreed to accompany St.
John to India, where she could make herself useful, while serving some higher cause. This is because Jane always despised bellyful idleness, which can also be explained by her affiliation with people from lower social strata in the past. It is not by a pure chance that Jane was able to obtain happiness in the end. She deserved it by stoically facing lifes challenges and always remaining faithful to her beliefs and to the man she loved: I have now been married ten years.
I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husbands life as fully as he is mine. No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh (Conclusion). Janes happiness is quiet but complete. The reason why her love to Rochester survived, despite the impossible odds, is that Jane knew the difference between a genuine and artificial feeling. Such knowledge cannot be acquired in school one needs to have an intense life experiences, in order to be able to appreciate simple pleasures to the full extend.
Jane Eyre might never become rich, but she is much happier then women from aristocratic circles, because her life has a purpose. She can relate her present and future to her past, which creates inner psychological comfort and adds to Janes overall sense of happiness. Bibliography: Bronte, Charlotte Jane Eyre. 2007. Project Guttenberg. 1 Sep. 2007. web
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