¶ … Cultural Reflection of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre
In Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre, we are introduced to a timid, insecure orphan child who is set extraordinary odds to find happiness and eventually love in 19th Century England. Jane Eyre is the story of a reluctant and fairly plain woman who believes that she is unloved because of these physical traits, yet she is strong-principled, intelligent and possesses a desire to do better in life and become independent. Of her greatest obstacles to overcome, the crude Victorian society is the hardest, and Bronte pits her character against many Victorian taboos and religious fervor that she herself must have witnessed in her own life.
Charlotte Bronte herself was born and raised in Victorian England, one of three sisters who all became published authors. "The prejudice against women in the nineteenth century was such that the three sisters were forced to adopt male pseudonyms for the initial publication of their novels because they knew that their books were unlikely to be published if they had used their own names" (Longman Literature, viii). Bronte had plenty of material therefore to fall back on as she wrote Jane Eyre, though chose to show the stringent lifestyle of Victorian England through the story and characters rather than preach the injustices against women and social bias.
Jane Eyre was an orphan in Victorian England who went to live with her uncle and his family in Gateshead. Before she does, she contemplates the possibility of being sent to a 'poorhouse'. "You ought to be aware, Miss, that you are under obligations to Mrs. Reed: she keeps you: if she were to turn you off, you would have to go to the poorhouse" (Chapter2, pg7). Poorhouses were notorious for their ill-treatment and diseases that spread through these institutions designed to tuck away the socially unacceptable and poor away from the rest of society.
At one point, when Jane Eyre is forced to walk instead of taking a carriage,...
Jane Eyre Movie A new version of Jane Eyre has just been directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga who directed Sin Nombre and the screenwriter Moira Buffini who is best known for Tamara Drewe (Jane Eyre, N.d.). The story is set in the nineteenth century and is based on a novel by English writer Charlotte Bronte. It was originally published on October 16th, 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. Of London, England,
1847, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is structured like a puzzle. The title page reads Jane Eyre: An Autobiography but the work is credited to Currer Bell, an apparently male pseudonym. The author's involvement with the text is therefore signposted from the moment we open the book -- what does it mean for a work to be described as an "autobiography" but ascribed to a different writer? Obviously an autobiography
1847 Novel and the 1973 Film The novel Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Bronte in 1847. Although the novel is widely considered a classic, and is therefore presumed to be timeless in terms of its characters and themes, when a contemporary filmmaker wished to adapt its themes for present day audiences, there were certain aspects of the work that demanded changes, not in plot but in thematic emphasis and
Representation of women in Jane Eyre, Great Expectations and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales In Victorian culture, Women were Idolized, Protected and Oppressed During the Victorian era from the year, 1837-1901 there was a definite gender role in England. During the period, women and men had very different roles in the society. Women and men perceptions were ideologically different. Men were superior to women during
Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre have captured the imagination of successive generations of critics, from the time they were published till today. Widely acclaimed, these two novels continue to literally mesmerize scholars as the harbingers of a unique literary genre of romance in a gothic drama setting, which is related with harsh vitalism and lack of moral zeal. More than their technical aspects, however, a review of the critical literature on
GOTHIC NOVEL & JANE EYRE According to E.F. Bleiler, "Before Horace Walpole, the word 'gothic' was almost always a synonym for rudeness, barbarousness, crudity, coarseness and lack of taste. After Walpole, the word assumed two new major meanings -- first, vigorous, bold, heroic and ancient; and second, quaint, charming, romantic, but perhaps a little decadent in its association with Romanticism, but sentimental and interesting" (12). Of course, Bleiler is referring
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