Psychoanalysis of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre - Essay Example

Psychoanalysis of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Jane Eyre is a novel written by Charlotte Bronte. It was initially published as an autobiography in the pen name Currer Bell. It is a critically acclaimed literary work which is considered ahead of its time due to the successful exploration and presentation of the themes which include the complexity of human struggles not only within one’s self but also in the interaction with other people. The book had been referred to as an autobiography probably based on the fact that it mirrors the struggles of a person in life, specifically that of a woman (Bronte). The objective of the paper is to determine the application of psychoanalysis in the understanding of Charlotte Bronte’s literary work, Jane Eyre. To be able to achieve the said objective, the definition, coverage and application of psychoanalysis is defined. The application of the concept of psychoanalysis is the main focus of the paper. Plot of the Novel The novel Jane Eyre is about the life of an orphan. The story started when Jane was still young and continued until her adult life. She is a girl who experienced cruelty at a young age in the hands of her relatives. Her aunt, Mrs. Reed is a wealthy woman who took Jane when she lost her parents. Jane’s cousin is another source of her trials as a child since he kept on bullying her. The only affection she had received was from the servant of the family, Bessie. The turning point of her life with her aunt happened when she had a fight with her cousin, John and was punished to stay in the room where her Uncle Reed died and she collapsed of fright. This led to Mr. Lloyd’s advice to send her away to school, a chance that let her leave the house. Her trials did not end in that situation though (Bronte chap.1-4). Included in the succeeding trials are the people she met in Lowood School namely the headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst and her new friend Helen Burns. Mr. Brocklehurst is the cruel, abusive, and corrupt headmaster of the school. Helen Burns on the other hand is a character of opposing characteristics of being both strong and a martyr when it comes to the issues within the school. Another turning point in the life of Jane occurred when an epidemic killed most of the students and the headmaster lost his job due to mismanagement of the school. When better management ruled the school, her life is at its best years, 6 years as a student and 2 more years as a teacher. She then looked for other adventures (Bronte chap.5-10). The last phase of the novel occurred in Thornfield where Jane Eyre met her better half Roschester. Although this is the case, there were hindrances again in the form of the discovery that Rochester is still married to Bertha, who was secretly kept inside the house. She left the place and experienced another set of trials such as being a beggar (Bronte chap.11-28). A family of 3 siblings then helped her. She later discovered that they are relatives and she received news about her family and her inheritance. The story ended with Jane’s realization that she really loves Rochester and went to have another chance with him. Although things changed with him being blind and without one hand, they were able to have glorious years together and were blessed with a son (chapter. 29-38). There are multitude of themes in the novel which are related to the different experiences and factors in a person’s life such as love, religion, relationship, gender issues and social stratification. Freud’s Psychoanalysis The concept of psychoanalysis which explored the ‘workings of the human mind’ had been established by Sigmund Freud in the late 19th century in Vienna. It is based on the clinical data and information gathered from observing patients with neurosis. The concept of psychoanalysis became one of the foundations of the theories and principles of psychology based on two points. One point presented by Freud is that majority of the human mental activity occurs without a person’s consciousness, like an involuntary action or idea. Another point is that the primary motivation and source of psychic energy is the libido or sexuality (Freud; Mitra 228). Sigmund Freud specifically discussed the different components of the concept of psychoanalysis. The concept of psychoanalysis is important in the understanding of the themes and lessons of the novel Jane Eyre. The first component of the psychoanalysis discusses the unconscious idea is also referred to as involuntary idea. In this state the imagination is in control over a person’s rationality which can result to poetic inspiration when uncontrolled and spontaneous generation of ideas occurs. The first component of psychoanalysis is specifically viewed as the choice between the pleasure and reality principle which constitute the principles of mental functioning (Freud 301-306; Mitra 228). In the novel, there are stages in the life of Jane that exhibited the pleasure principle and there are event that exhibited the reality principle. The trials and the cruelty of certain characters to Jane can be considered as the representation of the reality principle wherein a person needs to overcome and survive the challenges being presented by the prejudice of the society imposed through norms, moral laws and other forms of traditions (Freud 301-306; Mitra 228). Examples of events in the novel related to the reality principle are the cruelty of the different characters such as the aunt, the cousin, the headmaster of the school, and the situation of being a beggar (Bronte chap.1-38). Although life is not as bold and dynamic as that of Jane’s life simple pleasures also serve as reprieve to the challenges of life (Freud 301-306; Mitra 228). There are different event in the novel that exhibited the pleasure principle such as Jane escaping the cruelty of her aunt but going to school, teaching, her inheritance, being loved and finding her partner in life (Bronte chap. 1-38). Another concept in psychoanalysis that Freud presented is the concept of dreaming or fantasy. Freud referred to these components of the mental process as parapraxes which can be accidentally observed through irregular actions such as slips of tongue, failures of memory, bunglings, misreadings and mislayings are considered as unconscious intentions and wishes of a person (Eagleton 137). Fantasy according to Freud can be considered as a free zone in terms of creating ideas wherein nobody can contradict the ideas generated (301). This can then be considered as the area of mental processes used to create literary or artistic output. Analysis of the Novel through Psychoanalysis There are different themes explored in the story of Jane Eyre. These themes can be analyzed through psychoanalysis. The relationship between feminism and psychoanalysis is the first issue explored by the novel. Psychoanalysis is based on gender and gender roles, thus, it can be considered as a contradicting concept to what feminism stands for. Feminism stresses equality of gender while psychoanalysis stresses the differences of the genders as the basis for psychological analysis and determination (Barry 131). In the story, the main character is a woman. Her struggles and successes were explored which can be considered as an empowering story that represents the story on the feminine perspective. When it comes to the literary creativity of the author, psychoanalysis points out the notion that fantasy works based on the perspective of reality can successfully attack ad keep the attention of the audience. Jane Eyre has the proper combination of fantasy in terms of the over-adventurous life of the main character and reality in terms of the fact that the problems and trials she encountered can be considered as common to ordinary people. In the query regarding the capacity of psychoanalysis to explain and to achieve an understanding on Bronte’s Jane Eyre, the answer is that it can fully explain the different events, notions, themes and ideas presented. This can be attributed to the fact that psychoanalysis is the foundation of the field of psychology which is the exploration of human behaviour. There are numerous events and scenes in the novel that can be analyzed through psychoanalysis but these are not the main focus of the study. Certain examples can be given though. One example of behaviour that can be analyzed is the attitude of the main character in times of trouble. It is a habit that Jane prays to God and surrenders herself in the situation, e.g. during the wedding when the ceremony was halted due to a bad announcement. Based on her reaction, it can be noted that he had experienced numerous trials in her life that made her as strong as she is. On the negative side though, those trials also trained her to have a notion that she is not deserving of the wonderful gifts she is receiving. There are numerous examples that exhibited this notion which include the time when she left the school after 2 years of teaching to find new endeavours, the time when she chose to be a beggar instead of clearing the situation regarding Rochester and his wife, and the decision she made to turn down a wedding proposal to go to the person she should have forgotten. In general, Jane Eyre is a representation of the women in the society who are not appreciated regardless of the contributions they had given to the society. That everytime a woman in the family or in the society finishes a task, she would look for another where she can contribute and help in the constant struggle to be recognized or if not to unconditionally improve on a particular part of the social structure. Conclusion The paper is aimed to determine the capability of psychoanalysis achieve an understanding of the novel Jane Eyre. Based on the research undertaken specifically on the views of Freud regarding psychoanalysis, it can be considered sufficient to explain the different events, themes, notions and ideas imparted by the author. Works Cited: Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory. 2nd ed. Manchester University Press, 2002. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Forgotten Books, 1949. Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. University of Minnesota Press, 2008. Freud, Sigmund. Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming. 1907. Mitra, Reena. Critical Response To Literatures In English. 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