Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - Essay Example

English Literature: Jane Eyre There is genre fluidity in Charlotte Bronte’s narrative “Jane Eyre”. As we can see; the author portrayed a number of genres for instance, autobiography, romance, mystery, gothic invention and childhood to adulthood. The title of the narrative itself illustrates the autobiography genre. The narrative is about a woman called Jane Eyre yet at the same time the title is “Jane Eyre.” In my perception, Bronte does this deliberately as in a literary work; it implies some form of heroism or hero in the central narrator. The narrative is not the author’s autobiography but the narrator’s. The narrative is in the first person. The central character who is Jane Eyre gives a description of her as if telling the reader her autobiography, but because it is not real, this is not precise. The narrator tells about the story of her life; her experiences and the things that happen in her environment. For instance, her encounters at her Lowton school, her losing her best pal by the name Helen Burns, this brings to mind Charlotte’s sisters’ death at Cowan Bridge who died as a result of the same disease back then. She also tells of the headmaster’s deceitful religious zeal which depicts the Reverend called Carus Wilson. In addition, John Reed’s turn down into taking much alcohol and death is probably recounting the life of the author’s brother who turned to taking much alcohol and opium just before his death. Lastly, similar to Bronte, Jane turns out to be a governess; an unbiased position from which to examine and express the repressive social thoughts and practice of nineteenth-century of the English people. “This document remained locked in my drawer all after tea, I asked leave of the new superintendent to Lowton, in order to perform some small commissions for self and one or two of my fellow teachers.”(Bronte?, et al Pg 89). She also recounts her love Rochester as dark, threatening man who lives in a shady, dismal and apparently ghostly residence where she used to hear whispers and people laughing mostly during the nights. She also tells about the source of that noise, having been made by a servant by the name Grace Poole, who is a habitual drinker. Jane also tells about how she came to know Rochester and how they got to know each other. She also tells about her falling in love with Rochester, but she doubted him marrying her considering her poverty and not being beautiful, however, unpredictably, Rochester proposes to her. Jane admits to his proposal and waits anxiously for the marriage. Secondly, there is romance genre in the narrative. This genre is the most striking of the narrative, Jane and Rochester’s love is the most remarkable idea in the narrative. This we see most by the narrator’s connection to Rochester. We see romance mainly in the last chapter when Jane tells of her having been married for a decade and that she knew what to live wholly for and with what she loved best on earth. She tells of her being exalted beyond expression since she was her husband’s life unconditionally as he was hers. She also expresses her level of intimacy to her husband. There is also the genre mystery in the narrative. We see a younger Jane who openly tells Rochester’s squalid past to insinuate what is going on in the Thornfield and Attic. Bertha Mason is a multifaceted presence in this narrative. She obstructs Jane’s cheerfulness, but she also activates Jane’s self-understanding development. The mystery that surrounds Bertha creates anticipation and fright to the plot and the environment. Additionally, Bertha serves as a remainder and cue of Rochester’s as a young autonomist. There are also gothic fiction ideas, for example, when Jane tells about Bertha. It displays her as a vampire yet Bertha is merely a woman from Jamaica who is insane. The author must have incorporated this in the narrative to create a thrilling ambience and make the reader feel frightened. The author also incorporated the genre of a child who matures and concentrates much on her encounters and how the experiences inflame her growth to an adult. This we see when Jane grows from an orphan who is not beautiful, poor and lacks social class. We see she loses her parents and the relatives take her. The relatives however, treat her with lots of hatred and brutality, and this is not what we expected. Jane reaches an age appropriate for going to school; she leaves for Lowton where she tells had terrible living condition. She says that the food was not clean, and a number of teachers are unkind and the headmaster particularly. She also talks of the poor hygiene in the school and how it led to a number of students losing their lives. “Forty five out of eighty girls lie ill at one time [ ] many already smitten, went home only to die: some died at the school, and were buried quietly and quickly, the nature of the malady forbidding delay” (Bronte?, et al, Pg 78). Jane also tells of her best pal, Helen Burns and tells of how she felt when she was in hospital suffering from Tuberculosis when she states: “True reader, and I knew and felt this; and though I am a defective being, with my faults and few redeeming points yet I never tired of Helen Burns, nor ever ceased to cherish for her a sentiment of attachment as strong, tender and respectful as any that animated my heart…” (Bronte?, et al pg 79). Jane also tells about Helen’s death. “I was asleep, and Helen was dead” (Bronte?, et al, pg 84). She tells that the conditions became better, and Jane remained there and served as a teacher till she attained eighteen years and admitted being an instructor to Adele Varens. Eventually, Jane becomes the grown-up woman who narrates the story looking back on her experiences. The narrative combines romantic individuality with universal social criticism smoothly as we see Jane appearing at Thornfield and slowly falling in love with Rochester. This illustrates some form of romance in the narrative. Afterward in the narrative, during the central narrator’s coming across St John Rivers, the narrative investigates the questions of morals and religious commitment and apparently leaves the issues of romantic love supportive of taking in hand matters that are crucial in relation to roles of a Christian and forfeit. As we can see, the narrative also illustrates social criticism when Charlotte Bronte’s voice is incorporated in her literary works in the middle of Jane’s ideas and deeds as this illustrates the people for its range of injustice and inequality. For instance, we see when the woman’s position is neglected in the English public during the nineteenth century. In the narrative, Jane, who is the central narrator disapproves of popular ideas of female submissiveness in a tone that diverges from that of a Victorian over-romance. She, in her statement, describes Bronte’s literary work as more than romantic or moralizing narrative, and through her voice, Bronte sets up her own upheaval against the restrictions in the society she inhabited and also did her work. We also see an element of social criticism in the narrative through the gothic fiction in it. The narrative also depicts ghostly encounters, mystery and frightening environment and these create an atmosphere of suspense and fright. Jane’s encounters with the ghosts, menacing plots add a strong ambience of fantasy and mystery to the narrative. Jane describes her first weeks at Thornfield, her feelings of imprisonment and her anxiety for liberation and fairness. Jane also displays her feminist nature when she extends her feelings to the English public about women being deprived of their freedom. She also condemns the Victorian perceptions of Gender roles. The narrative states that the Victorian woman suffered from being deprived of their rights. The central narrator illustrates that the author’s mode of dealing with anger. This is demonstrated when she states that women were believed to be extremely tranquil generally: although they had feelings as men. She also says that women also required to could do with put into effect for their careers just as men and not as they were perceived to be, therefore, she acted as an advocate for their needs to be considered. (Bronte?, et al, Pg 93) This narrative is about a woman telling the reader about her personal life and not a predicament of women in the nineteenth century. As we can see, the central narrator, Jane Eyre tells of her personal experiences, and it is so evident since it is written in the first person. She gives us her experiences to details. She tells of the things that happen within her environment, however, not what is in her thoughts. She also gives us explanations on how she makes decisions and her feelings towards the experiences. Like she is some times appears a little too humble, for instance, she holds back most of her extreme feelings with efforts to look peaceful or more tranquil. In the first chapter, Rochester tells the narrator his whole story up to the time he meets her. Rochester also gives his own perception of Jane Eyre when she first went to Thornfield. Rochester describes Jane I as being beset with odd distinctions, her way of dressing seemed controlled by the ruling and her air was reserved and in overall one cultured by nature, although totally unused by the people and this was a bargain since she feared making herself of making herself noticeable in a lousy way mistakenly. Rochester also recognizes that Jane, when talked to, gave a picture of a daring personality and says this portrayed her as authority in every look she gave the person talking to her. Rochester also tells of her quick response to questions when asked close questions. He also tells about her having a social heart as he saw that when they talked. Rochester also considers Jane Eyre to be strict and holds back issues nonetheless; he thinks this is as a result of her being a student and a leader and for quiet some while and hence with another company she would relax a little. The ending in “Jane Eyre” is not a traditional love story but a non-conformist in the sense that, as the story ends, in the beginning of the last chapter the narrator say tells us that she married him. This makes us happy as we see a wedding happen yet it had been stopped earlier. A man breaks up the wedding ceremony by telling a large number of people that the bridegroom, Rochester in this case had a wife who was still alive by the name Bertha Mason. We are told that Bertha Mason was a woman who suffered from insanity and hailed from the Attic at Thornfield Hall. We are also told that prior to Rochester’s marriage to Bertha he was not aware of her insanity, and this made it hard to obtain a divorce. And during Rochester’s wedding ceremony to marry Jane, Bertha having been present, the wedding is cancelled. The narrative tells much about the narrator’s wedding after a few inconspicuous statements when Jane tells us of how Rochester’s employees perceive the news. Then she talks about how Rochester was able to see again, and they constantly make conversations. This was a joyful ending. Though, in my opinion, that form of ending was not the narrator’s main interest, but she was aiming to show us what happened to the other characters too. She tells of how St John Rivers travelled to India to do his own duties and overworked himself and this resulted to his death. She also talks about the obsession of St John’s with his missionary duties. Jane also talks about sickness in the narrative, Rochester’s sightlessness, the Bertha’s wound and the fever that strikes her as she ran away from Rochester. In conclusion, I consider this narrative a non-conformist since it shifts from the traditional marriage plot to a different plot and not about herself in the end. Lastly, Bronte did not introduce a twist in gender roles, in her own version, when she said “and they lived happily ever after”. Work Cited Bronte?, Charlotte, Margaret Smith, and Sally Shuttle worth. Jane Eyre. New ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. Read More