The Character of Jane Eyre
What we learn of the central character is considerable. Throughout the novel her dealings with those around her reveal her characteristics. As a child at Gateshead Hall we see that she is impulsive, often alarmingly so, but that she also can be sullen and withdrawn. Thse around her do not find her an easy child - she gives very little of herself away, especially to the Reed family, although there is a slight intimacy with the servant, Bessie. She is intelligent and precocious, preferring the make believe world of books to the harsh and often unsympathetic world of reality. She is also perceptive; knowing that the Reeds dislike her, yet not being quite sure why it should be so.She feels her social position as an outcast very keenly; ironically being unable, because of her breeding to form an attachment with Bessie. She is occasionally very angry, as when she lashes out at John Reed, and when she rounds on Mrs Reed after the Red Room incident. She is also afraid and insecure, but tries very hard not to let anyone see this side of her character. it is only at times of great stress that she gives way to fear (Red Room), but note that usually she has, even at the early age of ten, great self-control for most of the time.
A different side of her character is revealed at Lowood school, when we see the tender and trusting nature in her dealings with Miss Temple and with Helen Burns. It is obvious that she has a great desire to be shown love, and when this is given, she is perfectly happy to return it in kind. There is still, however, anger and resentment, especially on behalf of injustice. She cannot take Helen's advice to submit to chastisement and to be submissive and patient, to heart, eve...
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...nd herself to do what is right, and leave Thornfield, despite the enormous temptation to stay and become his mistress.This conflict continues - she is torn between desire and duty until she returns to Ferndean at the close of the novel, but inner strength and determination carry her through the time at moor house and her relationship with the Rivers family.
Generosity is a characteristic which manifests itself in the division of her legacy between the Rivers cousins, and we also see that the need for a loving family and jane,s ability to return affection wholeheartedly have not departed from her character, in her relationship with Diana and Mary Rivers.
Pride is also a characteristic which she possesses. She is proud of her education, and of her independence, but she also shows a balancing humility, being able to acknowledge her failings, when necessary.
The moral compass of mankind has always piqued the interest of authors. The Middle Ages was a time of immoral behavior, corrupt religious officials, and disregard of marital vows. Geoffrey Chaucer used The Canterbury Tales to explore his personal views of this dark time. In particular, he crafted “The Wife of Bath’s Tale,” “The Prioress’s Tale,” and “The Shipman’s Tale” to portray the tainted society, using women in all of them to bring forth his views. In The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer depicts women as immodest and conniving beings to suggest the moral corruption of the Middle Ages.
In “The Pardoner’s Tale,” Geoffrey Chaucer masterfully frames an informal homily. Through the use of verbal and situational irony, Chaucer is able to accentuate the moral characteristics of the Pardoner. The essence of the story is exemplified by the blatant discrepancy between the character of the storyteller and the message of his story. By analyzing this contrast, the reader can place himself in the mind of the Pardoner in order to account for his psychology.
was not a better place but it helped Jane stand on her own feet. Through
Toswell, M.J. "Chaucer's Pardoner, Chaucer's World, Chaucer's Style: Three Approaches to Medieval Literature." College Literature 28.3 (2001): 155. Literature Resource Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2011.
In the Webster's online dictionary, self-confidence is defined as confidence in oneself and in one's powers and abilities. A famous quote by Jim Loehr says, "With confidence, you can reach truly amazing heights; Without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp." Confidence in yourself does not come without effort. One must believe in themselves, and not let someone change their beliefs. In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Jane shows self-confidence throughout the novel, by possessing a sense of self-worth, dignity, and a trust in God.
The structure Geoffrey Chaucer chose for his masterpiece, The Canterbury Tales, of utilizing a melange of narrative voices to tell separate tales allows him to explore and comment on subjects in a multitude of ways. Because of this structure of separate tales, the reader must regard as extremely significant when tales structurally overlap, for while the reader may find it difficult to render an accurate interpretation through one tale, comparing tales enables him to lessen the ambiguity of Chaucer’s meaning. The Clerk’s Tale and The Merchant’s Tale both take on the institution of marriage, but comment on it in entirely different manner, but both contain an indictment of patriarchal narcissism and conceit.
Chaucer used controversies to create character. He wanted his characters to teach the readers something new about life. The Wife of Bath and the Pardoner demonstrate Chaucer’s way of creating characters based on the sexuality of the medieval period.
character that is innocent, she is a near 6 year old girl that is very harmless and innocent, and she only has the good intentions to save and relief the population of maycomb from racism and from any problems that occurred...
Chaucer’s book The Canterbury Tales presents a frame story written at the end of the 14th century. It narrates the story of a group of pilgrims who participate in a story-telling contest that they made up to entertain each other while they travel to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. Because of this, some of the tales become particularly attractive for they are written within a frame of parody which, as a style that mocks genre, is usually achieved by the deliberate exaggeration of some aspects of it for comic effect. Chaucer uses parody to highlight some aspects of the medieval society that presented in an exaggerated manner, not only do they amuse the readers, but also makes them reflect on them. He uses the individual parody of each tale to create a satirical book in which the behaviours of its characters paint an ironic and critical portrait of the English society at that time. Thus, the tales turn satirical, ironic, earthy, bawdy, and comical. When analysing the Knight’s and the Miller’s tale, one can realise how Chaucer mocks the courtly love convention, and other social codes of behaviour typical of the medieval times.
In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, the characters come to learn that secrets do more harm than good through Edward Rochester’s secrecy after the fire in his room, Mrs. Reed not telling her about the letter from her uncle, and Edward Rochester’s secret marriage with Bertha. First, Rochester, who really knows what happened during the fire in his room, refuses to tell Jane the full truth so as to not hurt her. Secondly, Mrs. Reed and Jane do not have the best relationship; the hiding of the letter only strains this relationship further. And finally, Rochester’s secret marriage with the psychopathic woman Bertha Mason causes a rift in Jane and Rochester’s relationship which never fully heals. In other words, secrets will never end well, as seen by Rochester keeping what happens during the fire secret to Jane.
Patterson, Lee. "The living witnesses of our redemption: Martyrdom and imitation in Chaucer's Prioress's Tale.” Journal of Medieval and Early Modern Studies. Durham; Fall 2001. 507-560
Geoffrey Chaucer, England's first great poet, was born in 1343, during a time of social, political, religious and literary ferment. Chaucer, who was the descendent of a prosperous family from Ipswich, received the impetus for writing from fourteenth-century Italian and French poets. Chaucer--whose father was a successful wine dealer in London and whose mother, Agnes de Compton, a member of the English court--was reared in an intellectual environment of high society. He was well educated, having studied at the Universities of the Court. He lived among nobility in his service to the Court.
Throughout the novel, Jane struggles to balance her passion with reason, finding that she “cannot help experiencing the overflow of feelings from time to time” (Tiainen 32). She ranges between allowing her “passion [to] rage furiously”, and warranting the her “judgement shall still have the last word” (Brontë 233). Helen provides an example of a reason-based lifestyle, while Bertha is the embodiment of uncontrolled passion, both of which Jane rejects “in their extremities” (Tiainen 35), instead finding a “balance between sense and sensibility” (Tiainen 32). Jane becomes cognizant of the fact that a life of untethered passion is as equally unsuitable as a cold, sensationless life, and finds a balance between the two. One of Jane’s most obvious developments is the changing ethics and values she acquires following her departure from Gateshead. Growing up with a wealthy family, Jane “was very miserable” (Brontë 112); however, having no contact with the lower class, her opinion mirrored that of the Reeds. Consequently, she did not wish “to belong to poor people” (Brontë 30), no matter how “kind” (Brontë 30) they may have been to her. Her time living in the scant conditions at Lowood taught Jane “to value friendship and spiritual support over material comfort” (Tiainen 27),
“The Canterbury Tales” was written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer. These tales constitutes a frame story which each pilgrim has to tell their own story to the Chaucer, the pilgrim; not the poet. As we know, the tale itself is a satire, but the stylistic structure in the tales creates a sense that can be a parody as well. To support this idea of parody, it is need to know the definition of parody and how Chaucer use this style to make his own ideas clear through the general prologue and the tales such as “The Miller’s Tale” and “The Knight’s Tale”.
Throughout the 24 tales, Romance is overdone and the range of attitudes towards life and literature is expressed. The main point of the tales are to share morals. You will now read a few summaries of some of the tales presented in Chaucer's works.