The final chapter’s of Bronte’s Jane Eyre have been a subject of discussion since it’s first publication. Many say the the ending does not fit and other argue that it does. There is a lot of evidence pointing to the latter. The conclusion reveals the fate of Mr. Rochester and Jane, Adele, and of St. John. All of the endings, a mixture of both happy and tragic, to fit with the entire story and can explained because of the Victorian era. This essay will argue that the conclusion of this novel, more specifically that Jane does go back to Mr. Rochester, is extremely fitting to both the plot and the essence of the novel.
Many people have an issue with the ending because of the fate of Mr. Rochester. They feel him being disfigured and blind is extremely overdone and unnecessarily dramatic. The people that believe this do not understand the deeper meanings behind it; because there are several. During the Victorian age, many were highly religious and believed in the term an eye for an eye. In can be inferred that Bronte added in Rochester’s devastating injuries in the fire because she knew many of the readers would have wanted Mr. Rochester to be punished for his many indiscretions. Victorian readers would not have been happy if he had a full happy ending after all he did to Bertha. It also was able to give the character some redemption. He was shown to be a hero by attempting to save Bertha.
Another debate is whether or not Jane should have ended up with Rochester. Some believe Jane lost a sense of herself and should not have gone back to him. However, her final decision is very fitting for a few reasons. One reason being that he is now very blind and injured. In the beginning of their romance, Jane was extremely dependant on Roc...
... middle of paper ...
...n, there are many reasons as to why the full conclusion of Jane Eyre. The many fates of the characters are both telling of the plot, the themes of the novel, and the characteristics of the Victorian novel. The fact that Mr. Rochester becomes blind hints at the idea of the reader’s need for punishment. Jane does lose her independence because she marries him, for he needs help and she now is financially and socially independent. She is finally able to use her passion and her heart and chose to marry Rochester because of want not need. She also helps little Adèle, like some woman helped her, to become a well-principled English woman. Jane also finds her heaven figuratively as St. John finds his literally. Through the ending of Jane Eyre, Bronte suggests that a woman can show her passion, and choose her heart and that each individuals heaven and happiness are different.
Charlotte Bronte utilizes the character of Bertha Rochester to interrupt Jane’s potential happy ending with Mr. Edward Rochester. Bertha is announced by Mr. Briggs as a way to stop the wedding and it also shows how hopeless Jane’s situation is. “That is my wife “said he. ‘Such is the sole conjugal embrace I am ever to know—such are the endearments which are to solace my leisure hours! And this is what I wished to have,’” (312) and “’I wanted her just as a change after that fierce ragout,’” (312) are quotes that express Mr. Rochester’s reasons for trying to remarry while he already has a wife, meanwhile showing his disposition towards said wife. Had Mr. Briggs and Mr. Mason not been present for the ceremony, Jane may have lived happily in ignorance. Due to Bertha’s involvement however, Jane could never truly call herself Mr. Rochester’s wife. She says, “’Sir, your wife is living: that is a fact acknowledged this morning by yourself. If I lived with you as you desire—I should then be your mistress: to say otherwise is sophistical—is false.’” (323) This quote shows that as a result of Bertha’s exposure, Jane refuses to marry Mr. Rochester. The influence that Bertha’s brief debut had on Jane’s life was significant enough to hinder the growth of her relationship with Mr. Rochester.
Jane is no longer entrapped at the end of Jane Eyre because she has learned how to be herself and be comfortable with who she is. She learns how to use her freewill to make life choices that will make her happy. Bronte illustrates the idea that good things will happen if people use their own free will and follow their heart. In the end Jane married for love and had a happy ending.
The book has many features which are found in Gothic novels such as romance. Romance plays a very important role as Mr. Rochester and Jane are both uncertain if their powerful love is being returned. Another common feature of the Gothic novel is lovers being parted; in the story of Jane Eyre Jane and Rochester are parted when Rochester leaves to visit Blanche Ingram and also when Jane goes to see her dying Aunt Reed. There is also tension between the true love and society. Mrs. Fairfax appears to disapprove of Jane's and Rochester's marriage because of their difference in social class.
Jane Eyre is about a girl named Jane who struggles to find who she really is and with it what she really wants. “As a model for women readers in the Victorian period and throughout the twentieth century to follow, Jane Eyre encouraged them to make their own choices in living their lives, to develop respect for themselves, and to become individuals” (Markley). One of the reasons why this book gained merit was because of its striking presence within its time period. During the “Victorian Age” woman did not have much say in society, so this novel broke boundaries to societal norms that restricted woman from things they have today. “Brontë is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her nature. A novel creates its own internal world through the language that it uses, and this fictional world may be quite independent from the real physical world in which we live” (Johnson). Bronte creates another world through her enlightening form of writing that has the reader connected to the novel as much as Riordan has on the readers in The Lightning Thief. “Reader, I married him” (Bronte 457). This line from the novel is one of the most iconic lines in literature because after all the terrible things she had to endure, Jane finally
Rochester’s lies are, there wouldn’t be much of a story without them. His lies set up pivotal conflicts in the story. In fact, he helps Bronte set up a plotline for the first half of the story by pursuing Jane in his strange ways. Making her jealous causes the first conflict in the story, moving the book along with the romance to keep you roped in. The second half of the story is where the major conflict starts. It causes a change of scenery, the new characters, and a new possible love conflict. Most importantly, it sets up the biggest plot twist at the end, with the fire, Bertha’s death and Mr. Rochester’s own loss of sight. Leaving Jane with difficult choices to make, which keeps the reader entertained. Without all of Mr. Rochester’s drama and lies, Jane Eyre wouldn’t be the classic love story it’s known
Analyse the methods Charlotte Brontë uses to make the reader empathise with Jane Eyre in the opening chapters. Reflect on how the novel portrays Victorian ideology and relate your analysis to the novel’s literary content.
Eventually, she returns to her former employer, discovering Thornfield in ashes, Mrs. Rochester dead, and Mr. Rochester blind and free from wedlock. Flooded with motifs, Jane’s continual struggles between her passions and responsibility prevail as the main theme of Bronte’s entrancing narrative. From the introduction of Jane’s orphan life, she battles between her ire at cousin John’s antics and obedience to Aunt Reed’s reluctant guardianship.
Like Charlotte Bronte both William Crimsworth and Jane Eyre encountered hardships early in their lives therefore they sought independence. Crimsworth’s need to leave his brother Edward and Hunsden reflected the independence “[sought] by Charlotte in order to pursue her career as a governess.”2 Since Bronte’s mother died when Charlotte was very young her father allowed their aunt to educate and raise the children until they were old enough to seek a career. Their aunt was a stern woman and “was rather content receiving obedience than affection”3 which is similar to the character of Aunt Reed in Jane Eyre. Although Hunsden did not hold any blood relation to Crimsworth the relationship between the men was cold which forced Crimsworth to find separation form ridicule and harsh criticism as did Bronte from her aunt. The novel Jane Eyre further illustrated Bronte’s desires of seeking autonomy as the central character, Jane, represented the romantic relationship Bronte had experienced with her professor at the young age of 18. The storyline between Rochester and Eyre held true to the emotions of Charlotte Bronte because she felt the frustrations, helplessness, and happiness in a romance. “Isolation allow[ed]the heroine’s self-development, but it impede[ed] her romantic yearning to be thoroughly lost in love.”4 Yet, due to the hardships she faced in her romance Bronte still saw the need for separation from her beloved as did Eyre from Rochester and Francis from Crimsworth. Although it was hard for the author to leave her happiness, her frustrations were expressed in Jane Eyre:
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre chronicles the growth of her titular character from girlhood to maturity, focusing on her journey from dependence on negative authority figures to both monetary and psychological independence, from confusion to a clear understanding of self, and from inequality to equality with those to whom she was formerly subject. Originally dependent on her Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester, she gains independence through her inheritance and teaching positions. Over the course of the novel, she awakens towards self-understanding, resulting in contentment and eventual happiness. She also achieves equality with the important masculine figures in her life, such as St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester, gaining self-fulfillment as an independent, fully developed equal.
In conclusion, Jane Eyre’s painstaking journey to find a sense of acceptance, affection, and family was finally completed, attaining the things she yearned. She eventually discovered everything she was searching for through Mr. Rochester, forgetting her agonizing past and looking to what was ahead. As Jane looked for many different alternatives to make her feel as if she was complete, she found that Mr. Rochester was the only one who could make her feel
Charlotte Bronte presents Rochester in many different ways. He comes from a rich family, and has a sophisticated personality. His attitude and behavior from the start of the book and the end of it has a dramatic change. Rochester corresponds to the mould of a Byronic Hero however, with his brave and humble actions, he starts to become less attractive as a hero. Moreover, one could argue although he is an unconventional hero he is appealing in both physical and mental ways. However, another could argue against this and find no attractive views of Rochester.
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses various characters to represent aspects of reason and passion, thereby establishing a tension between the two. In fact, it could be argued that these various characters are really aspects of her central character, Jane. From this it could be argued that the tension between these two aspects really takes place only within her mind. Bronte is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her character. As a prerequisite for marriage, Jane uses this determination in her relationships with Mr. Rochester and St. John.
The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, has a plot that is filled with an extraordinary amount of problems. Or so it seems as you are reading it. However, it comes to your attention after you have finished it, that there is a common thread running throughout the book. There are many little difficulties that the main character, the indomitable Jane Eyre, must deal with, but once you reach the end of the book you begin to realize that all of Jane's problems are based around one thing. Jane searches throughout the book for love and acceptance, and is forced to endure many hardships before finding them. First, she must cope with the betrayal of the people who are supposed to be her family - her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her children, Eliza, Georgiana, and John. Then there is the issue of Jane's time at Lowood School, and how Jane goes out on her own after her best friend leaves. She takes a position at Thornfield Hall as a tutor, and makes some new friendships and even a romance. Yet her newfound happiness is taken away from her and she once again must start over. Then finally, after enduring so much, during the course of the book, Jane finally finds a true family and love, in rather unexpected places.
In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, it was love, and not age or education, that led Jane to mature and grow as a person. With the help of Helen Burns and Miss. Temple, Jane Eyre learned what it meant to love someone. Both these people influenced Jane to mature into a young lady by showing Jane their love and affection. When Jane left Lowood to become a governess, she met the love of her life, Mr. Rochester. With his love, Jane Eyre eventually matured fully and grew into a self-sufficient woman and left the hatred and anger behind.
...t on earth. I hold myself supremely blest - blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband's life as fully as he is mine" (Bronte 519). Every hardship and trouble Jane endured, from Gateshead to Morton, amplifies the perfect balance between passion and reason Jane receives at the end of the novel. Jane achieves this balance by being with the one she loves the most without any complications of reasoning. Her internal conflicts between Mr. Rochester and St. John Rivers contained many complications including Mr. Rochester's mad wife Bertha, not being in love with St. John, and her own sense of self-respect. Bronte successfully reveals this balance at the end of the novel by Jane receiving a large amount of money, allowing Jane to be with Mr. Rochester without Bertha, Jane discovering she has family, and Jane starting her own family with Mr. Rochester.