Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

Charlotte Brontë

Jane Eyre

Start

INDEX

II) Jane Eyre

I) Charlotte Brontë

Presentation

Bildungsroman/Gothic

Narration and Plot

Life

The Brontë sisters

Victorian England

Pseudonyms

Character map

Themes in the novel

Films

You can click on the boxes if there is one in particular that you would like to see again for example.

Charlotte Brontë

Born : April 21, 1816, Thornton, England Died : March 31, 1855 (aged 38), Haworth, England Occupation : Novelist, poet, governess Genre : Fiction, poetry Nationality : British Pen name : Lord Charles Albert Florian Wellesley and Currer Bell

life

- The eldest of the three Brontë sisters. - Her father was Patrick Brontë, an Irish priest and author. - She wrote her first known poem at the age of 13 in 1829. - Her mother died of cancer in 1821 leaving five daughters, Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Emily and Anne, and a son, Branwell (painter and writer). - Charlotte, Emily, Maria, and Elizabeth went to the Clergy Daughters' School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire. - Maria and Elizabeth died of tuberculosis in June 1825 because of the school's poor conditions.

life

- Charlotte and Emily went to Brussels as pupils to improve their qualifications in French and acquire some German. - Branwell died in September 1848, Emily in December, and Anne in May 1849. - She married Arthur Bell Nicholls in 1854. - Brontë became pregnant soon after her wedding, but she died, with her unborn child, on 31 March 1855. - According to her death certificate, she died of tuberculosis, but some biographers suggest she died from dehydration and malnourishment.

Famous Works

Poems by Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell

Shirley

Jane Eyre

Villette

1853Genre : Novel / Victorian literature Lucy Snowe travels from her native England to the fictional French-speaking city of Villette to teach at a girls' school, where she is drawn into adventure and romance.

1846 Genre : Poetry She wrote this volume of poetry with her sisters. It was their first published work.

1849Genre : Social novel / Victorian fiction The novel is set against the backdrop of the Luddite uprisings in the Yorkshire textile industry.

1847Genre : Novel / Victorian literature Jane Eyre follows the development of its eponymous heroine, growing to adulthood and falling in love for Mr. Rochester, the master of Thornfield Hall.

the Brontë sisters

Emily

Anne

Charlotte

Brontë

Brontë

Brontë

Born : 30 July 1818 Died : 19 December 1848 (aged 30) Pen name : Ellis Bell Occupation : Poet, novelist, governess Notable works : Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights was influenced by Romanticism and Gothic fiction. Nowadays, the novel is considered as a classic of English literature, but when it was first published, it received a lot of negative critics. It was controversial and challenged Victorian morality, religious and societal values.

Emily

Brontë

Born : 17 January 1820Died : 28 May 1849 (aged 29) Pen name : Acton Bell Occupation : Poet, novelist, governess Notable works : The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Agnes Grey The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is considered as one of the first feminist novels. The slamming of Helen's bedroom door (the main character of the novel) against her husband was completely unconventional for the Victorian society.

Anne

Brontë

Why did they use pseudonyms to publish their works?

- They explored “unfeminine” subjects for the Victorian society : sexual passion, slang, alcoholism, domestic abuse and violence.- It was frowned upon to be a female author so preserving their anonimity allowed them more freedom with their writings. - It permitted them to escape from contemporary prejudice against female writers. - All three retained the first letter of their first names: Charlotte became Currer Bell, Anne became Acton Bell, and Emily became Ellis Bell.

Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Brontë, by their brother Branwell

Why is Jane Eyre a bildungsroman ?

A bildungsroman is a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character

- Generally written in the first person and often feature the name of the protagonist in the title.It's the case of Jane Eyre for example. Other examples of bildungsromans : - The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (by Henry Fielding) - David Copperfield (by Charles Dickens) - A portrait of the Artis as a Young Man (by James Joyce)

Why is Jane Eyre a bildungsroman ?

In Jane Eyre, throughout the story, we see her growing into a young woman.Indeed, Jane’s childhood at Gateshead, her education at the Lowood School, her time as Adèle’s governess at Thornfield, her time with the Rivers family at Morton and at Marsh End, and her marriage to Rochester at Ferndean show us the development of the character.She experiences challenges and difficulties like the loss of her parents, mistreatments, abuse, but continues to live, fighting and learning from what she comes through. So we can consider Jane Eyre as a bildungsroman.

Why is Jane Eyre a gothic novel ?

Jane Eyre can be considered as a gothic novel for several reasons : - The setting : Jane's childhood home ("red room"), Lowood School, Thornfield Hall. - Typical characters : Jane as maiden, Aunt Reed, Lady Ingram and Bessie as older, foolish women, Rochester as hero, Brocklehurst as villain. - Supernatural event : the apparition seen by Jane Eyre in Thornifield Hall. It has a rational explanation but Charlotte Brontë likes to raise the fears of her protagonists as if they were Gothic heroines.

The Narrative structure of Jane Eyre

04

01

Falling action

Exposition

After Jane hears Rochester's call to her from across the heath, she returns to Thornfield and finds it burned to the ground. She learns that Bertha Mason set the fire and died in the flames ; Rochester is now living in Ferndean.

After being cast out of her cruel aunt's house, Jane is sent to the unhealthy Lowood orphan school.

02

Rising action

Development between Jane's and Mr. Rochester's relation : at first, Jane finds him "changeful and abrupt". Eventually, they found out that they have feelings for one an another, but Jane believes her status isn't desirable enough for him.

05

Resolution

Jane and Rochester marry happily and have a baby.

03

Climax

The climax comes after Jane receives her second wedding proposal. St. John Rivers asks Jane to accompany him to India as his missionary wife. Jane considers the proposal even though she knows marying him would mean the death of her emotional life.

Jane Eyre is written in the first-person point of view, with Jane serving as the narrator of the novel. This allows the reader to identfy with the character and have a deeper emotional connection with her.

The plot

Jane Eyre is a young 10 year old orphan who lives with her uncle's family, being raised by Mrs. Reed, her cruel, wealthy aunt. Mrs. Reed hates Jane and allows her son John to torment the girl. Even the servants are always reminding Jane that she's poor and worthless. After a while, she rises up against this treatment and tells them all what she thinks of them. She's punished by being locked in "the red room", a supposedly haunted room where her uncle died. Jane is sent to Lowood School where the headmaster is also cruel towards Jane.

The plot

Jane later becomes a teacher at Lowood.She becomes a governess at Thorfield Hall and begins to fall in love with her employer, Mr. Rochester. Then, a fire breaks out and Jane saves him. Rochester confesses his love and desires to marry her. She is shocked because she thought he wanted to marry Blanche Ingram. When they were about to marry, a man declares that Rochester cannot marry as he is already married. As a consequence, Rochester reveals his wife Bertha but he still wants to marry Jane.

The plot

Jane cannot marry Rochester so she runs away, becoming homeless and then sick. She is taken back to health by the Rivers.She inherits her uncle's wealth and estate. She learns that the Rivers are her cousins. St John Rivers asks her to marry him but she doesn't accept since she doesn't want to marry someone she doesn't love. Jane returns to Thornfield that has been burnt down. Rochester is now living at Ferndean, and is blind. Jane finds him and they marry. The novel concludes with Jane and Rochester married. He regains his sight in one eye and they have children.

summary

Parallels with Charlotte brontë's life

The death of tuberculosis of Jane’s nearest friend recalls the death of Charlotte’s sisters at Cowan Bridge. They died because of the poor conditions in their schools. John Reed’s decline into alcoholism and dissolution can remind us of her brother, Branwell. He also declined into chronic alcoholism, opiates and debt. Jane and Brontë also both found love in unconventional places: Jane in Mr. Rochester, a rude, abrupt man twice her age and Brontë in Constantin Heger, a married man who was the master of a school where she taught.

The daily life of Victorian England

Women in the Victorian society :- They had to marry and take part in their husband's interests and business. They were their husband's property. - Before marriage, they had to learn housewife skills like weaving, cooking, washing, cleaning if they wren't of a wealthy family. - Women did not have the right to vote, sue, or own property (in the last years of the Victorian era, the women's suffrage movement was at its peak). - They belonged to the domestic sphere.

The daily life of Victorian England

The role of the governess :- A governess lives in a private household to educate mostly girls from 5 to 18 years old but also boys. - She had to learn them basic stuff but also complex abilities like speaking french or playing piano. - She prepared girls to find a husband and assume their role as a future housewife. - She also taught them moral education like being honnest, grateful and kind to their parents and Bible.

The daily life of Victorian England

The education :- Children from rich families were taught at home by a governess and when the boys turned 10, they went to public school. - Boys were taught academic and functional skills while girls were taught sewing, needlework, drawing, and music. - Teaching was mainly by rote, it wasn't focused on creativity for example. - But in June 1868, the University of London’s Senate had voted to admit women to sit the General Examination, so becoming the world’s first university to accept women.

Victorian authors

Arthur Conan

Lewis

Mary

Charles

Doyle

Carroll

Dickens

Shelley

1797-1851Notable work : Frankenstein

1812-1870Notable work : David Copperfield

1859-1930Notable work : Stories of Sherlock Holmes

1832-1898Notable work : Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

CHARACTER MAP

Click on the characters to see the descriptions !

Bertha Mason

Married

St. John Rivers

Edward Rochester

Unwitting rivals

Employee/employerlovers

Cousins

Cares for

Friends

Governess

Niece/Aunt

Helen Burns

Adèle Varens

Mrs. Sarah Reed

tHEMES IN THE NOVEL

Love, and Independence

Social Class and Social Rules

Religion

Jane Eyre criticizes the hierarchy in the Victorian society. Jane is a governess so she is well-mannered and educated like an aristocrat but she remains penniless and powerless for the Victorian society.

At the beginning Jane is an opressed and dependent orphan. At the end she create her own family and her love with Rochester grows out of the mutual respect of free minds.

Jane matures partly because she learns to follow Christian lessons and resist temptation. She is self-respecting and religious, but also exercises her freedom to love and feel.

Anxiety, the Supernatural

Home and Belonging

Gender Roles

Jenny didn't accept marriage proposals because she feared it would make her loss her identity. She strived to maintain equality in her relationships.

Throughout the novel, Jane defines her idea of home as a place where she both belongs and can be useful. She wants to be valuable to a person. At the end she marries Rochester since she can be useful to him

Brontë uses Gothic imagery to express Jane's anxiety. For example there is the red room at the beginning and later the chestnut tree that splitted because of the storm when she kissed Rochester.

Orphan of Lowood (US)

FILM VERSIONS OF JANE EYRE

1926

Jane Eyre (US)

Silent film by Curtis Bernhardt

1934

Feature film by Christy Cabanne

Jane Eyre (France)

1996

Jane Eyre (US)

2011

Feature film by Franco Zeffirelli

Feature film by Cary Joji Fukunaga

Jane Eyre adaptation by Cary Fukunaga (2011)

Trailer

THAnkS