A Journey in English Literature
Title: Personality Analysis of Jane Eyre
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Time:June,2015
Abstract
Jane Eyre is the novel written by Charlotte Bronte according to her own experiences. And it is one of the most famous works of hers. In this novel, the author shapes a strong and independent woman who pursues true love and equality, and is a good example of all women.
Jane Eyre is an orphan, and is ill-treated when she was a little girl. She strives for her life, which makes her strong character and strong self-respect. Because of her childhood’s life environment, she learns how to live. Also just for her childhood experiences, it contributes her strong personality and wisdom. Jane Eyre is a special image out of the ordinary. She makes a life by herself, dares to express her own idea. Under the pressure of life, she always maintains her self-respect by hard work, intelligence and her strong individualism. She never gives in on her way. Though she has little figure, Jane Eyre is huge in soul. She pursues true love and is loyal and steadfast to her beloved man. Her kindness, intelligence, and independence attract her hero. At last she gets a perfect love.
Key words: Jane Eyre, strong personality, independence
Table of Contents
Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... 1
Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ 2
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 3
2 Jane Eyre’personality ........................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Self-Respect and Self-Confidence .................................................................................... 4
2.2 Independence .................................................................................................................... 5
2.3 Having the Courage to Pursue the Pure Love................................................................... 5
3 Causes for Jane Eyre’s Personality ....................................................................................... 7
3.1 Childhood in her Aunt’s Home ......................................................................................... 7
3.2 Helen’s Influence of Jane’s Personality ............................................................................ 7
3.3 Rochester’s Influence of Jane’s Personality ..................................................................... 8
4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 9
References ................................................................................................................................ 10
1 Introduction
Jane Eyre is the typical works of Charlotte Bronte. It has high appraisal in literature history. The novel narrates Jane Eyre’s life experiences from an orphan to an independent woman. She was unfortunate when she was born, because she lost her parents and was sent to her aunt’s family, where she was heartlessly treated. Jane Eyre is little, ugly, timid, and is a little thing having no clear identity. All the power presses her, strangles her personality. But Jane Eyre is not destroyed by the fact, and she is not over-whelmed by difficulties. On the contrary, she learns how to live and how to be strong. And she has the courage to struggle with the pressure. Jane Eyre cuts a completely new woman image. She represents those middle-class working women who are struggling for recognition of their basic right and equality as a human being.
Jane Eyre’s personality is the aspect this paper will talk about. She has nothing except the power of individual spirit. In addition to love, Jane Eyre pursues the equality on economy, personality and social status. She believes in equality between men and women.
2 Jane Eyre’s personality
2.1 Self-Respect and Self-Confidence
As a young girl, she is ill treated by her aunt, however, Jane Eyre finds her confidence and a kind of inner power cannot be defeated. Her self-respect is related to her life environment. She is poor but aspiring, small in body but huge in soul. In her opinion, everyone is the same. Though there are differences in status, all the human beings are equal in personality. She never feels herself inferior to Rochester though she is a humble family teacher. On the contrary, she thinks they are fair. Everybody should respect each other. In fact, her uprightness, loftiness and sincerity, shakes Rochester and makes him think she is a special woman who can talk fairly in spirit. The heroine is moved by his whole-hearted. They fall in love deeply. At the time of marrying, she finds the fact that Rochester has had a wife. She tells herself she must leave. She says to Rochester like this: I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God; sanctioned by man. I will h-old to the principles received by men when I was sane, and not mad-as I am now, laws and principles are not for the times when there is no temptation: they are for such moments as this, when body and soul rise in mutiny against their rigor; stringent are they; inviolate they shall be. If at my individual convenience I might break them, what would be their worth. Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot. From the short passage, it can be seen Jane Eyre finds she is deceived, her self-respect is made fun of it, because she loves Mr. Rochester sincerely. No one can bear this by his closest lover, but Jane Eyre can. What’s more, she makes a very rational decision. Under so beautiful love, the temptation with rich life, she persists in her self-respect. At the end of this novel, though Thorn field is destroyed and Rochester himself is disabled, in this circumstance, Jane Eyre is in a dilemma no longer between love and self-respect. At the same time, she feels satisfied: she gets love and respect when they get marry.
That is Jane Eyre, a strong woman. She pursues a kind of bright, sincere and beautiful life. Actually, she isn’t pretty; the ordinary appearance doesn’t make others feel good to her of course, even her own aunt feels disgusted with her. But she is obviously prettier than the ordinary governess.
2.2 Independence
The independent spirit is another most important aspect attracting readers. Jane Eyre is exposed to a bad environment but continuously and fearlessly struggling for her ideal life. In Jane Eyre, mistreatment and unfairness force Jane to struggle for self-respect, while knowledge and worthwhile work provide her with enough economic supply to gain independence. Jane shows her determination in pursuing her self-esteem and independence at every stage of her life, both in struggling with social pressure and resisting the temptation of passion and love. In every relationship, Jane rises from inferiority to superior, and finally gains full independence.
When Jane realizes that she is deeply in love with the Rochester under the condition of great disparity in position, she dares to love, because she believes that people are equal in spirit. A poor teacher dares to fall in love with a high figure, this in herself is a big challenge to the social prejudice. When Rochester in order to test her and for a pretence to marry a lady, she said angrily: Do you think, because I’m poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you, and full as much heart! And if god had gifted me with some beauty, and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you through the medium of custom, conversation, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addressed your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God’s feet-equal, as we are! Based on this, her way of expressing love is not sweet praise, tender letters, more not pray, at the end of the day, she was pursuing the equality of two hearts together.
2.3 Having the Courage to Pursue the Pure Love
Love is the most beautiful characteristic of human beings life. And love cannot be measured by status, power or property. To most people, they like to seek a meaningful, romantic relationship resulting in love, commitment, companionship and happiness. This novel is not an ordinary love story. Jane Eyre and Rochester get true love after a lot of sufferings. From Jane Eyre’s experiences, it was obvious that her relatives did not love her when she was a child. But in fact, she is a kind girl who brings love to people around her. Mr. Rochester is an unfortunate man who has tied to a mad woman for fifteen years. He spends ten years traveling all over Europe, looking for a good and intelligent woman to love. When he finally meets Jane Eyre who appears and insists on helping him when his horse slips and
falls on the ice, he begins to depend on her for his happiness and new interest in life. But his wedding is ruined and Jane Eyre leaves him. He is alone again. Mr. Rochester, who has rich experiences and wisdom, is softhearted, wealthy and in high rank as well as having pride and rudeness. He is older than Jane Eyre by nearly 20 years and can be her father. Jane Eyre loves him, not because his wealth and high rank, but because he treats her equally and in a friendly manner. She is such an excellent girl, good, intelligent, considerate, that Rochester is attracted. After his travel around Europe, and his life with his mistresses, he finds Jane Eyre. Mr. Rochester says: After a youth and man-hood passed half in unutterable misery and half in dreary solitude, I have for the first time found what I can may love-I have found you. You are my sympathy-my better self-my good angel. I am bound to you with a strong attachment. I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart; it leans to you, draws you to my center and spring of life, wraps my existence about you-and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one. It is obvious that Rochester loves Jane Eyre deeply.
Although Jane Eyre leaves, she misses Rochester every day. Wherever she goes, she remembers him every moment. She often dreams of him like that she is embraced by him, hearing his voice, meeting his eyes, touching his hand and face. She loves him, and is loved as well, and wants to spend all her life with him. After her departure, she loses her aim. She is hungry and cold until St. John saves her and he wants to marry Jane. But Jane refuses. Although St. John is a little merciful and handsome man, he is also very harsh and arbitrary. He doesn’t respect her or give her selfless love. Jane Eyre insists that true love should be based on equality, mutual understanding and respect. So she refuses John’s proposal. She seems to hear the voice of Rochester in her mind, and then she comes back to Thorn field Garden. In most people’s eyes, nobody would like to marry a man who loses his sight and most of his wealth. Like today, in a pair of lovers or a couple if one of them becomes disabled, maybe the other will leave him or her. But as to Jane, she is different.
3 Causes for Jane Eyre’s Personality
3.1 Childhood in her Aunt’s Home
Jane is an orphan, grew up to send live in aunt home's cousin bullying, but she never yield. Jane's life was very hard when she was a child, and live without good cousins. But in the case of such hardship, only pleasure is one person secretly hide in a corner reading a book, it is this love study of good habit, let Jane in such a boring school learned a lot in the past without knowledge. It went on to become a painting and the piano for her good teacher laid a solid foundation.
Jane Eyre is a child born in the slum suffering hunger, cold, shame, which ordinary people can't afford. However, in such a bad environment, but she survived miraclely, and lived healthily. Even if she in encounters, much more trouble in her later life, she will defeat it. Therefore, though Jane Eyre’s childhood poverty and misery, her future is promised to be fortunate.
3.2 Helen’s Influence of Jane’s Personality
Helen is a gentle kind person, her kindness has also been influenced Jane Eyre. In the orphanage, when Jane asked Helen for the first time, Helen for unfamiliar Jane Eyre to answer all the questions one by one. In Jane by Locke Hurst defamation under the eyes make stand as punishment, not allowed to approach anyone speak to her, but when after Helen gave her a smile. After school is over, Helen also brought dinner for Jane, and comfort her, encourage her to warm her. This gave Jane incomparable strength and courage. Helen gave Jane a lot of concern, this also deeply affects the Jane.
In Jane Eyre’s employment as Adele's governess, Rochester tells Jane Eyre Adele turned out to be a bad quality of French dancer abandoned bastard, he thinks she will despise Adele, even don't want to teach her again, but Jane was on the contrary, she thinks that is because Adele has no father, and was abandoned by his mother, she didn't want to love her more and better education. Jane is still in life everywhere maintenance, Adele, don't have the heart to blame her. Jane careful patience, dedicated to education, Adele, less than two months time is Rochester's praise was obtained. This is Jane’s kindness, is the noble character of Jane Eyre that Helen influenced.
3.3 Rochester’s Influence of Jane’s Personality
Because of the unhappy experience let Mr. Rochester wise, stubborn. He is the master of Jane, to talk to her sometimes arrogant, but not beautiful Jane the kind of supercilious, for equality spirit, and who mind completely conquer him. When Jane deeply of fall in love with him, but in the midst of misunderstanding, Jane use reason to suppress the impulse of emotion, mood complicated words right out of most can highlight to her character.
I think to some degree, Rochester is like Jane’s father. Not only because he is at old age, but also because of his tremendous life experience. Because of him, Jane learns more social experience and establishes her life philosophy. Therefor, Jane becomes independent and self-confident. And it is for sure that he also leads to Jane’s vision of love.
4 Conclusion
The image of Jane Eyre is deeply planted in our mind. Jane Eyre starts her life as a poor orphan, at an inferior position within a terrible family environment. She is not pretty but she is brave and strong. She might be only a little figure but she is the master of her own life. However condition it is, she insists on her principles. Her common looking and poverty don’t prevail over her struggling spirit and ideal. Jane Eyre’s strong self-respect and confidence leave a deep impression on every reader. She struggles for equality on economy, marriage and social status. That is the most important aspect that attracts readers. She is not tempted with money and doesn’t want to be a mistress of Rochester for money. Her love is loyal and steadfast. Jane Eyre needs true love, and she overcomes the obstacles in the process of pursing true love. At last, she succeeds and lives a happy life with her lover. Through the detailed analysis of Jane Eyre’s character, it is shown that whatever difficulties one encounters in his life, facing them bravely is the only way that one can do.
This is Jane Eyre, an independent and self-confident new woman.
References
1.Bronte, Charlotte, 2003. Jane Eyre[M]. Shanghai: Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.
2.Laurie, Harris. 1982. Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticism[M]. Detroit: Gale Research Company.
3.田兆耀, 2002. 西方文学鉴赏[M]. 北京：中国广播电视出版社。
4.杨正和，1999. 外国文学名作欣赏[M]. 北京：科学出版社。
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