Catarina Sousa
Essay
Many authors use hypocrisy to show multiple personalities within their characters. They can also use it to foreshadow a change in the character and their overall essence. In the pro-feminist novel titled Jane Eyre, the author, Charlotte Bronte, uses hypocrisy to show the troubles that the characters under goes mentally.
An example of how Bronte presented hypocrisy through the novel with the characters Mr. Rochester, a rich, well-mannered manager of the hotel, and Jane Eyre, a plain, middle class girl, the governess of Rochester's daughter, Adele. In the beginning of the novel, these two characters seem to have a tense relationship, but manage to overcome their dispute by showing their artificial affections towards one another. Because of their differences in society, Mr. Rochester claims to have never met someone like Jane. Either the presence of her upper class gimmick or her feminist personality eventually causes Mr. Rochester to fall deeply in love with Jane.
As they spend more time together, both Mr. Rochester and Jane appear to grow strong feelings for each other. This affection gives Mr. Rochester the confidence to make Jane ''his girl''. He tries to shape her into something other than plain by dressing her up and telling her to act a certain way, while at the same time telling her that she is different and unique so that it pleases him. Not only does this make Mr. Rochester a hypocrite, but it shows the reader how shallow the character is, trying to change Jane, a character who is confident in her strong beliefs and opinions despite her disappointing childhood.
As Mr. Rochester serves as a muse for Jane by inspiring her drawings and paintings, she lets go of her stubborn opinions and falls in deeper for Mr. Rochester‘s trap. Although he is trying to help Jane prepare for his type of lifestyle incase of commitment, he begins to take Jane off track, which will eventually lead her into an emotional breakdown.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte’s prize winning novel “Jane Eyre,” is a story about a young girl growing up in strict Victorian times. During this age, the way a lady presented herself was based on economic class, lineage, and most importantly, beauty. But how does such a lady come to be? Many would propose the idea of basing oneself on surroundings. Which, in this case Jane proves to show us that Mrs. Reed, Miss. Temple, and Lady Ingram take a part in shaping Jane physically and mentally. These female roles in the novel have taken part in transforming the main character to whom she will eventually become in the future.
In the beginning, Jane isn’t exposed to a true mother role figure, the most important female role of all. Instead, she is shown to be living with Mrs. Reed, her cruel aunt, who isn’t even blood-related. Mrs. Reed isn’t affectionate towards Jane and only cares and cherishes the ones she actually birthed. Already, she has been put with the burden of finding her womanhood alone, which could scar her mentally. This whole idea of a mother figure never came about. This encapsulates the idea of how Jane strayed herself to someone who was a female and loving, willing to act as a “mother role” for Jane, even if she was a teacher.
Miss. Temple, Jane’s prior school teacher loved Jane to the utmost slew. Finally during her years at Lolwood, a boarding school monitored by an intimidating man in black, Jane found something to believe in. A teacher’s mother influence on her finally gave her the idea and the motivation to become a teacher. She wanted to changed the spine-chilling image she got when she thought of Lolwood, into a relaxing state of mind.
That relaxing ideal didn’t last very long since Jane decided to become a governess for a young girl named Adele. Jane is well-educated and proper enough to handle this task with the skills she has taken from Miss. Temple and her time learning at Lolwood. But while Jane ends up falling madly in love with the owner of the hotel, who is expected to marry Blanche Ingram. It seems to show that Jane is intrigued with Lady Ingram’s beauty, which she is assumed to lack, but yet knows and understand that she isn’t a well women. Meeting Ingram showed Jane what not to do when you are in love. She was put in this story and part of Jane’s daily life to show her that economic status doesn’t have much to do with who you really have feelings for. It’s a matter of pretending and expecting to love someone because of who they are and what they wear. Jane gets a bit of confidence and hopes to sweep Mr. Rochester off his feet.
All of these characters have guided Jane into becoming a independent, different type of women. The usual women you would see during these times that convinces us that she has to be reliant towards men and a stronger social class. Jane is peculiar compared to the rest, I suppose that is what makes her intriguing to most, including Mr. Rochester. Because of the female influences, Jane is what women wish they were, brave and rare.
In the beginning, Jane isn’t exposed to a true mother role figure, the most important female role of all. Instead, she is shown to be living with Mrs. Reed, her cruel aunt, who isn’t even blood-related. Mrs. Reed isn’t affectionate towards Jane and only cares and cherishes the ones she actually birthed. Already, she has been put with the burden of finding her womanhood alone, which could scar her mentally. This whole idea of a mother figure never came about. This encapsulates the idea of how Jane strayed herself to someone who was a female and loving, willing to act as a “mother role” for Jane, even if she was a teacher.
Miss. Temple, Jane’s prior school teacher loved Jane to the utmost slew. Finally during her years at Lolwood, a boarding school monitored by an intimidating man in black, Jane found something to believe in. A teacher’s mother influence on her finally gave her the idea and the motivation to become a teacher. She wanted to changed the spine-chilling image she got when she thought of Lolwood, into a relaxing state of mind.
That relaxing ideal didn’t last very long since Jane decided to become a governess for a young girl named Adele. Jane is well-educated and proper enough to handle this task with the skills she has taken from Miss. Temple and her time learning at Lolwood. But while Jane ends up falling madly in love with the owner of the hotel, who is expected to marry Blanche Ingram. It seems to show that Jane is intrigued with Lady Ingram’s beauty, which she is assumed to lack, but yet knows and understand that she isn’t a well women. Meeting Ingram showed Jane what not to do when you are in love. She was put in this story and part of Jane’s daily life to show her that economic status doesn’t have much to do with who you really have feelings for. It’s a matter of pretending and expecting to love someone because of who they are and what they wear. Jane gets a bit of confidence and hopes to sweep Mr. Rochester off his feet.
All of these characters have guided Jane into becoming a independent, different type of women. The usual women you would see during these times that convinces us that she has to be reliant towards men and a stronger social class. Jane is peculiar compared to the rest, I suppose that is what makes her intriguing to most, including Mr. Rochester. Because of the female influences, Jane is what women wish they were, brave and rare.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)