Analysis of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre :: Jane Eyre Essays

Analysis of Jane Eyre In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte portrays one woman's desperate struggle to attain her identity in the mist of temptation, isolation, and impossible odds. Although she processes a strong soul she must fight not only the forces of passion and reason within herself ,but other's wills constantly imposed on her. In its first publication, it outraged many for its realistic portrayal of life during that time. Ultimately, the controversy of Bronte's novel lied in its realism, challenging the role of women, religion, and mortality in the Victorian society. In essence, Bronte's novel became a direct assault on Victorian morality. Controversy based in its realistic exposure of thoughts once considered improper for a lady of the 19th century. Emotions any respectable girl would repress. Women at this time were not to feel passion, nor were they considered sexual beings. To conceive the thought of women expressing rage and blatantly retaliating against authority was a defiance against the traditional role of women. Jane Eyre sent controversy through the literary community. For not only was it written by a woman but marked the first use of realistic characters. Jane's complexity lied in her being neither holy good nor evil. She was poor and plain in a time when society considered "an ugly woman a blot on the face of creation." It challenged Victorian class structure in a strictly hierachal society. A relationship between a lowly governess and a wealthy nobleman was simply unheard of. Bronte drew criticism for her attack on the aristocracy who she deemed as hypocritical "showy but ... not genuine." She assaulted individual's already established morals by presenting a plausible case for bigamy. Notions which should have evoked disgust and outrage from its reader. Yet its most scandaless aspect was its open treatment of love. Passionate love scenes which were for their day extremely explicit but by today's standards are less than tame. Bronte's choice of a strong independent heroine depicted feminist ideals that would later lead to the overhaul of Victorian culture. By making Jane an educated woman, Bronte gave her impowerment in a patriarchal society that denied women education. However, Jane became a woman who demanded a say in her own destiny. During her courtship, she refutes