Jane Eyre Marxist Analysis

¬In the midst of the Stalinist era, Poet Vera Stanevich translated Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, which brought greater Soviet interest in the English writer's work. (Yamalova 40). The 1988 edition's introduction frames Jane Eyre with communist ideologies, reduces the complexity of the novel to its romance plot, and places greater weight on Brontë's biography over her artistry. It demonstrates how publishers and political circumstances shape the presentation of artistic works. Stanevich's translation retains much of Charlotte Brontë's voice, but it loses the author's syntactical nuances. In addition, the final, religiously fervent lines of the novel are omitted, raising the question of who truly has control over a translation–the translator

It begins, "The work of Charlotte Brontë was highly appreciated by Karl Marx..." ("Introduction"). The writer introduces the novel with the opinion of one of the most well-known proponents of communism, suggesting that Jane Eyre could fit into a Soviet context as a foreign novel. During the Soviet era, the ideological atheism Marx proposed for was implemented: antireligious agencies were established, propaganda advocating for atheism was spread, and there were restrictions on public church activities (King 327-328). Hence, religion could not be publicly expressed during the Soviet Union. For Jane Eyre to have been translated and republished during this time meant that either the religious content of the book must have been distilled, or the publishers chose to frame this novel as a critique of social stratification. According to the introduction, numerous English critics claimed the novel to be "anti-Christian." Therefore, this edition explicitly frames Brontë's work as a piece of literature that questions religious authority–therefore welcome in the Soviet Union. The introduction's author notes that a major characterization of Victorian writers, including Charlotte Brontë, was a "Hatred of the bourgeoisie, compassion, and active participation in the destinies of the humiliated and oppressed... ("Introduction"). By characterizing the novel with these traits, Jane Eyre becomes a model for communist principles, especially the defiance of social classes. According to the introduction, the novel "...attracted and amazed readers because of the main character's image–a bold and clean girl, alone leading a hard struggle for existence and for human dignity." This comment suggests that the narrative of a poor, yet strong girl who overcame her lowly social status echoes a triumph over capitalism–thus it must be inspiring to those in the Soviet Union. The 1988 edition of Jane Eyre emphasizes the elements of the novel that would appeal to supporters of communism: