Jane Eyre Research Paper

Jane Eyre: A Revolutionary Novel Perspective is something many people lack; it aligns with empathy and understanding. However, in the case of literature, various positions often lead to multiple interpretations of the “same” story. By viewing a novel in different “lights,” certain events may not seem like monumental events, essential characters may not be as indispensable as they once were. This concept is easily applied to Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre; on the surface (or at least from this interpreter’s experience) the novel appears to be the struggle of a young girl, Jane Eyre, a young girl dealt unfortunate life circumstances which led to a journey of self empowerment by facing multiple hardships. The idea behind the historical critical

John is one of the most prominent characters within Jane Eyre that follows the pattern of Victorian Era Evangelicalists. Shortly after meeting St. John and the Rivers family, the audience is given an example of his firm belief of total depravity as he talks about Rosamond. St. John says, "that while I love Rosamond Oliver so wildly--with all the intensity...she would not make me a good wife; that she is not the partner suited to me; that I should discover this within a year after marriage; and that to twelve months' rapture would succeed a lifetime of regret. That I know" (Brontë 380). Within this quote it is once again seen that St. John is discontent with his total depravity (Grier). He practices his strict religion but frequently expresses his desire for more in life. Again, he shows his discontentment with religion as he states, "troubling impulses of insatiate yearnings and disquieting aspirations" (Brontë 358). In this way, Brontë is again compelling her Victorian audience to think about the “losses” within the Evangelical religion. Whilst St. John is arguably the most religious, he is the most active in breaking the rules of said religion at certain points in the novel. He doesn’t do this simply to progress the book (because in reality his marriage proposal to Jane really does not progress anything, her hearing Rochester is what does, however, that is besides the point). Brontë choices to have him disturb the conventional religious society because he is then a

From the beginning of the novel, the audience is gifted the knowledge of what has happened to Jane Eyre's parents. Killed by typhus, Jane is exposed to illness from a young age. Likewise, Jane befriends a miss Helen Burns who is befalls among the sick as consumption wastes away her body. As Helen wilts, Jane sneaks in to talk to her (Dunnington). During their talk, the subject of God surfaces. When asked what or who God is Helen declares, “My Maker and yours, who will never destroy what he created. I rely implicitly on his power, and confide wholly in his goodness: I count the hours till that eventful one arrives which shall restore me to him, reveal him to me."(Brontë 58). By saying this, Helen becomes a prime example of the lost innocence of children. Helen is, to some extent, eagerly awaiting a chance to meet her maker, which will inevitably be true due to her sickness. Brontë follows in the footsteps of other Victorian writers by using the dead/dying child trope. This also allows the work to be more historically accurate and again fights/embraces concepts of