Jane goes through cycles in her life. Bronte characterizes these cycles through the homes she lives in and thus makes it more obvious to the reader when Jane is going to an experience a change. These changes are fairly common with any normal person but with Jane, Bronte creates such dramatic changes that they are noticeable. I believe that these changes are indicative a full circle from birth to rebirth in a very biblical sense. Bronte fills and loads this novel with biblical references and so I believe that a connection between the life cycle Jane experiences being that of a biblical type is not too far off. Jane starts off happy with her Uncle Mr. Reed. Yet when he dies and Mrs. Reed takes over Jane she become a very resentful child who always speaks her mind in a negative manner. When Jane meets Helen at Lowood her second household, Jane learns to love and never to resent or seek vengeance. After Jane’s stint at Thronfield Jane learns to love and express herself in a positive manner especially with the developed relationships with Rochester and Adele. Jane is once again on the verge of happiness when it is taken from here in the whole Bertha incident. This causes a complete and totally change in Jane. Instead of progressing towards happiness Jane digresses towards a miserable life. This life climaxes directly before she is able to joins the Rivers who eventually stabilize her depression. It is here where Bronte constructs Jane in a very different manner. As before, Jane was blunt and vocal with her words of shame but she knew her place. With Helen and to an extent with St. John, Jane holds nothing back and lets her angry control her. This anger is developed by Bronte through a shift from Jane thinking internally to Jane actually vocalizing the worst of her thoughts, and when Jane does think and Bronte shifts to Jane’s internally voice the internal workings of Jane have changed most. Instead of experiencing life (which Bronte depicts through her long-winded pages of descriptions of the environment) Jane forces herself through life. This comes full circle after Jane and Rochester reunite and Jane is finally able to achieve her goal of happiness. Through this entire experience Bronte always shows Jane’s stubbornness and desire for happiness. Jane will always be passionate and carry the extremes of her passionate nature with every action she does. As for Rochester, he was always a moody sardonic person. His mood swings make it difficult to determine how he has changed emotionally as I believe that he is in a constant state of change, yet ideologically I think that Rochester has realized a key principle in Jane Eyre, that you can never make your own forgiveness but that it must be bestowed upon you by God. Rochester has come to terms with his past and realized that his demons can no longer control him and thus he must be set free. Bronte shows his change through the questions that Rochester asks. Rochester, before Bertha was discovered, was very deep and methodically about his question, always trying to find an answer within the answer. Where are now he ask to know for a pure knowledge level.
I agree with Trace about how Jane responds to Aunt Reed by verbally rebelling. I believe her time at Lowood mellowed her temper, but, when she is around Rochester, an imposing and sometimes over bearing character, Jane releases her careful ingraning of ladyship from Lowood to verbally stand up for herself. She reverts back to her true character and personality when she is around Rochester, which, thankfully, he admires. This is also evident whenever her sometimes snarky comments when she is around the very mellow St. John. Even after she is found to be his relative as well as not financially dependant upon him, she still treats his overt statements cordially because he lacks the forboding air that Mr. Rochester pocesses.Rochester's change is also very noticable. Before Jane leaves, his brooding is portrayed as a much more aloof and mysterious character. In contrast, after Bertha literally comes out of the closet and his life is in shambles, that brooding is worn on his sleeve and he is a much more vulnerable character. I believe this is the character in Rochester Jane always loved.
Jane goes through cycles in her life. Bronte characterizes these cycles through the homes she lives in and thus makes it more obvious to the reader when Jane is going to an experience a change. These changes are fairly common with any normal person but with Jane, Bronte creates such dramatic changes that they are noticeable. I believe that these changes are indicative a full circle from birth to rebirth in a very biblical sense. Bronte fills and loads this novel with biblical references and so I believe that a connection between the life cycle Jane experiences being that of a biblical type is not too far off. Jane starts off happy with her Uncle Mr. Reed. Yet when he dies and Mrs. Reed takes over Jane she become a very resentful child who always speaks her mind in a negative manner. When Jane meets Helen at Lowood her second household, Jane learns to love and never to resent or seek vengeance. After Jane’s stint at Thronfield Jane learns to love and express herself in a positive manner especially with the developed relationships with Rochester and Adele. Jane is once again on the verge of happiness when it is taken from here in the whole Bertha incident. This causes a complete and totally change in Jane. Instead of progressing towards happiness Jane digresses towards a miserable life. This life climaxes directly before she is able to joins the Rivers who eventually stabilize her depression. It is here where Bronte constructs Jane in a very different manner. As before, Jane was blunt and vocal with her words of shame but she knew her place. With Helen and to an extent with St. John, Jane holds nothing back and lets her angry control her. This anger is developed by Bronte through a shift from Jane thinking internally to Jane actually vocalizing the worst of her thoughts, and when Jane does think and Bronte shifts to Jane’s internally voice the internal workings of Jane have changed most. Instead of experiencing life (which Bronte depicts through her long-winded pages of descriptions of the environment) Jane forces herself through life. This comes full circle after Jane and Rochester reunite and Jane is finally able to achieve her goal of happiness. Through this entire experience Bronte always shows Jane’s stubbornness and desire for happiness. Jane will always be passionate and carry the extremes of her passionate nature with every action she does. As for Rochester, he was always a moody sardonic person. His mood swings make it difficult to determine how he has changed emotionally as I believe that he is in a constant state of change, yet ideologically I think that Rochester has realized a key principle in Jane Eyre, that you can never make your own forgiveness but that it must be bestowed upon you by God. Rochester has come to terms with his past and realized that his demons can no longer control him and thus he must be set free. Bronte shows his change through the questions that Rochester asks. Rochester, before Bertha was discovered, was very deep and methodically about his question, always trying to find an answer within the answer. Where are now he ask to know for a pure knowledge level.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Trace about how Jane responds to Aunt Reed by verbally rebelling. I believe her time at Lowood mellowed her temper, but, when she is around Rochester, an imposing and sometimes over bearing character, Jane releases her careful ingraning of ladyship from Lowood to verbally stand up for herself. She reverts back to her true character and personality when she is around Rochester, which, thankfully, he admires. This is also evident whenever her sometimes snarky comments when she is around the very mellow St. John. Even after she is found to be his relative as well as not financially dependant upon him, she still treats his overt statements cordially because he lacks the forboding air that Mr. Rochester pocesses.Rochester's change is also very noticable. Before Jane leaves, his brooding is portrayed as a much more aloof and mysterious character. In contrast, after Bertha literally comes out of the closet and his life is in shambles, that brooding is worn on his sleeve and he is a much more vulnerable character. I believe this is the character in Rochester Jane always loved.
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