Jane Eyre: Not Defined by Marriage
Although we have not discussed much of Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, I would like to delve deeper into the novel. I have read it twice and have seen two different adaptations of the novel: one for television and the other as a major motion picture. So there may be spoilers in this post.
In an article by Steven Earnshaw titled, “‘Give me my name’: Naming and Identity In and Around Jane Eyre,” he notes the use of the heroine’s maiden name in the title and explains its significance. “Hence the name ‘Jane Eyre’, the heroine’s complete unmarried name, asks the reader to appreciate the heroine not as somebody who is primarily seeking identity through marriage, and hence in pursuit of a married name, but as a single female whose identity is important as a single female, not as somebody who will only gain significance once married” (Earnshaw 176).
As we just recently reviewed in class, and in relation to the two Jane Austen novels we read, the lives of Austen’s characters and Bronte’s are defined differently. In Austen’s novels, her female heroines’ lives were defined by their marriages and essentially where the importance in their lives was emphasized. In Bronte’s novel, Jane’s life isn’t defined by the importance of marriage, her life is defined by her education and her decision to become a governess.
In most of the novels we have read, the parents have a majority of influence in their children’s lives and with Jane, Mrs. Reed (not her mother) has no real care for what happens to her.Jane’s disposition as a child is very surprising and although her childhood was filled with torment, she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind in the end. “I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world…I am glad you are no relation of mine: I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to see you…I will say the very thought of you makes me sick…” (Bronte 40-41). To do this, especially during this time period, or even write a character this way was very brave of Bronte. Not only does this set Jane apart from the rest of the female characters in the book, it sets her far apart from the rest of heroines we have read about so far.
Later on in the novel, Jane plays along with Mr. Rochester’s jokes when they’re talking to each other for the first time at Thornfield. “And so you were waiting for your people when you sat on that stile? / For whom, sir? / For the men in green: it was a proper moonlight evening for them… / The men in green all forsook England a hundred years ago…” (Bronte 155). Jane doesn’t know how to interact with men so she continues Rochester’s teasing tale and startles Mrs. Fairfax in the process because it isn’t how a “normal” woman should respond.
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Vintage Books, 2009. Print
Earnshaw, Steven. “‘Give me my name’: Naming and Identity In and Around Jane Eyre.” Bronte Studies 37.3 (2012): 174-189. Web.