Term Paper on "Emily Bronte, One of the Foremost Victorian"

Term Paper 3 pages (1016 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Emily Bronte, one of the foremost Victorian era writes wrote her seminal work "Jane Eyre" as a form of Bildungsroman, or a novel that tells the story of a child's maturation process, focusing on the emotions and experiences that accompany their rise into adulthood. Jane Eyre's story goes through several stages of her life, each one mirroring her emotional and spiritual growth. Many critics claim that this narrative follows the account of Bronte's own childhood growth. The most interesting analysis of this book examines the specific pattern in which Jane Eyre moves throughout the narrative. Upon close inspection, Eyre's movement pattern is catalyzed by the dual influence of two overbearing and nurturing authority figures who forces her to attain both spiritual and emotional maturity.

The presence of overbearing authority figures can be observed in a consistent manner as a progression throughout the narrative. There are five distinct stages within the narrative: Jane's childhood at the Gateshead Estate, her education and life at Lowood School, her time as the governess at Thornfield, her time with the Rivers family at Marsh End, and finally her rekindled love and marriage to Rochester at their Ferdean estate. In each these stages, she experiences life under an extremely overbearing caretaker and life influence. As a child, she lived at Gateshead Estate with her overbearing aunt. Jane explains, "She regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance; but that until she heard from Bessie and could discover by her own observation that I was endeavoring in good earnest to acquire a more sociable and childlike disposition, a more attractive and sprightly manner -- something lighter, franker, more natural, as it were -- she really could must exclude me from privileges intended only for contented, happy, little children" (pg. 5). This passage clearly shows the overbearing nature of her Aunt Reed. Jane grew up in her childhood always attempting to live up to the untenable standards established by her aunt. The frame of the entire stage of her life is defined by her aunt's expectations as well as her specific personal desires. The catalyst of her growth is her confrontation of her cousin John Reed, and her refusal to continue to accept her aunt's rules and punishments.

This same pattern is mirrored when Jane attends Lowood school, Jane once again is under the strict restriction of the hypocritical and cruel headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst. Brocklehurst's doctrine of poverty and privation contrasts strongly with the wealth and opulence he lavishes on his own family. Jane learns through this hypocrisy, human nature and her greater understanding of both morality and social justice. At Lowood, Brocklehurst is the catalyst that forces Jane to mature into an adult after the death of her friend Helen Burns.

At the next stage of Jane's life, she accepts a position as governess at the Thornfield manor. Here, the pattern of domineering authority figure is repetitively enforced through Rochester. Rochester presents the next stage of Jane's personal growth, she harbors a secret love for him based in part on his… READ MORE

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