Jane Eyre By Charlotte Brontё Messano Maria

When the novel was published, in 1847, soon became a commercial success. However, some reviewers condemned it for its overt depictions of passion and rebellion.

Passion and rebellion were two notions which subverted the Victorian ideals of self-restraint and order. Women were still second- class citizens who were expected to do as their menfolk wished.

In 1792, Mary Wollstonecroft wrote a book in support of women’s rights. 50 years later the battle had not been won.

In the Victorian world the woman was seen as the ‘angel in the home’. Charlotte Brontё presents a new kind of heroine: an independent and unconventional woman. Jane Eyre must have seemed an impressively resolute and independent figure.

‘Jane Eyre’ is an ingenious mixture of fictional autobiography, Bildungsroman, love story and Gothic novel.

The cohesion of the novel rests in the moral strength of the heroine Rochester and Jane are a clear example of a romantic hero and heroine. Love Story

Jane and Rochester survive dangers and difficulties to be happily united at the end of the novel.

Bildungsroman The novel covers the moral growth and development of Jane, through a ‘journey’. She faces adversities and is made stronger by her experiences until she eventually reaches self- realisation and happiness.

Gothic Novel ‘Jane Eyre’ is not a gothic novel in the complete sense of the word but it is filled with many elements which are typical of the gothic novel of the 18° and 19th centuries : Thornfield, as setting, has something of the gothic mansion or castle about it; the mistery in the novel concerning Mr Rochester’s past;

the fragile heroine; the appearance of a fortune teller, even if it is Rochester in disguise; the presence of a secret - Mrs Rochester being hidden away in the attic.

Themes and motifs Love and passion are certainly the two thematic strands which keep the plot together. However, the happy union is far from being traditional.

Brontё focuses on aspects of Jane’s inner life which make her an unconventional woman who aspires to something different from the Victorian Fairy tale of happy marriage into a good social class. Jane’s most prominent features are intelligence, strength and passion, which become guiding principles in her life.

Throughout the novel, Jane demands to be treated as an independent human being, an individual with her own needs and talents who looks for self-realisation. Through Jane’s journey towards independence and assertiveness, Brontё shows how the Victorian spirit of self-reliance is not a male prerogative