Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre is enriched with natural imagery, specifically metaphors comparing people to birds. Bronte uses this metaphor to illustrate a character’s behavior and feelings, where a bird represents a certain personality type. The use of bird imagery was common in Victorian art and poetry; such comparisons were typically used to reflect women’s diminished role in Victorian society. However, Bronte used them to challenge the stereotypes of the time and depict her characters as rebels of the era. By tracking the bird imagery in Jane Eyre, we can follow Jane’s development from an unhappy child into a mature, independent woman. In moments of crisis, Jane struggles between Passion and Reason while Bronte deploys recurring imagery …show more content…
She compares Jane and Rochester to birds. These comparisons were used in other novels, art works, and fashion of the Victorian era to represent the role of women in society and portray the conventional victorian female. However, Bronte uses the metaphor to demonstrate the differences between her characters and what were the traditions of the time. “The conventional victorian female was exampled through the use of animal representation in fashion, art and literature of the time. The bird, for example was symbolic of the victorian female. In victorian art you will find a lot of paintings representing nature and particularly, birds amongst nests or dainty floral settings. The colours were often vibrant and the style very feminine, as if the birds were glamourised. Not to mention, many paintings depicted birds nestling in their nests and feeding their chicks, thus representative of a woman’s maternal nature.” Author of The Representations of Animals in the Victorian era states that the interjection of these birds in pieces of artwork were common and they held a significance pertaining to women and what they were supposed to achieve in the Victorian …show more content…
The exchange between Jane and Rochester proves that Jane has no business being told what she should and shouldn't do. “Jane, be still; don't struggle so like a wild, frantic bird, that is rending its own plumage in its desperation.” “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being, with an independent will; which I now exert to leave you.” “And your will shall decide your destiny,” he said: “I offer you my hand, my heart, and a share of all my possessions.” (Chapter 23) She is not the typical Victorian bird, indeed! No woman would dare speak to a man in such an assertive tone. The classical lady would remain submissive and keep her opinion hidden from others in order to please and impress. Not Jane Eyre. She is bold and does not believe in refraining from speaking her
Jane Eyre was one of the most revolutionary and evocative novels of the 1800’s. Written by Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre, unlike previous Victorian novels, rejects the typical beautiful heroine and write a more relatable female protagonist that exemplifies her morals and wit over her looks. Like a bird’s song, Jane’s beauty come from within. Jane Eyre increases intrigue by the illustrious uses of imagery throughout the book. The most prominent being the utilization of bird imagery to illustrate Jane’s
Interestingly, some of the most influential writers of this time were female. Writers like Mary Shelley, Anne Radcliffe and the Bronte sisters have made their mark on history, despite their male dominated generation. Literary critic Harriet Kramer describes gothic feminism as considering how female novelists engage “the distinctly social and political realms of female-created economies” and how women of the time were able to reconstruct the ideological concepts of “the family and society at large” (Linkin). The
Nature Imagery in Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte makes extensive use of nature imagery in her novel, Jane Eyre, commenting on both the human relationship with the outdoors and with human nature. The Oxford Reference Dictionary defines "nature" as "1. the phenomena of the physical world as a whole . . . 2. a thing's essential qualities; a person's or animal's innate character . . . 4. vital force, functions, or needs." Bronte speaks to each of these definitions throughout Jane Eyre. Several
woman around them. Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” tell the story of women who are not like the everyday people of those periods. Jane is an independent, intelligent young woman who knows what she wants, and the narrator of TYWP is a mentally ill mother who can’t fulfill her expected duties. Both Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, and Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper,” use first-person narration, symbolism, and imagery to illustrate the
The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë is about a female character battling society's conservative view on women's rights and roles in civilization. Jane Eyre was written during the Victorian Era when women were seen less than equals to men, but more as property and an asset. At the end of the era was when feminist ideas and the women's suffrage movement began to gain momentum. In the novel, Jane encounters three male characters, Mr.Brocklehurst, Mr. Rochester and Mr. St. John Rivers, who try
famous poem Caged Bird, she writes “The caged bird sings of freedom.” Although Angelou was born many years after Jane Eyre became popular in the Victorian Age, Bronte’s message of finding one’s independence when they are trapped in a situation or relationship has continued throughout time. In Charlotte Brontё’s Jane Eyre, bird imagery is used to represent the lack of freedom that poor and low class Victorian woman like Jane had in their life but Bronte wanted to show through Jane that with bravery
From Servitude to Freedom in Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre, skillfully reveals that Jane, the protagonist, has the qualities of endurance, valor, and vitality, yet she is refused self-contentment by the confined society in which she lives. Not only is this work a love story, but it is the tale of a young orphaned girl and her struggle for love and independence. Through the various environments Bronte provides, Jane oscillates between education and containment and also between
Jane Eyre, one of the Victorian Era’s most popular novels, has continued to engage readers since its 1847 publication. It has spawned an incredible amount of adaptations, such as multiple motion pictures, a couple of musicals, a play, sequels, prequels, a web-series, and a ballet. However, it is truly the novel’s amazing success that makes the titular character, Jane Eyre, an instantly recognizable figure. Charlotte Brontë originally published Jane Eyre: An Autobiography. The manuscript claimed
In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses many types of imagery to provide understanding of the characters and also to express reoccurring themes in the novel. Through bird imagery specifically, we are able to see Jane develop from a small, unhappy child into a mature and satisfied young woman. "The familiarity and transcendence of birds have given them a wider range of meaning and symbol in literature than any other animal. The resemblance of their activities to common patterns of human behavior makes
How does Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair testify to the importance of reading in the formation of one’s self-identity? Many aspects contribute to the formation of a person’s self-identity. Whether it be their surroundings, their culture, their language, or even other’s personal identities, they all shape one’s perception of the world, the self-imposed rules surrounding them, and where they believe they belong within it. This world is encompassed with stories, and they contribute to the fabrication
Analysis of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre 'Jane Eyre' was written by Charlotte Brontë under the male pseudonym of Currer Bell in 1847. It is a semi autobiography and is a mixture of realism, romance and Gothic. During this time women were seen as beings of inferior status. The plot of 'Jane Eyre' follows a bildungsroman. Jane's growth is traced from childhood and innocence to adulthood and maturity. It depicts the story of a woman who is capable of strong emotions and
volume one of Jane Eyre, Jane finds an outlet to a difficult childhood in Gateshead, Lowood, and her recent move to Thornfield through reading and painting. The books she reads represents her desires, and emotions that would otherwise be difficult to express. She also finds sanctity from her difficult life though painting landscapes with watercolors. Charlotte Bronte uses art and literature to show the readers Jane’s subconscious desires that on occasion even she might not understand. Jane struggles
Drawing a Breath of Fresh Eyre From the opening chapter of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre the reader becomes aware of the powerful role that art plays. There is something extraordinary about the pictures Jane admires from other artists, as well as the work she creates herself. Her solitary pastime often operates as an outlet of pain, either past or present, and offers her the opportunity to deal with unpleasant emotions and memories. Jane’s art transcends her isolation by bringing her into contact
. . to go all lengths’ (ch. 1). But if Jane was ‘out of’ herself in her struggle against John Reed, her experience in the red-room, probably the most metaphorically vibrant of all her early experiences, forces her deeply into herself. For the red-room, stately, chilly, swathed in rich crimson
Notes Jane Eyre Background of author Name: Charlotte Bronte Birth/Death: April 21, 1816 to March 31,1855 Facts that connect: Mr. Brocklehurst is based off the Reverend Carus Wilson, the man who ran Cowan Bridge. Bronte lost two of her sisters, Mary and Elizabeth, to tuberculosis at Cowan Bridge. Bronte 's brother, Patrick, became addicted to drugs and alcohol before he died. Similarities: She, along with her three sisters, was sent to the Clergy Daughters ' School at Cowan Bridge. Charlotte Bronte