20/11/2012
Jane Eyre- A review -
Jane Eyre, a novel written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte with the pseudonym- Currer Bell, was published in London first as Jane Eyre, an Autobiography’.
The book is widely read as a simple Bildungsroman (Jane’s internal as well as external development from being an infant to a woman through her experience of life) and is thoroughly enjoyed even till date. But most readers unknowingly overlook the many unfilled gaps, ambiguous facts and parts of the book that leave a lot to be desired. For instance, I thought that the bit about Lowood School was extremely well written, which I assume is because of its inspiration from Bronte’s school in real life- Cowan Bridge School, which shared a similar natural setting.
Bronte uses the first person narrative to tell Jane’s story and evidently uses it to gather sympathy from her readers. The book expects an empathetic reader throughout and this is visible through her constant attempts to stress on her own strengths. She manipulates the readers by passing judgement on other characters of the book (John Reed, for instance) and leaves no room for a moral judgement by the readers. Through the course of the book, Jane constantly condemns the residents of Gateshead Hall, mainly John Reed and her Aunt Reed but never acknowledges the fact that they provided her with a comfortable home and good food for ten years of her life.
The book ranges from being an autobiographical narrative (Lowood School) to being a dramatic romantic-fiction (Thornfield) with elements of Gothic fiction (Gateshead Hall and Thornfield). Instead of bringing about a sense of variety in the novel, it disrupts the course of the story and makes the plot seem unrealistic. The sensitivity of the ten year old Jane is understandable if it is narrated by the same ten year old Jane, but her immature thought process is not justified if the events are narrated by an older, married and mature Jane (This is revealed to us, at the end of the novel).
The novel is moderately paced till the appearance of Mr. Edward Fairfax Rochester while she is in Thornfield. The novel picks up a dramatic pace and is punctuated by supernatural incidents that make Bronte’s attempt to incorporate Gothic elements visible in the novel. The foreseen love story of Jane and Mr. Rochester is described in an unrealistic manner. The trope becomes quite melodramatic for a novel written in the mid 19th century. The peculiar period of courtship between Mr. Rochester and Jane and the “cheesy” exchange of dialogue between them puts off the readers. This melodrama can be vividly seen when Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane.
‘You, Jane, I must have you for my own- entirely my own. Will you be mine? Say yes quickly.’
‘Mr. Rochester, let me look at your face: turn to the moonlight.’
And once she accepts the proposal.
‘Are you in earnest? Do you truly love me? Do you sincerely wish me to be your wife?’
‘I do; and if an oath is necessary to satisfy you, I swear it.’
‘Then sir, I will marry you.’
‘Edward – my little wife!’
‘Dear Edward!’
‘Come to me- come to me entirely now,’ said he; and added, in his deepest tone, speaking in my ear as his cheek was laid on mine, ‘Make my happiness- I will make yours.’
Charlotte Bronte has often been accused of having strong imperialist views which are reflected through the character of Jane Eyre. In the whole novel, Jane seems to have an Anglocentric perception of every other character. This becomes clear through her careless opinion of Bertha Mason (Mr. Rochester’s ‘mad’ wife) and her dismissive attitude towards her plight. Bertha Mason is said to be a Jamaican and is constantly looked down upon by both- Jane and Rochester, by the virtue of her being the ‘other’ and not from England. After Rochester’s confession about him already being a married man, she decides not to marry him solely because she doesn’t want to be his mistress instead of his wife. She is easily convinced when Rochester tells her about the madness of Bertha, her ‘insane’ and ‘uncivilized’ nature and makes no attempt to find out any reasons for the same.
Later, when St. John Rivers (her ‘accidental’ cousin) asks Jane to accompany him as his wife, as a missionary to India, she accepts her role as a missionary with him but refuses to go with him as his wife. She also refers to India as a distant and harsh land and associates it with diseases and suffering. She doesn’t interrogate the rights of an American over another country and accepts the idea of the missionary’s role as going to another country in order to make it more ‘civilized’.
Jane, ‘If I go to India, I go to premature death.’
Despite these complications in the novel, many readers choose to read Jane Eyre as a book with a simple plot: A young girl who doesn’t succumb to her circumstances and overcomes the hurdles of her life and emerges a successful woman with fulfilled dreams and aspirations. Therefore, the judgement of this book depends essentially on the reader, and whether he/she chooses to read the book or study it.
written by Aanchal Vij
