A bildungsroman is a novel that focuses on a protagonist’s moral, intellectual, and spiritual growth. In contemporary literature, the coming-of-age stories can be equated with the bildungsroman theme as they often deal with the challenging transition to adulthood from childhood. In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte traces the intellectual, moral, and psychological development of a young woman…
Many novels about the middle class in the nineteenth century are mainly about the struggles of common citizens and the struggles of the lower class. Precisely, the novels feature the struggles of the lower citizens’ efforts to gain upward mobility, which gave rise to the social realism subgenre. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Sense and…
Throughout Jane Eyre, as Jane, herself moves from one physical location to another, the settings in which she finds herself vary considerably. Bronte makes the most of this necessity by carefully arranging those settings to match the differing circumstances Jane finds herself in at each. As Jane grows older and her hopes and dreams change,…
Charlotte Bronte addresses the theme of Religion in the novel Jane Eyre using many characters as symbols. Bronte states, “Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion” (preface v). In Jane Eyre, Bronte supports the theme that customary actions are not always moral through the conventional personalities of Mrs. Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and St. John…
In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre Bertha Mason and Jane Eyre share various attributes in their characters: passion, restlessness, and a will to follow their nature. Later in the novel, Jane sees Bertha’s burning passionate nature and it warns her that she will only become the maniac that Bertha has if she follows her passion and…
Jane Eyre tells the story of a woman progressing on the path towards acceptance. Throughout her journey, Jane comes across many obstacles. Male dominance proves to be the biggest obstacle at each stop of Jane’s journey: Gateshead Hall, Lowood Institution, Thornfield Manor, Moor House, and Ferndean Manor. Through the progression of the story, Jane slowly…