Due Monday, June 25th - Read "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë - Chapters 27-38 (the end of the novel).
Please read Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Chapters 27-38 (the end of the novel). In this blog space, please post questions for our class discussion. Use evidence from the text in your response.
Jane Eyre ends in the way one would expect the classic Victorian novels to end; all the characters are either married or dead. Jane's melodramatic discovery of the burnt and ruined Thornfield hall is an exciting climax to her story, and she gets to live happily ever after, married, with Mr. Rochester. This does not exactly align with the feminist message, nor reality; not all women find happiness in marriage, though Bronte makes it seem that the only solution to Jane's trouble was marriage. Jane's cousins, Diana and Mary also only find happiness once they are married as well. Furthermore, Jane says that she is now Rochester's equal, yet she only believes this once Rochester is injured and deformed. Does Bronte mean to show that equality was only achieved once Rochester was brought low? Or is it that Jane has grown as a person, and that growth was the means for equality?
Finally, at long last Jane has found peace in companionship and familial bonds. Finding Mary, Diana and St. John as her cousins as well as her simple but blissful uniting with Rochester gives the story an unordinary but content ending. While in Pride and Prejudice we read about the perfect conclusion where everyone is rich, happy and married, Jane is happy in her imperfection. She has what she never thought she would-- a loving husband, a family and a place in the world. Though not everything works out as planned she is content. Though everything is mostly tied away neatly as far as plot there are still many symbols left ambiguous in meaning. Religion and gender come up sporadically throughout the novel-- St. John and Brocklehurst representing the prudent but cold restraint of religion leaving us with the question of what is this representation of religion meant to effect the reader? Furthermore, like austen, this book might be seen as a prime example proto-feminism, with the subtle suggestions of equality and the recognition and humanity in women. It makes one wonder, how did bronte feel women's role should be in a marriage and in life, seeing as Jane’s end was quite content? Overall, Jane Eyre was a great read and feel is a wonderful contrast to Pride and Prejudice, in fact, I found it more easily read than Austen due to it’s blunt emotion and explanation of Jane’s thought process. Honestly, I wish we had read this first, but between the two I enjoy both immensely in their differences. -eileen
There are a lot of interesting things going on towards the end of the novel, but one of the things that I liked was Jane’s characterization throughout the novel and how it builds to the ending. Jane’s emphasized the point of her own independence and only accepting marriage on equal terms. We can see her previous discomfort with the marriage to Mr.Rochester coming from differing class standings is now gone that she has wealth independently from him. The distinction between their initial interactions and their marriage now is based on how the balance of power lay between them. Previously, all the power lay in Mr.Rochester’s hands, as her employer, as the one holding the secrets, as the wealthier and so on. Now, power is more equitably balanced between them- He is wealthier, but she is not poor either, he is older and more experienced, but relies on her for sight, and there is no master and employer bond either. You can see with John as well, part of the reason she would be unhappy is that he would hold the power, as she feels compelled to obey all his commands and does not stand up against him. You can see the early feminism here, saying that though happiness may be found in marriage, it is in a marriage of equals. -Sara E
This novel is not my cup of tea. Mr. Rochester is no Mr. Darcy; Mr. St. John is no Mr. Bingley, who was without blame but capable of love. I found much to be lacking in the male characters in the book. There was no decent middle ground for a man; he was either one extreme or the other, either capable of love but with limited morality or with the utmost morality but no capacity for love. However, I am glad that at least the story ended without Jane complaining about her life; that is a step up from the rest of the book, in which, good or bad, Jane found something to complain about. When she was brought in at Moor House, instead of being grateful towards Hannah, she acted uppity and much like the snobby upper class ladies whom Jane despised. I do not know why or how Jane could have such a temperament - could not she have been written to see the occasional silver lining in a situation? Anyways, I am glad Jane found her happy ending, and though I wish it had been found a hundred pages earlier, it was a satisfying enough ending to merit the persistence of reading through til the end.
I can't say I'm happy with the end of the book, but I am glad that Jane is satisfied with her marriage to Rochester. Personally I think that he exhibited several red flags and if he was willing to lock his wife in a room for several years he probably wasn't a quality guy. I do find the ending contradictory with the ideas of an independent woman and an equal marriage, because she does only marry him after he becomes blind and depends on her. No idea if that was intentional, but it certainly gives off a vibe that Jane wasn't equal to Rochester until he was injured. Speaking of injury, I feel really bad for Bertha Mason. I understand that mental illness was extremely looked down upon and not understood, but she experienced a reaction that was incredibly horrific and inhumane. Being locked in a room with only Grace Poole for company could not have improved her mental wellbeing, and I can see how this could lead to irrational, angry actions like attacking people. It is really unfortunate, however, that this drove her to burn down the house, which could have hurt many people, and kill herself. I just feel like she deserved a lot better by her husband, and that her death did not have to happen. Also, why does Rochester keep calling Jane 'Janet'? Was that just a nickname for Jane back than?
While reading, I noticed that Jane Eyre acts as a "foil" book to Pride and Prejudice. For example, while the Bennets are concerned with achieving wealthy, lavish lifestyles, and are often seeking after rich men to marry, Jane has different standards. She does not expect, or even seem to want, an upper-class lifestyle. And Jane seems much more resilient than the characters in Pride and Prejudice, as she slept outside with little food. In addition, Jane has shown to detest self-imprisonment. While many of the protagonists of Pride and Prejudice (especially Lydia and Kitty) were desperate for marriage and often did what their mother told them, Jane felt that marriage was restricting. She also believed that her job as a school teacher was degrading, as well as when Mr. Rochester bought her expensive, feminine clothes. Overall, I think that Jane Eyre has a more feminist theme than Pride and Prejudice. It demonstrates how men at that time treated women like tools, deciding their futures for themselves and pleading for them to marry them. However, the end of the story is similar to that of Pride and Prejudice. Of course, Jane marries Mr. Rochester, and the two live together blissfully.
This chapter had so much information… Jane found another relative, Rochester was blind and lose and arm because his wife set the house so moved to the woods, Rochester's wife commits suicide when the fire comes close to her, Jane and Rochester get married and have a kid, and St. John goes to India like he said he was and Jane never heard from him again. But I have questions to, like why did St. John what to marry Jane if he knows that they are cousins? Did anyone else know about the marriage, and why was it a secret? But the last few chapters were so intense and great because we say Rochester and Jane together because they loved each other a lot. While St. John didn't find love because he was bitter and heartless.
Wow, Jane Eyre looked like it would have one last twist before the end but I guess not. It pretty much ends like Pride and Prejudice where everyone is married, but with more dead people. However, while the Pride and Prejudice ending was basically perfect for everyone involved Jane Eyre learns to settle for what she has. She learns that she basically has all that she wants and is happy about it. She may not have the money or prestige of marrying Mr.Darcy, but she does have a successful relationship and a meaning to life. I can’t help but feel like the ending doesn’t harmonize with the book’s underlying messages of religion and feminism. Though it can be argued that Jane accepted the marriage and sees herself as an equal to Rochester is actually more feminist than not. I feel like these themes are left open for the reader to explore and it’s better this way. All in all, I thought this novel was pretty enjoyable compared to the dry and stale reading that is Pride and Prejudice.
I agree with Josh that the ending of the book had a Pride and Prejudice feel to it as Jane ended up happily married with Rochester and everyone being happy. However, I feel that these last few chapters were pretty weird. First of all, Jane flees Thornfield and ends up meeting three of her cousins, one of which, St. John, asks her to go India with him and marry him, which is an interesting thing to ask your cousin. Then, Jane randomly hears Rochester’s voice again and she returns to find Thornfield in ruins after Rochester’s mad wife set the thing on fire and jumped from the roof which caused Rochester to go blind. Jane then meets Rochester again and they get married after he asks her the second time and Jane would no longer be a mistress to him. I thought this was interesting novel, but definitely weird. I’m still not sure what all the stuff about Jane’s childhood was about, such as Helen, but it was an interesting book with a few weird turns.
I am happy to see Jane finally satisfied with her life, she looks like she has grown a lot as a person throughout the course of the novel. As many people have said, this ending is very similar to Pride and Prejudice in the sense that people get married and everyone is happy. I don’t know why Jane would still want to marry Mr. Rochester after everything he did and all the lies he told but hey whatever makes her happy i guess. As Alex said, I’m not really sure how her childhood ties into the big picture for the whole novel. Nevertheless, this novel was very interesting.
Jane Eyre ends in the way one would expect the classic Victorian novels to end; all the characters are either married or dead. Jane's melodramatic discovery of the burnt and ruined Thornfield hall is an exciting climax to her story, and she gets to live happily ever after, married, with Mr. Rochester. This does not exactly align with the feminist message, nor reality; not all women find happiness in marriage, though Bronte makes it seem that the only solution to Jane's trouble was marriage. Jane's cousins, Diana and Mary also only find happiness once they are married as well. Furthermore, Jane says that she is now Rochester's equal, yet she only believes this once Rochester is injured and deformed. Does Bronte mean to show that equality was only achieved once Rochester was brought low? Or is it that Jane has grown as a person, and that growth was the means for equality?
ReplyDeleteFinally, at long last Jane has found peace in companionship and familial bonds. Finding Mary, Diana and St. John as her cousins as well as her simple but blissful uniting with Rochester gives the story an unordinary but content ending. While in Pride and Prejudice we read about the perfect conclusion where everyone is rich, happy and married, Jane is happy in her imperfection. She has what she never thought she would-- a loving husband, a family and a place in the world. Though not everything works out as planned she is content. Though everything is mostly tied away neatly as far as plot there are still many symbols left ambiguous in meaning. Religion and gender come up sporadically throughout the novel-- St. John and Brocklehurst representing the prudent but cold restraint of religion leaving us with the question of what is this representation of religion meant to effect the reader? Furthermore, like austen, this book might be seen as a prime example proto-feminism, with the subtle suggestions of equality and the recognition and humanity in women. It makes one wonder, how did bronte feel women's role should be in a marriage and in life, seeing as Jane’s end was quite content? Overall, Jane Eyre was a great read and feel is a wonderful contrast to Pride and Prejudice, in fact, I found it more easily read than Austen due to it’s blunt emotion and explanation of Jane’s thought process. Honestly, I wish we had read this first, but between the two I enjoy both immensely in their differences.
ReplyDelete-eileen
There are a lot of interesting things going on towards the end of the novel, but one of the things that I liked was Jane’s characterization throughout the novel and how it builds to the ending. Jane’s emphasized the point of her own independence and only accepting marriage on equal terms. We can see her previous discomfort with the marriage to Mr.Rochester coming from differing class standings is now gone that she has wealth independently from him. The distinction between their initial interactions and their marriage now is based on how the balance of power lay between them. Previously, all the power lay in Mr.Rochester’s hands, as her employer, as the one holding the secrets, as the wealthier and so on. Now, power is more equitably balanced between them- He is wealthier, but she is not poor either, he is older and more experienced, but relies on her for sight, and there is no master and employer bond either. You can see with John as well, part of the reason she would be unhappy is that he would hold the power, as she feels compelled to obey all his commands and does not stand up against him. You can see the early feminism here, saying that though happiness may be found in marriage, it is in a marriage of equals.
ReplyDelete-Sara E
This novel is not my cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteMr. Rochester is no Mr. Darcy; Mr. St. John is no Mr. Bingley, who was without blame but capable of love. I found much to be lacking in the male characters in the book. There was no decent middle ground for a man; he was either one extreme or the other, either capable of love but with limited morality or with the utmost morality but no capacity for love.
However, I am glad that at least the story ended without Jane complaining about her life; that is a step up from the rest of the book, in which, good or bad, Jane found something to complain about. When she was brought in at Moor House, instead of being grateful towards Hannah, she acted uppity and much like the snobby upper class ladies whom Jane despised. I do not know why or how Jane could have such a temperament - could not she have been written to see the occasional silver lining in a situation?
Anyways, I am glad Jane found her happy ending, and though I wish it had been found a hundred pages earlier, it was a satisfying enough ending to merit the persistence of reading through til the end.
I can't say I'm happy with the end of the book, but I am glad that Jane is satisfied with her marriage to Rochester. Personally I think that he exhibited several red flags and if he was willing to lock his wife in a room for several years he probably wasn't a quality guy. I do find the ending contradictory with the ideas of an independent woman and an equal marriage, because she does only marry him after he becomes blind and depends on her. No idea if that was intentional, but it certainly gives off a vibe that Jane wasn't equal to Rochester until he was injured. Speaking of injury, I feel really bad for Bertha Mason. I understand that mental illness was extremely looked down upon and not understood, but she experienced a reaction that was incredibly horrific and inhumane. Being locked in a room with only Grace Poole for company could not have improved her mental wellbeing, and I can see how this could lead to irrational, angry actions like attacking people. It is really unfortunate, however, that this drove her to burn down the house, which could have hurt many people, and kill herself. I just feel like she deserved a lot better by her husband, and that her death did not have to happen.
ReplyDeleteAlso, why does Rochester keep calling Jane 'Janet'? Was that just a nickname for Jane back than?
While reading, I noticed that Jane Eyre acts as a "foil" book to Pride and Prejudice. For example, while the Bennets are concerned with achieving wealthy, lavish lifestyles, and are often seeking after rich men to marry, Jane has different standards. She does not expect, or even seem to want, an upper-class lifestyle. And Jane seems much more resilient than the characters in Pride and Prejudice, as she slept outside with little food. In addition, Jane has shown to detest self-imprisonment. While many of the protagonists of Pride and Prejudice (especially Lydia and Kitty) were desperate for marriage and often did what their mother told them, Jane felt that marriage was restricting. She also believed that her job as a school teacher was degrading, as well as when Mr. Rochester bought her expensive, feminine clothes. Overall, I think that Jane Eyre has a more feminist theme than Pride and Prejudice. It demonstrates how men at that time treated women like tools, deciding their futures for themselves and pleading for them to marry them. However, the end of the story is similar to that of Pride and Prejudice. Of course, Jane marries Mr. Rochester, and the two live together blissfully.
ReplyDeleteThis chapter had so much information… Jane found another relative, Rochester was blind and lose and arm because his wife set the house so moved to the woods, Rochester's wife commits suicide when the fire comes close to her, Jane and Rochester get married and have a kid, and St. John goes to India like he said he was and Jane never heard from him again. But I have questions to, like why did St. John what to marry Jane if he knows that they are cousins? Did anyone else know about the marriage, and why was it a secret? But the last few chapters were so intense and great because we say Rochester and Jane together because they loved each other a lot. While St. John didn't find love because he was bitter and heartless.
ReplyDeleteWow, Jane Eyre looked like it would have one last twist before the end but I guess not. It pretty much ends like Pride and Prejudice where everyone is married, but with more dead people. However, while the Pride and Prejudice ending was basically perfect for everyone involved Jane Eyre learns to settle for what she has. She learns that she basically has all that she wants and is happy about it. She may not have the money or prestige of marrying Mr.Darcy, but she does have a successful relationship and a meaning to life. I can’t help but feel like the ending doesn’t harmonize with the book’s underlying messages of religion and feminism. Though it can be argued that Jane accepted the marriage and sees herself as an equal to Rochester is actually more feminist than not. I feel like these themes are left open for the reader to explore and it’s better this way. All in all, I thought this novel was pretty enjoyable compared to the dry and stale reading that is Pride and Prejudice.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Josh that the ending of the book had a Pride and Prejudice feel to it as Jane ended up happily married with Rochester and everyone being happy. However, I feel that these last few chapters were pretty weird. First of all, Jane flees Thornfield and ends up meeting three of her cousins, one of which, St. John, asks her to go India with him and marry him, which is an interesting thing to ask your cousin. Then, Jane randomly hears Rochester’s voice again and she returns to find Thornfield in ruins after Rochester’s mad wife set the thing on fire and jumped from the roof which caused Rochester to go blind. Jane then meets Rochester again and they get married after he asks her the second time and Jane would no longer be a mistress to him. I thought this was interesting novel, but definitely weird. I’m still not sure what all the stuff about Jane’s childhood was about, such as Helen, but it was an interesting book with a few weird turns.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to see Jane finally satisfied with her life, she looks like she has grown a lot as a person throughout the course of the novel. As many people have said, this ending is very similar to Pride and Prejudice in the sense that people get married and everyone is happy. I don’t know why Jane would still want to marry Mr. Rochester after everything he did and all the lies he told but hey whatever makes her happy i guess. As Alex said, I’m not really sure how her childhood ties into the big picture for the whole novel. Nevertheless, this novel was very interesting.
ReplyDelete