"Jane Eyre": A Social Commentary

Paper Summary:

This paper explores the conflict in the heroine of Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre" between what a male-dominated society expects of her and what she really wants. The writer discusses how Jane eventually integrates her feminine side with her feminist side, without losing any of her true self in the process, and how this is accomplished through the turn of events in the novel. The paper also contains an annotated bibliography.

From the Paper:

"Jane is not however, like some women, oblivious to the inner struggles she faces. Jane's propensity for introspection is obvious even in childhood, when she reflects, "I could not answer the ceaseless inward question - why I thus suffered; now, at the distance of - I will not say how many years - I see it clearly" (Bronte, p. 47). Interestingly, although she searches inside herself for the answers, it is only when she steps outside herself that she is able to see things clearly."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Chen, Chih-Ping, Am I a Monster?": Jane Eyre among the Shadows of Freaks, Studies in the Novel, Vol. 34, No. 4, 2002, pp. 367-379
• Lamonaca, Maria, Jane's Crown of Thorns: Feminism and Christianity in Jane Eyre, Studies in the Novel, Vol. 34, No. 3, Fall 2002, pp. 245-263
• Mendus, Susan and Rendall, Jane, Sexuality and Subordination: Interdisciplinary Studies of Gender in the 19th Century, Routledge, 1989
• Nord, Deborah Epstein, The Apprenticeship of Beatrice Webb, University of Massachusetts Press, 1985
• Warhol, Robyn R. Double Genre, Double Genre in Jane Eyre and Villette. Studies in. English Literature Vol. 36 No. 4, 1996, pp. 857-875

More papers on "Jane Eyre": A Social Commentary:

• Book Review # 143477 : "On "Jane Eyre"
• Analytical Essay # 6776 : "Jane Eyre's Search for Freedom and Equality"
• Book Review # 126468 : "Jane Eyre's Engagement to Mr. Rochester"

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