Convention vs. Self- Righteousness in Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre Essa

Jane Eyre - Janes Struggle gathering vs. Self- Righteousness In Charlotte Brontes novel Jane Eyre, the protagonist continually shows a struggle in deciding whether to live her life self-righteously, or whether to conform to societys demands and expectations. The imagery and biblical symbolism employed by the woodlet scene of Chapter 8 show this struggle for Jane must mold whether to conform to society and reject Mr. Rochesters declaration of love, or to be confessedly to herself and marry him. Throughout this scene, as in most of the novel, Jane is portrayed as a headstrong and self-principled individual. This quality carries her through this decision, as well as her other struggles such as in leaving Mr. Rochester deciding non to marry St. John and coming back to Mr. Rochester in the end. It is when Jane realizes that happiness is non a sin that she begins to embrace her own nature. Therefore, because Jane is true to herself in devising these decisions, she is p ortrayed not as an immoral person, but as a self- righteous one. She lives for herself, not for religious prescriptions. Throughout the novel, Janes nature as a headstrong individual makes people question her morality. This is because she doesnt comply to norms of Victorian society, where women are subjugated to men. For instance, when Mr. Brockelhurst goes to Gateshead to see Jane, her up front manner seems to corroborate Mrs. Reeds allegations that she is a naughty child (Bronte 41). This is because most girls in Victorian society, such as Georgiana, are raised as placid and reserved individuals. Similarly, in the orchard scene, this headstrong quality of Jane allows her to speak equally and truthfully to Mr. Rochester, an... ...om, Margaret. Charlotte Bronte. Boston Twayne Publishers, 1977. Bront, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. refreshful York, Penguin Books, 1997. Eagleton, Terry. Jane Eyre A Negative Heroine. Modern Critical Interpretations Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre. E d. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia Chelsea House Publishers, 1987 29-46. Jane Eyre. Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 3. Ed. Laurie Lanzen Harris. Detroit Gale interrogation Company, 1982 42-3. McFadden-Gerber, Margaret. Critical Evaluation. Masterplots. Rev. 2nd edition. Vol. 6. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs Salem Press, 1996 3290-4. Mitchell, Sally. Jane Eyre. Critical Survey of dour Fiction. Vol. 3. Ed. Frank N. Magill. Englewood Cliffs Salem Press, 1983 297-302. Oates, Joyce Carol. Introduction. Jane Eyre. By Charlotte Bronte. New York Bantam Books, 1987 5-14.