Female Independence and Rebel l iousness in Jane Eyre Class: V Liceo LinguisticoTime: 2 lessons - 4 hoursPre-requisites: knowledge of the historical ,

social and cultural context of the Victorian Age Objectives: improvement of the students’ cr it ical spir it and of their reading through the l ines and understanding beyond words

Author Charlotte Brontë (or iginally published under

the male pseudonym Currer Bell )

Jane i t is a simple and common name;

lack of status; lack of pretence

Eyre i t is an archaic spel l ing for “air”; in French,

“aire” refers to a bird’s nesting place , among other

things; in medieval t imes, “eyre” also s ignified c ircuit-travel l ing judges; “eyre” also

sounds l ike “heir” and l ike “ire”

Structure Preface

Volume I – chapters 1-15

Volume 2 – chapters 16-26

Volume 3 – chapters 27-38

Genre a mixture of different genres: the

Autobiography; the Gothic novel ; the Romantic novel ; the Bildungsroman

Point of view all the events are told from Jane’s point of

view:

she is the omniscient narrator

Setting (t ime) early decades of the 19th century

Setting (place) the novel is structured around five separate

locations: the Reeds’ home at Gateshead; the Lowood School; Rochester ’s manor house Thornfie ld; the Rivers’ home at Moor House;

Rochester’s rural retreat at Ferndean

Themes

love versus autonomy; re l igion; social c lass;

gender relations

Motifs fire and ice ; substitute mothers

Symbols

Bertha Mason; the red-room

Plot Boldly searching for love and independence on

her own terms, Jane survives a wretched childhood, unbroken in spirit and integrity, to eventually fal l in love with the troubled but

romantic Mr. Rochester . Dark secrets , a presence in the attic and

scandalous revelations, however, might herald the end of al l her longed for love and happiness

Chapter 12, pages “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel ; … they suffer from too

rigid a restraint , too absolute a stagnation , precise ly as men would suffer ; and it is narrow-minded in their

more privi leged fe l low-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting

stockings , to playing on the piano and embroidering bags.”

Women’s role in the Victorian society Femininity defined by male gaze

Jane’s sense of her self-worth and dignity Brontë’s feminist philosophy

Chapter 12, pages 129-130 Are you injured, s ir?” … “Can I do anything?”

I asked again. “You must just stand on one s ide.” … I did. …

“I cannot think of leaving you, s ir , at so late an hour, in this sol itary lane, t i l l I see you are

f it to mount your horse.” He looked at me when I said this: he had hardly

turned his eyes in my direction before. …”

Male authority versus female submission Jane’s challenging words

Rochester ’s gaze as a form of mastery

Chapter 37, page 479 …and [I] stood to watch him – to examine

him, myself unseen, and alas! to him invisible .

Jane’s position of power Rochester ’s bl indness: he can no longer shape

and master Jane through his gaze

Chapter 37, page 483

" I am an independent woman now. … My uncle in Madeira is dead, and he left me f ive thousand

pounds. … If you won't let me l ive with you, I can build a house of my own close up to your door, and you may come and s it in my parlour when you want

company of an evening.“ … "I told you I am independent, s ir , as well as r ich: I am my own

mistress .“

Jane’s gained independence and self-knowledge Independence as acknowledged equal ity

Chapter 38, page 498

Reader , I married him

The narrator addresses the reader Marriage as a free choice

Bibliography Brontë C. , Jane Eyre , Penguin Books, (1847) 2003Allen W., The English Novel, Pelican Books (1954) 1958Duby G., Perrot M., Storia del le donne, l 'Ottocento,

Laterza, 1991Jackson R., Fantasy, the l iterature of subversion,

Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1981

Sitography www.sparknotes .com/lit/janeeyre