ENGL 1010-76U 5 December 2012 Searching for Love in Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre is a narrated journey taken throughout the main character's life from childhood to adult. The reader can see that Jane is an orphan, an outcast child who does not seem to belong or feel loved by anyone in her life. Jane spends a large portion of her life seeking out love. She is even willing to put herself in harms way to achieve a semblance of love. Throughout her experiences in the novel, Jane comes to realize that she struggles with losing her self-sufficiency by sacrificing all for love.
Although she looses Tea Cake at the end of the novel, Janie is finally satisfied since she has achieved the fulfilment she sought. She has also matured and regards herself able to face the next part of her life. Janie grows up sheltered by her grandmother and not knowing about the difficulties a woman and at the same time a black one often has to face. Her grandmother who has experienced all those things herself, since she grew up in slavery, tries hard to keep any kind of harassment and exploitation from her. Janie dreams of real love, something she expects to find in marriage one day.
Chopin’s story gave insight from a different perspective on the characters and situations in “The Awakening.” Psychoanalyzing the character Edna Pontellier was one of the easiest characters to analyze. She was going through what many women went through in that time of history. Women were filled with resentment in those days. Edna became the woman who life was only about taking care of her husband and children, which lead her to become more resentful and full of regrets when it came down to her life. “Her marriage to Leonce Pontellier was purely an accident, (Chopin, 1899).” Chopin developed the character Mrs. Pontellier that many women were in that day.
Rochester says to Jane, you delight in sacrifice, how far does Bronte’s characterisation of Jane confirm or challenge this judgement? Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s novel ‘Jane Eyre’ the protagonist sacrifices her love and potential relationship with foil Rochester, an open life for her independence and friends and family. Conversely, it could be argued Jane’s sacrifices result in her final happiness and independence she has wanted her whole life. The question is does Jane ‘delight in sacrifice’ or only do it because she has to? In the early chapters of the novel Jane lives with the Reeds at Gateshead surrounded by loneliness and unhappiness.
Jeanette describes an event in which they sing hymns together she says her ‘Mother sang the tune and [she] put in the harmonies’ Although this is true literally, I think this could also be interpreted metaphorically in that without one another they are not complete, the tune would not be complete without the harmonies. It is because of this close relationship at the beginning that the breakdown is so upsetting for the reader. Her mother even reverts to saying Jeanette is ‘no daughter of [hers]’ This reminds me of Jane Eyre as Jane's relationship with her aunt is very similar. Jane like Jeanette is adopted, except Jane is
Daisy is described as ‘sad and lovely with bright things in it’ and Gretta is described as having the ‘light on her face’. The light that seems to follow the two characters represent their innocence and purity. However, as the characters develop throughout the novels, the innocence and purity of the characters seem to disappear as their more unattractive traits come forward. Daisy is shown as a very materialistic girl that wants financial security; this is shown by her marriage to her rich partner, Tom. Whereas Gretta on the other hand is shown as family orientated, but Gretta refuses to have sexual relations with Willie at the beginning, but eventually gives up her purity to him, as she matures sexually.
The reader can defiantly tell she did not want to marry Tom; we can also go deeper into the novel and notice the note and begin to assume she loved Gatsby by the way she clutched the letter while in tears. This absolutely detracts from her innocent character Fitzgerald has positioned her as. The reader can again see another side of Mrs. Buchanan when her daughter Pammy is introduced in the novel. Daisy
Kate Chopin’s work “ Desiree’s Baby” is an outstanding example of hidden truths and misdirection. Desiree, the main character in this apologue, is portrayed as the picture of purity and innocence. As the story begins, When Madame and Monsieur Vlmonde found Desiree she was nothing more than an infant herself, left by a stone pillar. Why was Desiree abandoned by her family? Or—because she was of the toddling age-- simply wandered of?.
Though “The Story of an Hour” is a short story, its author Kate Chopin ensures the reader experiences no shortage of character development. Chopin introduces readers to the protagonist, Mrs. Mallard during the very first line of the story. The readers enjoy a layered uncovering of Mrs. Mallard’s personality and inner most feelings and desires, and witness the transformation of Mrs. Mallard throughout the story. At the onset of “The Story of an Hour”, Mrs. Mallard learns of the sudden and tragic death of her husband Mr. Mallard. Kate Chopin then proceeds to take her readers on an emotional journey as the initially frail Mrs. Mallard allows her mind and her heart to explore life after Mr. Mallard.
With this comes the revelation that she herself doubts her ability to understand her child. The reader is privy to the narrator’s thoughts, and thus are exposed to the circumstances that surrounded the problem child’s raising: a single mother, a working mother, a self admitted distracted mother, and caretakers to whom “she was no miracle”. Through the author’s use of flashback, the narrator’s guilt becomes clear. Her daughter was beautiful “to the seeing eye[,] [b]ut the seeing eyes were few or nonexistent. Including [hers]”.