简爱论文.doc

安徽工业大学英语专业学 年 论 文Jane Eyre as I See it 专 业 英语 姓 名 学 号 成 绩 指 导 教 师 2012年 12月ContentsAbstract.i摘 要. iii1 Introduction.12 Jane Eyres Life Experiences .12.1 Her Childhood.12.2 Janes Love Story.2 3 Analysis of the Characters of Jane Eyre.2 3.1 Her Rebellious Nature.2 3.2 Equality and Independence in Her Attitude Towards Love.3 3.3 Pursuit of Equality and Liberty.4 4 Conclusion.5Bibliography.6Jane Eyre as I See it Abstract: The most famous novel Jane Eyre is a story describes a heroine Jane Eyre who shows her rebelliousness to the indifferent and unequal society in her time and revealed the tragic life of common people, especially of women and children, under Capitalism. This novel also provides such an important theme that women should enjoy an equal position with men both in family and social life. The independence and pursuit of love of Jane Eyre sets a good example for women. So she becomes the typical figure with female consciousness.Key Words: rebellion; equality; independence; female consciousness摘 要：这篇非常有名的小说简爱描写了主人公简爱对当时社会的冷漠与不平等的反抗，也揭露了资本主义社会普通人，特别是妇女与孩子的悲惨命运。这篇小说也展示了一个重要的主题:女人可以和男人一样拥有平等的家庭生活和社会生活。简爱对独立与爱情的追求为女性树立了一个良好的榜样。简爱因而也就成为女性意识的典型代表。关键词：反抗精神 平等意识 独立精神 女性意识1 IntroductionCharlotte Bronte is a famous English novelist whose novelJane Eyre has become enduring classic of English literature. The plain yet confident, intelligent, and morally righteous Jane Eyre is different from the typical heroine of nineteenth-century literature, who is beautiful, submissive, dependent, but ignorant. Charlotte Bronte establishes a new female image by creating the heroine in times when women are oppressed and discriminated against by men and have no rights to develop a mind of their own. Jane shows her female consciousness in three aspects: rebellion, equality and independence. Janes experience gives a lesson to women of her time that feminism is the only way for them. In this sense, Jane sets a model for them. Janes splendid character never fails to fascinate researchers. This paper, from what Jane Eyre experiences and what she thinks about the happenings, analyses Janes splendid spirit and character according to the different periods of Janes life in the novel. The analysis shows that her character is developed step by step along the personal struggling way to equal status, freedom and independent personality.2 Jane Eyres Life Experiences2.1 Her ChildhoodJane is born an unfortunate girl. As orphan since early childhood, Jane has no family or friends, no poverty or position. Living with her aunt Mrs. Reed and cruel cousins, Janes childhood is miserable. Her aunt, Mrs. Reed, an unfeeling woman, is rude and unjust to the poor girl. Mrs. Reeds children are quite unfriendly toward Jane. After years of neglect and abuse, she is sent to a boarding school at the tender age of ten, where she receives good education under severe conditions.2.2 Janes Love StoryAfter her graduation, she gets a position as a governess at Thornfield, where she falls in love with her employer, Mr. Edward Rochester. At their wedding ceremony, Jane gets to know that Rochester has a wife, a raving maniac locked in the house. In shock and grief, Jane leaves Thornfield quietly. Penniless and starving, she is saved and befriended by St. John River and his two sisters, who turn out to be her cousins. St.John admires Jane and asks her to be his wife and assistant in his religious service. Feeling that she still cherishes a deep love for Rochester, who seems calling her in her dream, Jane refuses his proposal and returns to Thornfield, only to find it a blackened ruin. Mr. Rochester is blind when he tries to rescue his mad wife who sets the house on fire. Jane goes to him at once and there they get married.3 Analysis of the Characters of Jane Eyre3.1Her Rebellious NatureRebelliousness is a remarkable characteristic of the heroine Jane Eye. All her splendid characteristics, such as independence, equality, longing for true love, are based on her rebelliousness. In face of John Reeds bully and humiliate, Jane is not threatened, she confronts it boldly: “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murdereryou are like a slave driveryou are like the Roman emperors.” At the same time, Jane also resist her hypocritical aunt directly. Due to her rebellion to her aunt, she is sent to the Lowood school. She meets her best friendHelen Burn there. Burn is a virtuous girl who is influenced by religion deeply. Facing with real humility and genuine religious faith in the person of Helen Burns, Jane is cognizant of the life of an ardent disciple. But Jane can not accept such idea of humility. The following fact can be exemplified when Helen is flogged and just endures, Jane says: “And if I were in your place I should dislike her, I should resist her. If she struck me with that rod, I should get it from her hand; I should break it under her nose.” That demonstrates her great rebellion to fight against the unfair fate. At Lowood Institution, Mr.Brocklehurst is the headmaster, he is a cruel man, without sympathy. When Brocklehurst calls Jane a liar and punishes her in public, Jane shows her characteristic of rebellion beyond her age. Helen endures all the inequality quietly, but Jane tells the truth to Miss Temple courageously. Eventually, Jane wins, she also gains the chance to clarify the facts and clear herself, so she achieves understanding and respect from others. Afterwards through her own effort Jane becomes a teacher of Lowood. During this period her rebellion is greatly contrasted with her friendHelen s forbearance.3.2 Equality and Independence in Her Attitude Towards LoveIn order to lead an independent life, Jane works as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets Mr. Rochester. However, she is treated with disdain by the rich ladies of the upper-class, but she never belittles herself, and she never feels she is inferior. She can live on her own efforts, Jane is satisfied with that. From her thought, we can see that Jane Eyre hoped everyone is equal. She doesnt think she is only a governess, who has low social position; she doesnt think she is only a paid subordinate, who should be obedient and humble; she doesnt like to pretend to be polite or elegant, but for the sake of affected way. However, just because she is natural and at ease, she wins the appreciation of Mr.Rochester. Eventually, she falls in love with him too for his generous and kindness. From Jane s relations with Rochester, we can see that Bronte cries equality between men and women. She feels that she stood in an equal place to Rochester, “I have talked, face to face”, “I have in something in my brain and in my heart in common with him.” And also, Jane was an emotional girl who desires to look for her own happiness. So she did not conceal her love to Rochester at all. The 19th century was Victorian age in English history, when the society was controlled by men, women were just appendants of men. Women in that period of time just wanted to seek a rich husband to support them, because women had not any right, they were the vulnerable group in society. However, Jane obtains independence in economy with might and main. From her miserable childhood experience in Gateshead, she realizes that one would have no freedom and dignity if depending on others. So she doesnt want others to support her, instead, she works hard to support herself at every place. Jane studies hard at Lowood so that she gains the opportunity to be a teacher there, which makes she can support herself. Later she gets the job as a governess in Thornfield by herself through advertisement. There she gets several pounds a year by teaching Adele. Her independence in economy endows her dignity and independence in her personality. As a result, she can face other people from the upper circle confidently, and she can proclaim to Mr.Rochestor that they were equal as well. Jane has a dream : “to save money enough out of my earnings, to set up a school some day in a little house rented by myself”, From that unvarnished dream, we can see the rare awakening of female consciousness of that time. With economic independence, Jane Eyre never gives up her emotional independence. But the happy love between she and Mr. Rochestor is smashed by a mad woman who is Rochesters legal wife. At this time Jane Eyre stands up to a severe test, whether to give up her dignity to become his mistress or to give up this love for her own principles. Jane Eyre is a girl who has intense human dignity and self-respect in her mind. Although it is painful to give up her love, but eventually she chooses to endure torment in her heart. She chooses to leave Thornfield, giving up all the prospects of material enjoyment,. In order to maintain her dignity and independence, she leaves without hesitation. In that time, making such a choice was undoubtedly astonishing for a plain girl who had low social status. But, this choice was decided by Jane Eyres determined, strong and moral character. She holds a deep love for Rochester, but she cant accept the fact that he has a legal wife, and she cant bear herself to be his mistress.3.3 Her Pursuit of Equality and LibertyJane is a strong girl pursuing the equality and freedom all the time in her life even if she meets with a lot of difficulties.The wedding day falls in time and as Jane and Mr. Rochester are supposed to exchange their vows, the voice of a man named Mr.Mason cries out an astonishing fact that Rochester already had a wife. Mason is the brother of that wifea mad woman named Bertha. Mr. Mason says that Rochester married his sister several years ago when he was in Jamaica, However, what makes Jane surprised is that Rochester doesnt deny Masons words. Later they take the wedding back to Thornfield Hall, where they witness the mad Bertha Mason growling and scurrying around on all fours just like an animal. When Jane knows that she would only be Rochesters lover, she makes a decision to leave. Her reason rules her emotions. She really loves Rochester and she also knows that Rochester loves her, but she must protect the dignity of her personality. She is so reasonable that she insist love and passion should not triumph the independence of an individual. Jane said to Rochester firmly: “I do love you, more than ever, but I must not show or indulge the feeling, and this is the last time I must express it.” These words show that she leaves because of her strong moral sense, she must to do that, though it is painful for her to give up the true love. Her leaving not only expresses her distinctive character and her pursuit of pure love, but also her challenges against the tradition. From that part, we can see her struggle for independence.Janes leaving is the most important chapter of that novel. Her leaving makes a great sacrifice for her because she loves Rochester deeply. When Rochester pleads to her and tells her that he want to run away with her and they will have a happy living in a new place, Jane refused because she cannot behave against her moral sense. Her leaving is not an escaping from the reality, but a struggle on a higher status and a forward step in getting the deserving social position of women.Janes pursuit of equality and liberty also reflects in the facts later when she refuses St. Johns order to be his honest company to do missionary work in India in the name of God. Jane knows that there is no love between them, there is no freedom in a missionarys life, and this kind of life would bring her to death definitely. 5 ConclusionIn charlottes three principle novels, she distinguishes herself as a critical realist who attacks the hypocrisy, greed, petty tyranny, and lack of culture of the upper classes and sympathizes with the sufferings of the workers and poor people in general. The chief distinctive feature of her novels is the creation of courageous, upright, intelligent woman characters who successfully resist oppression, humiliation, and other social evils and defend their right to independence and equality in society. Jane is a very common-looking girl who has no charming appearance. At the same time, she is an extraordinary female because real beauty doesnt lie in appearance, but in inner mind. In my opinion, the value of a woman does not lie in her looks, her dress, and any other things that have a powerful fascination to mans eyes, but in her nature, her mind, her character and sentiment. Jane is very good, pure, and has her own opinion, who is not to be shaken or modified by p