Jane Eyre The Tale Of An Independent Woman

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Aaron Garza

Professor Rachel Newberry

English 209

Jane Eyre: The Tale of an Independent Woman

For Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre, Adrienne Rich writes a Critical Essay about the role of Jane being motherless as well as economically powerless child, and how even with these deficits in the time period she was still able to construct her own path, because of the women in her life that she modeled herself off of. I will be analyzing and evaluating Rich’s essay by breaking down her thesis and of how she believes the novel is more of a tale than a bildungsroman. Also the citations that Rich uses will also be broken down and described why they are used in the essay, in addition to the passages from Jane Eyre that she cites. I will also give my opinion on how Rich did as an author portraying to her audience. To counter Rich’s argument about the novel being a Bildungsroman, i will argue that Jane Eyre is definitely a coming of age story. For Adrienne Rich’s essay I will be analyzing and evaluating Rich’s strengths and weaknesses in her writing, and the meaning of her essay as a whole.

To begin I will break down Rich’s Thesis into two separate parts. The thesis stated is "Jane Eyre, Motherless and economically powerless, undergoes certain traditional female temptations, and finds that each temptation presents itself along an alternative – the image of a nurturing or principled or spirited woman whom she can model herself, or to whom she can look for support." (Norton 470). The first part of the thesis is about Jane, being born an orphan and having no economic power for herself. By being born into this position, Jane is at a disadvantage in the political/social circumstances. This leads to the second part where she is faced with temptations, which being in her social state allows her to make decisions on whether she wants to give into the temptation or find a different path which is not normal of that time. An example that Rich makes is in the Red room in Jane’s childhood. She is tempted by victimization to give into to the unequal life of being a poor woman. But Jane doesn’t accept this path, there at that moment is where the true Jane Eyre is born "a person of determined to live, and to choose her life with dignity, integrity, and pride." (Norton 471). these beliefs stay steadfast throughout the novel and she never betrays them. The last part of Rich’s Thesis is how Jane developed in the novel by befriending independent, nurturing women with their own individual beliefs. From these women, specifically Bessie, Miss Temple, Helen Burns, Diana, and Mary, Jane finds traits that she finds admirable and strong which she can take upon herself, and when need can lean on these women for guidance.

Rich references many other books and scholarly articles in her own essay. Rich brings into the essay the comparison of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. Which Virginia Wolf’s, whose main purpose is to show how most other people tend to compare Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. With this Rich argues against that normal view because there is no "I", no governesses, no employers, there is love but not the love of men and women." These are rich’s main arguments against the Wuthering Heights view of Jane Eyre. But Rich believes that her article and thesis are important and unique because she believes that the story is not a Bildungsroman but a tale of a woman who is "incapable of stating I am Heathcliff" as referencing to Wuthering Heights, because Jane is so much her own person, unlike Catherine and Heathcliff whose bond is so strong they feel almost the same person. Rich also brings in Doris Lessing’s The Four-Gated City and Gaston Bachelard’s The Poetics of Space to compare the madwoman in each individual novel to Bertha, and from Bertha the comparison to Jane. Doing this gives a more in-depth view on the role of these multiple madwomen in each story and how they are all similar on their effects on the protagonist.

Next is Rich’s ability to bring in evidence into her article. She is very effective in her citing abilities because for every citation she analyzes the meanings well. One good example is "Shaking from head to foot, thrilled with ungovernable excitement, I continued:

"I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to see you when I am grown up; and if anyone asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty."

... Ere I had finished this reply, my soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt. It seemed as if an invisible bond had burst, and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for liberty." (Norton 30).

Rich shows that from this outburst Jane has a brief elation, until her self-punishing reactions set in. Rich also gives a deeper analysis of this which convinces me and her audience of the deeper meanings.

I find this article to be interesting due to the deeper understanding on how Jane gains her independence from the woman around her and that the temptations that she faces don’t make her weaker, but allow her to make her own path and way in the world. It makes me also understand Jane better as a person on why she takes the actions that she does. I also understand where Jane comes to woman hood now in the story and why. These beings at Thornfield, the things that bring about change are Thornfield itself, Rochester the man, and the madwoman Bertha. I also understand why Jane resists and refuses the marriage proposals. From both Rochester and St. John, because she refuses to be subdued and owned because it goes against her integrity. It is from Rich’s response that I understand Jane Eyre better as a novel and will be able to interpret it further on additional readings.

One thing I did not enjoy very much was Rich’s brief summary of the time at Thornfield and the ending of the novel. It tells everything with little analysis and does not have a huge purpose. And directly after she says that this part is what makes the story a Gothic horror and a Victorian morality with very little description why until further in the article. On the contrary, another thing that I enjoyed was how easy it was to follow Rich’s points and ideas. Her organization was very neat and in order which helped portray her argument to me. This style of organization and analysis is one reason why I chose to write on this article.

Rich has a very solid ethos going into the article. From the beginning of her article she says that she has read the book in her childhood, her teens, and multiple times through her twenties, thirties, and even forties. Also the referencing she makes and the passages she uses are appropriate and successful in her argument. From all the scholarly articles that I read this one made the most sense to me and was the most interesting and clear. This academic paper taught me that a well-organized paper is a good way to keep the audience interested and on top of the argument.

In argument to Rich, this novel is definitely the frame work of a bildungsroman. Which is a novel that tells the story of a child’s maturation and focuses on the emotions and experiences that accompany and incite his or her growth to adulthood. In Jane Eyre, there are five distinct stages of development, each linked to a particular place: Jane’s childhood at Gateshead, her education at the Lowood School, her time as Adèle’s governess at Thornfield, her time with the Rivers family at Morton and at Marsh End, and her reunion with and marriage to Rochester at Ferndean. From these experiences, Jane becomes the mature woman who narrates the novel, all stages equally important and most defiantly a bildungsroman.

In conclusion, Adrianne Rich’s Article had a well worded argument over Jane Eyre. The points that she makes about the temptations that Jane face, and how she overcomes them is accurate. As well as how she succeeded due to the strong women in her life. Rich also has a strong organized paper and thesis that are unique to the critics of Jane Eyre and she cites her work well. In the end I agree with most of Rich’s argument except her denying the novel being a bildungsroman. From the article I learned the true figure of Jae Eyre who is strong and never settles for less than she desires, and even though being motherless and economically powerless as a child. She manages to find happiness in an equal marriage to Rochester and becomes an economically sound individual.

Work Cited

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Richard J. Dunn. Norton, 2000.