An Analysis on Jane Eyre from the Perspective of Feminist从女性主义的角度分析《简爱》

本科生毕业论文从女性主义的角度分析《简爱》An Analysis on Jane Eyre from the Perspective ofFeminist摘要十九世纪英国女作家夏洛蒂.勃朗特的作品《简爱》因其独特的思想内容和表现手法，一直被看作是英国文学的经典之作。

自从作品问世以来，一直受到文学评论界的关注。

尤其是作品中对女性独立与平等的追求，使得小说中女主人公简爱的形象负载了西方妇女在19世纪开始觉醒的女性意识。

英国文学不乏叛逆女性的形象，但像简爱那样卑微、平凡、孤苦无依而又相貌平平的“弱势”女性，如此自觉地对抗强大的父权社会，算是空前的。

此篇论文从女性主义的角度出发，通过对作品中女主人公简爱的分析，揭示小说中所反映的维多利亚时期女性性别意识的觉醒和当时女性的社会地位。

在维多利亚时期女性地位得到了提高，女性意识得到了发展，但是仍然受到社会等级和社会地位的限制。

但总体来说，随着时代的发展，女性地位和女性意识都得到了不同程度的提高。

关键词：简爱；夏洛蒂.勃朗特；女性主义；平等和自由AbstractCharlotte Bronte is an outstanding woman writer in the 19th century English literature, her work Jane Eyre has been regarded as the classics of the English literature due to its unique content and way of expression. Since the work has been published, it has attracted the attention of the literary critics. Especially the pursuit of female independence and equality, making the heroines of Jane's image loads the Western women's awakening of feminist consciousness in the 19th century. There is no lack of the image of rebellious women in English literature, but like Jane Eyre, as humble, ordinary, plain but who have no “minority” women, so consciously against the strong patriarchal society, be regarded as unprecedented.This paper reveals the wake of the gender conscious and the social position of women in Victorian period through the analysis of the heroine from the feminist perspective. The status of women in the Victorian period has improved by the development of female consciousness, but still affected by social class and social status.Key words: Jane Eyre；Charlotte Bronte; female; equality; freedomTable of ContentsAcknowledgements (I)摘要 (II)Abstract (III)Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................... I V Chapter 1 Introduction .. (1)1.1 Social Background (1)1.2 Motivations and Objectives (1)Chapter 2 Literature Review (3)2.1 The Definition of Feminism (3)2.2 Research Background (4)2.3 Historical Views (4)Chapter 3 Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre (6)3.1 Charlotte Bronte (6)3.1.1 Personal Experience of Charlotte Bronte (6)3.1.2 Charlotte Bronte's Position in Literary History (7)3.2 Jane Eyre (7)3.2.1 The Plot Overview of Jane Eyre (7)3.2.2 The Theme of Jane Eyre (8)3.2.3 Literary Value of Jane Eyre (9)Chapter4 the Rising of Jane Eyre's Female Consciousness (10)4.1 Gateshead-beginning of Female Consciousness (10)4.2 Lowood- Growing of Female Consciousness (11)4.3 Thornfield-Uprising of Female Consciousness (11)Chapter 5 Pursuit of Equality and Freedom (13)5.1 Pursuit of Equality (13)5.2 Pursuit of Freedom (13)5.3 Limitation of the Feminism (14)Chapter 6 Conclusion (15)Bibliography (17)本科生毕业论文Chapter 1 Introduction1.1 Social BackgroundJane Eyre is one of the famous novels written by Charlotte Bronte in the 19th century and it is among my famous novels. Since its publication, it has attracted a lot of attention. From the literature review, the thesis of the work is about feminism. In the later part of the twentieth century, it becomes common for literary critics to pay attention to feminist elements in Charlotte Bronte's novels. Feminist first appeared in France; the French Revolution challenged social inequalities and opened doors for women's fight for equality. As slavery in America became widespread in the early 1800s, many scholars challenged its existence. Women in this period are largely confined to home and are expected to marry in order to secure states and privilege. In 1848, Stanton and Mott call the first Seneca Falls Convention for women's rights which calls for women's right to vote and states that all men and women are created equal. Jane Eyre was published in 1847 along with the development of the women movement.The writer, Charlotte Bronte had been raised by the father who taught his children to think for themselves. She learned to trust her instincts that encouraged her to believe that women , as well as men, had a need to dream, to explore, that they “need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do”(Charlotte Bronte, 1992:130). Her mother died in 1821, leaving the children in the care of their aunt. Living in the rectory, she had little to do other than read and write. The loneliness she experienced was clearly acute.1.2 Motivations and ObjectivesIn Victorian times, Charlotte Bronte was among the first feminist writers. This was the time that the women were looked down upon by the society. They had few rights and few options open to them for self-support. For most women the only way to live decently was to get married, and in many cases, it was not up to the women to choose with whom she married. For the most part, a woman was not given the opportunity to go to school and earn a degree unless she was born into a high social class. The average Victorian woman was treated not as a person,but as anobject or piece of property. She had very few rights either in society, or marriage. In Jane Eyre, the main character, Jane, explores the depth at which women may act in society and finds her own boundaries in Victorian England. Jane Eyre is a novel about one woman's journey through life, so she described Jane's experience in detail to show the inferiority of the woman and the poverty of the society. But Jane is such self-respect, independent and decisive woman. Her female consciousness and her struggling experience set a brilliant example for the female worldwide. Her spirit encourages woman to fight for liberation. As a great book, Jane Eyre not only awakes its early readers of the Victorians Age, but also encourages the modern women. Jane Eyre tells not only what an independent woman is like but also what a successful woman should do. Through the above analysis, we can know that the author of Jane Eyre created successfully a typical woman character who has the courage to rebel and fight for freedom and equality.This paper reveals the wake of the gender conscious and the social position of women in Victorian period through the analysis of the heroine from the feminist perspective. The first chapter introduces the social background, the type and the subject of the work. The second chapter introduces the theoretical basis, the form of feminist and its influence to the creation of the work. The third chapter puts the foundation to analyze the female conscious through the comparison of the author's experience and the plot of the work. The fourth chapter analyses the main character in three aspects. It also reflects the development of the female consciousness and the pursuit of the equality. The fifth chapter analyses Jane's pursuit of equality and liberty from the feminist perspective, reflecting the 19th century women's effect to pursuit freedom and equality as well as the limitation of the female conscious. The sixth chapter is the conclusion of the work. In Victorian times, women's status got different improvement, but due to restriction of the social status, female consciousness still has the limitation.Chapter 2 Literature Review2.1 The D efinition of FeminismThe idea of “feminism”appeared several centuries ago, while even today there is no exactly definition. Throughout the history, women have always struggled to gain equality, respect and the same rights as men. What is feminism? By general definition, feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. It is based on social political and economical equality for women. Feminism can also be described as a movement or a revolution that includes women and men who wish the world to be equal without boundaries. There are many different types of feminist theory and each has a profound impact on women and gender studies. The first is cultural feminism which is the theory that there are fundamental personality differences between women and men.Most feminists hold a belief that woman as groups are treated differently from men. They are subject to personal and institutional discrimination (Steven Goldberg, 1973). Feminists believe that being female to a large extent determines one's life. Being a woman means having a certain gender, especially femininity. Feminists also believed that the society is organized in favor of the men. Feminists try to explain that the powers are imbalanced due to the gender difference. Literature will often reflect the cultural assumptions and attitudes of its period, of course include attitudes towards women: their status, their roles, their expectations.And feminist theorists aim to understand the nature of inequality and focus on gender politics, power relations, and sexuality. Feminist political activities advocate for social, political, and economic equality between the sexes. They campaign on issues such as reproductive rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, discrimination and sexual violence.When we talk about the feminist criticism, we must mention that the word “feminism” .According to the New Encyclopedia Britannica, “feminism”, also called “feminist movement” or “women's liberation movement”, refers to the social movements that seek equal rights for women, giving them equal status with men and freedom to decide their own careersand life patterns. There are other five different definitions of Feminism:1. Challenging the power structure between men and women; seeing men and women as groups rather than individuals.2. Rebelling against and rejecting power structures, institutions, laws, or social conventions that maintain women as subordinate, powerless, or second-class citizens.3. Arguing against the division of labor that values men in the public sphere (work, sports, government, law) and devalues women in the private sphere（home, child care, reproductive labor, housework, maintaining family).4. Working as a collective to fight for women’s rights in all facets of modern life, including the workplace, sexuality, reproductive rights, fair representation, and acceptance of alternative families.5. Demanding full rights for all women and men.2.2 Research BackgroundIn the year of 1800s, people have few rights and few chances. Women are still regarded as the second class citizens. But things to change after the reign of Queen Victoria. The Victorian time is a period of dramatic change that brought English to its highest point of development. The Industrial Revolution brings an enormous increase in wealth and provides the tools for the development as well as serious social problems. During the time, women gradually gain the right to their property upon marriage through the Married Women's Property Act, the right to divorce. By the end of Victoria's reign, women could take degrees at twelve universities. But general conditions for women are still poor.2.3 Historical ViewsFeminism is difficult to define because of the many different kinds of feminisms, which still exist today. Feminism started as women's struggle for their political rights, and flourished in the world of literature. It was encouraging, thrilling and enlightening for a time, but it also had been faced with challenges and doubts.Feminism first appeared in France. Many scholars have devoted themselves to the research on it. Virginia Woolf (1929) is known as the modernism and feminist pioneer in the twentieth century. She advocates feminism and notes that women have to be independent in the economic and life. Steven Goldberg (1973) hold the view that women's groups exist as an independent, they also bear the heavy burden and the system of gender discrimination. Elaine Shwalter (1979) is American literary critics and feminist writer. She calls for equality between women and men. In China, scholars began to touch upon feminism in Jane Eyre from the middle of the 1980s. Zhang Wei hold the view that Jane Eyre represents the idea of women's liberation since she longs for her financial independence and a marriage based on love(张伟，2001). Zhu Hong points out “women not only pursuit of spiritual equality but also the economic independent” (1987).Form the brief liberation review; we can see that both in west and in China, Jane Eyre has got great attention from the critics. The novel provided the reader a new world of the society in the Victorian time. Jane Eyre is a plain girl but she has a strong will, she dares to pursue the economic independence and social states in a world that women are regarded as a second class. She set an example for today's women. I hope that my effort in writing this thesis will make some help for the later research.Chapter 3 Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre3.1 Charlotte Bronte3.1.1 Personal Experience of Charlotte BronteCharlotte Bronte was born in Yorkshire, England on April 21, 1816. She was the third child of Maria Branwell Bronte and the Reverend Patrick Bronte. Originally of Irish decent, the children all inherited their father's passionate Irish temperament. When she was five years old, her mother died and she was raised by her aunt. As the oldest daughter in a family of six, she helped raise her brother, Branwell, and two sisters, Emily and Anne. Their father, a strict clergyman, believed in self-education, and his children was forbidden to attend school or socialize with other children. He allowed his children to roam on the moor. As the young Brotto grew up, they became more adventurous and gained a sensibility of everyday details in nature.In 1824 Charlotte and three of her sisters were sent to Cowan Bridge, a school for daughters of clergymen. Obviously he chose the school for its low tuition, but the living conditions were intolerable and the discipline overly rigid. The “lowood” section of Jane Eyre vividly conveys Charlotte's unhappy memories of her experience there. After an outbreak of tuberculosis killed Maria and Elizabeth, Charlotte and Emily were brought home. During this time, Charlotte taught her sisters at home and worked as a governess, an experience which she described in Jane Eyre. Several years later, she returned to school, but later she became a private governess instead.In 1846, the three sisters published a book of Poems, and though the sales were low, the reviews were good and spurred on further literary endeavors. In August of 1846 she began work on Jane Eyre. Though it was published in 1847, she didn't tell her father about it until the next year, when the novel's success was plain.This success was followed up by tragedy, however. In September 1848, Branwell died, this was closely followed by Emily's death from consumption in 1848, and Anne's death of the same disease in May 1849. Bereft, Charlotte and her father clung to each other for support.Eventually,she started spending some time in London, meeting other writers of the day.In Jane Eyre, there were five distinct stages of development, each linked to a particular place. After the success of Jane Eyre, she revealed her identity to her publisher and went on to write several other novels. In the years that followed, she became a respected member of London's literary set. But the death of siblings Emily and Branwell in 1848 and Ann in 1949 left her feeling dejected and emotionally isolated. In 1855, she died of pneumonia.3.1.2 Charlotte Bronte’s Position in Literary HistoryAlthough Charlotte Bronte only has four works of her life, she has an important position in the history of literature. She is the first person who voice of a woman as the theme of the novel (杨莉馨，2002). Later writers are subject to her influence. Her works have been regarded as a model for modern women fiction. Together with her sisters, they are known as the Bronte Sisters in the history of English literature.3.2 Jane Eyre3.2.1 The Plot Overview of Jane EyreJane Eyre is a young orphan and she is raised by Mrs. Reed, her cruel, wealthy aunt. A servant named Bessie helps her a lot, telling her story and singing songs to her. One day, Jane is published for fighting with her bullying cousin John Reed, she is closed in the red-room where her Uncle Reed died. She is frightened and believes that she saw her Uncle's ghost. When she wakes to find herself in the care of Bessie and the kindly apothecary Mr. Lioyd, who suggests to Mrs. Reed that Jane be sent away to school. To Jane's delight, her Aunt agrees.Once at the school, Jane finds the school headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst is a cruel, hypocritical and abusive man. He treads the students badly. At school, Jane makes good friend with a girl named Helen Burns. But later Helen dies of consumption. This attracts more attention to the unhealthy conditions at Lowood. After a group of more sympathetic gentlemen takes Brocklehurst's place, Jane's life improves a lot. She spends eight years at Lowood, six as a student and two as a teacher.After teaching for two years, Jane wants to change. She accepts a governess position atThornfield's manor, in which she teaches a lovely girl named Adele. The owner of the manor is Rochester, who is a impassioned man. Jane finds herself began to fall in love with him. At the same time, Rochester is attracted by Jane. One day, Rochester proposes to Jane and she accepts.The wedding day arrives, and Jane and Mr. Rochester prepare to exchange vows. Mr. Mason cries out that Rochester already has a wife and he is the brother of that wife Bertha. His wife is still alive but is locked in the house. Shocked by the story, Jane flees from the house. She goes though a lot of hardships. After nearly perishing on the moors, she is taken in and cared for by a parson, St. John. And he finds her a job teaching at a charity school. He wants Jane to accompany him as his wife. When she nearly gives in, she realizes that she cannot abandon the man she truly loves. So she hurries back to Thornfield and finds that it has been burned to the ground by Mason, who lost her life in the fire. Rochester lost his eyesight and one of his hands.At last they get married. At the end of the story, Jane writes that they enjoy their life together. She says that after two years of blindness, he regained sight in one eye and was able to behold their first son at his birth.3.2.2 The Theme of Jane EyreJane Eyre is the story of a quest to be loved. Jane searches not just for romantic love, but also for a sense of being valued, of belonging. Over the course of the book, Jane must learn how to gain love without harming herself in the process. Jane struggles to find the right balance between moral duty and earthly pleasure, between obligation to her spirit and attention to her body. She encounters three main religious figures: Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John Rivers. Each represents a model of religion that Jane ultimately rejects as she forms her own ideas about faith and principle, and their practical consequences.Jane Eyre is critical of Victorian England's strict social hierarchy. Bronte's exploration of the complicated social position of governesses is perhaps the novel's most important treatment of this theme. Victorian governess was expected to posses the “culture” of the aristocracy. Yet, aspaid employees, they were more or less treated as servants, thus, Jane remains penniless and powerless while at Thornfield. Jane's understanding of the double standard crystallizes when she becomes aware of her feelings for Rochester. Jane's distress, which appears most strongly in Chapter 17, seems to be Bronte's critique of Victorian class attitudes.Jane herself speaks out against class prejudice at certain moments in the book. For example, she chastises Rochester: “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you.” (ibid, 260)Fire and ice appear throughout Jane Eyre. The former represents Jane's passions, anger and spirit, while the latter represents the oppressive forces trying to extinguish Jane's vitality. Fire is also a metaphor for Jane, as the narrative associates her with imagines of fire, brightness and warmth. She likens her mind to “a ridge of lighted health, alive, glancing and devouring.”(ibid, 30) Images of ice and cold, often appearing in association with barren landscapes or symbolize emotional desolation, loneliness or even death.3.2.3 Literary Value of Jane EyreJane Eyre is one of the famous novels written by Charlotte Bronte in the 19th century due to its unique content and way of expression. It has a long history in the English literature and it created the character Jane successfully who dares to fight for freedom and equality in a world that women are regarded as a second class. Jane Eyre was a hit in the 19th century. Since the work has been published, it attracted the attention of literary critics and thousands of readers.Chapter4 the Rising of Jane Eyre's Female Consciousness 4.1 Gateshead-beginning of Female ConsciousnessAt Gateshead, Jane begins her journey though her life. Jane's earliest memories are about Gateshead and the Reed Family. Gateshead is a place in which the passions of childhood are given free rein. From the beginning, Jane challenges the social principle of nineteenth century Victorian society such as social class, gender relations and injustice. Jane begins her own story as an orphan, she is raised by a wealthy family, and this social standing motivates much of the novel's internal tension and conflict. Jane's education and lifestyle are those of the upper class, but she has no money. She is a poor girl who was forced to live with others. So she has no status in the family, sometimes in some ways, she is below even the servants. Jane's young cousins are always insulting her if they want. Jane, unlike her cousins, is punished for her fits of passion, but she experiences passions at Gateshead. While she lives at Gateshead, her sensitivity to acts of injustice develops. Because she sees that she is treated as less worthy even than a servant, but at the same time, her cousins are short of well-behaved but he receives all the privileges and honors. This is happened in the very first chapter of the novel, when Jane suffers teasing by her cousins John Reed and his mother.“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 visit you when I am grown up; and if any one 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......You think I have no feelings, an that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I can't live so: and you have no pity. I shall remember how you thrust me back......into the red-room......and that punishment you made me suffer because your wicked boy struck me knocked me down for nothing. I will tell anybody who asks me questions this exact tale. I had finished this reply, my soul began to expand, to exult, and 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 unyoked for liberty......” (ibid, 29)This quotation is part of Jane's outburst to her aunt. In chapter 4, she displays a keen sense of justice and recognition of her need for love. Along with the family liberation, the passage marks Jane's emotional liberation. It is not until she speaks these words to Mrs. Reed that she feels her “soul begin to expand”.4.2 Lowood- Growing of Female ConsciousnessJane suffers a lot in her aunt's home. So getting away from home will make her life better, to her surprise, Mrs. Reed agreed to sent her to school. Jane stays at the school for nine years. Jane's early years at Lowood prove to be a period of considerable tribulation; she also suffers harsh conditions, cruel teachers and the bad Mr. Brocklehurst. The harsh conditions she experiences as a student at Lowood show us that ,in spite of she is talent and self- assurance, she is merely a burden in the eyes of the society, because she is poor.Mr Brocklehurst is a religious hypocrite, supporting his own luxury life while his students live a poor life. Helen Burns is best friend of Jane in the school but her character is different from Jane herself. Helen is passive and accepts any abjection. She embodies rather than preaches the Christian ideas of love and forgiveness. While Jane has a strong sensitivity to indignities and injustices, She fails to understand Helen's passivity. As Jane herself declares: “When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard......so as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again.”(ibid, 54) Helen's doctrine of endurance and love is incompatible with Jane's belief in fairness and self-respect.4.3 Thornfield - Uprising of Female ConsciousnessJane begins her career as a governess and travels to Thornfield, where the principle incidents of her story take place. After her stay at Gateshead, Jane comes to understand what Rochester and Thornfield mean to her. When she remembers the poor days in her childhood, Jane now realizes how different her life has become, how much she has gained and how much she has grown. In Thornfield, she finds that she comes to fall in love with Rochester who gives her a true sense of belonging, something that she has always lacked. As she tells him, “whereveryou are ismy home, my only home.”On one hand, she longs for love and marriage; on the other hand, she is also worried about them. Until the wedding day, she was told Rochester had a wife who is still alive. Jane is very upset and runs away. But at last she still marries to Rochester.She has always longed for freedom and escape. Marrying Rochester would be a form of tying herself down. The marriage would bring her into a relation of responsibility and commitment to another person. Jane's feelings and desires for Rochester are tightly bound up with her feelings about her social position.Chapter 5 Pursuit of Equality and Freedom5.1 Pursuit of EqualityIn the 19th century, women had no higher positions, they were regarded as a male accessory, and they were lonely and isolated from the outside world. Women had no right to refuse the men's request. Jane struggles to achieve equality and to overcome oppression. She must fight against domination- against those who believe the women to be inferior to men. Mr. Brocklehurst, Edward Rochester and St. John Rivers, each of them wants to keep Jane in a submissive position, where she is unable to express her own thoughts and feelings. In her request for independence, Jane must escape them. Although she loves Rochester, she will not depend solely on him and she can be financially independent.Jane endures her most difficult time in pursuit of equality. She leaves Rochester although it pains her deeply and she is forced to sleep outdoors and go hungry in the way. However this experience proves her endurance and her strength of principle.Jane's departure from Thornfield is perhaps the most important decision she makes in the novel. She loves Rochester and Thornfield is the first real home she ever knows. But it needs her to make some compromise that she is not willing to. She senses that in marrying him she risks putting herself in a position of inequality. Despite the happiness that Rochester offer, Jane knows the staying would be a type of self-imprisonment. She must make the choice and she must flee while she can.Jane speaks against class prejudice and shows a pursuit of equality in the book. She chastises Rochester: “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain and little, I am soulless and heartless? You are wrong! I have as much as soul as you and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you.”(ibid, 260)5.2 Pursuit of FreedomDuring her pursuit of freedom, she also struggles a lot. Jane endures her most difficult in。