Jane Eyre Psychological Articles

Sexuality in Jane Eyre
-When Jane meets Rochester she feels blessed to have someone close to her. This is because she has never really had someone close to her in her childhood.
-This novel has a happy ending, although it started out rough.
-"Jane's childhood, her early relations with those loving or unloving to her, her position in the world and her degree of independence, her relative inexperience, her moral and religious values, her sense of belonging to a family, her relation to supportive females or female images . . . etc."
-This quote is saying that what her childhood and experiences were like, is what made Jane react how she did and behaved how she did towards the future.

Jane Eyre's Moral Choices
-This article is saying that Jane has multiple personalities.
-She is independent, she has good morals, she is emotional, intellectual, and committed.
-Jane's personality was formed by nature. Because of the things around her, she adjusted to them and that gave her her personality.
-There are times where Jane does something foolish, but this is just because it is what nature taught her to do.
-Because of her religion, it would have been best for Jane to stay away from Rochester when she left him since he was married. However, her feelings and nature kept her close to him.

Background to Jane Eyre
-Jane's characteristics are just like the author's (Charlotte Bronte).
-For example:

• Charlotte along with others in the family, were governesses. A governess is a woman trusted with the upbringing of a child. Jane was a governess as well.


• Both Charlotte and Jane went to harsh private schools when they were young.


• Both Charlotte and Jane later taught at the school they attended.


• Most of Jane's physical features were just like Charlotte's.

-Many things about the girls' background are similar, and the two are similar as well. So since they both had tough childhoods, they both grew up to be so strong and independent.

Bibliography!

Benvenuto, Richard. "The Child of Nature, the Child of Grace, and the Unresolved Conflict of Jane Eyre," ELH 39, no. 4 (December 1972): pp. 631–633. Quoted as "Jane Eyre's Moral Choices" in Harold Bloom, ed. The Brontës, Bloom's Major Novelists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BMNBron17&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 13, 2011).

Bloom, Harold, ed. "Background to Jane Eyre." Jane Eyre, Bloom's Guides. New York: Chelsea House Publishing, 2007. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts on File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BGJE003&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 13, 2011).

Maynard, John. Charlotte Brontë and Sexuality (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984): pp. 143-144. Quoted as "Sexuality in Jane Eyre" in Harold Bloom, ed. The Brontës, Bloom's Major Novelists. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishing, 1999. (Updated 2007.) Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=1&iPin=BMNBron22&SingleRecord=True (accessed September 7, 2011).

Jane Eyre: Approach

Psychological Approach:

I think that the forces motivating Jane is the fact that she had an evil aunt and was sent off to school. Everyone treated her like she was not good enough, so she tried her hardest to prove that she was good enough.

Jane's behaviors she has that are conscious are independence and headstrong. She always thinks that she has to do things on her own and she has to be strong.

One huge behavior Jane has that is unconscious is love. She unwillingly falls in love with Rochester. She can not help it and she does not think about it.

The unconscious conflicts between Jane and Rochester is falling in love. Jane did not want to fall in love with him and Rochester was already married, so that is a conflict.

Jane's behavior is very plausible. This is because of her background. She was taken care of by her cruel aunt, and she was also sent off to school so she was miserable. That forced her to be headstrong.

The only character that is a recognizable psychological type is Rochester's wife Bertha. She is crazy, but it never states what disease she may have.

A psychological approach would account for different reactions in male and female readers because they behave and think differently.

The work reflects that the author might have had a rough childhood and that forced her to be headstrong.

Jane's behavior reveals that she has a strong psychological state.

The work reflects the author's unconscious dimensions of their mind because she probably was not thinking when she wrote about being strong or falling in love.

If the reader had a tough childhood then they could relate to the story or if they fell in love with someone they did not think they should.

That is the type of approach I would have used if I wrote the story Jane Eyre, and a few follow up questions.

Jane Eyre #11: Major Conflicts

Major conflicts of a story can very well lead up to the story's climax. Or a major conflicts can be the climax itself. In Jane Eyre there were many conflicts that the main character Jane ran into. Starting off the novel, the author Charlotte Bronte has Jane living with her aunt, Mrs. Reed. This is a conflict because Mrs. Reed is evil and very cruel to Jane. Jane cannot wait to get out of that house, and she is actually thrilled when she finds out she is being sent off to school. Everything goes well at Lowood school, and later on Jane becomes a teacher there. After two years at the school Jane accepts a job also teaching at a manor called Thornfield. This is where Jane runs into another conflict. While teaching at Thornfield, Jane falls secretly in love with her employer, Rochester. This is a conflict because Jane knows that Rochester would never marry her because of her social class. And then Rochester brings home a woman named Blanche that everyone thinks he will propose to. Surprisingly enough, Rochester instead proposes to Jane. Shocked, Jane said yes not knowing about Rochester's little secret. He is married to a woman that had gone mad. This is the biggest conflict of all. Jane does not know how to deal with this so she just runs away and does not marry Rochester. A few years later Jane hears that his wife had died in a fire she made. So Jane rushed to see him and they then got married. Throughout the book Jane faced many conflicts. But because of her independence and strength she overcame them and in the end everyone was happy.

Jane Eyre #10: Main Character

The definition of a main character, or protagonist, is the main person in the story who receives most of the attention and is sometimes considered a hero. In the novel Jane Eyre, the main character matches the title. The main characters name is Jane Eyre. She starts out as a little girl living with her evil aunt, then she goes out into the world and finds a job and family. The first characteristic Jane had that stood out to me was independence. She was never pushed around, and she could handle herself on her own. There are several examples from the novel that proves this. First is when Jane is sent off to Lowood school. She is all alone at this school but she sucks it up and finds at least one friend. Soon after that is another sign of independence and strength; Jane's new found friend dies from an epidemic at the school. She is alone once again. Then after getting out of that school, Jane finds herself out on the streets. She learns to take care of herself even though she does not have any money. She survives and later finds a job. So this series of events show how independent Jane was in her times of weakness. She was strong and self-sufficient, and that got her through a lot. That is the main character traits that I saw in the main character Jane.

Jane Eyre #9: Tone

The author's tone, or attitude of a novel is very important. It shows how the author feels and it effects the feelings and opinions of the reader as well. In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte shows a numerous amount of tones or attitudes that she has about her novel. The very first one that I noticed was independence. I saw this tone in the very beginning of the story, and I noticed it because of the main character, Jane. She is very independent. She does not let anyone push her around and she gets by on her own. She always thinks like that and it shows. Another tone that I saw was romance. Bronte's writing was very romantic. There was always someone falling in love. Especially Jane. She found friends, family, and the love of her life. This tone was set towards the end of the story, but the tone was very strong. The tone was also sad and depressing at times, especially in the beginning of the story when she is mistreated by her aunt. And also when she is sent to the orphanage. Therefore, those are just three tones that I noticed Bronte set. There are many more throughout the story.

Jane Eyre #8

If a classic novel is written, this novel's history must be reflected accurately. In the novel Jane Eyre, Bronte does an excellent job with the history. The main difference between back then when the novel was written and now, is the social classes. Back then there were social classes depending on how much money you had or how much land you owned. Now, it does not really matter how much money you have or how much property you have. All in all people are somewhat treated the same. We do not have slaves and we do not abuse and neglect the people that do not have as much money as us. Back in the 1800's there were social classes everywhere. For example, when Jane was sent to an orphanage, she was treated very poorly. This is because orphans are a much lower class so they were neglected. As for blacks and whites, that was not really noticeable in the novel. Also, the rights that women had compared to men did not seem that different. They could own land, however I am not sure if they were allowed to buy it. So the history was reflected accurately because there were social classes back then.

Jane Eyre #7

When writing a novel, the author must use techniques to keep the reader reading. A few examples of techniques that authors use would be: suspense, mystery, persuasion, and many more. I believe that Charlotte Bronte used suspense when writing the classic novel Jane Eyre. As I said in my earlier blogs, the story line is amazing. There was a twist at every corner and it kept my wanting to read more. That is a key technique to making a novel classic or timeless. A great example of suspense is when Rochester proposes to Jane. No one expected that coming, especially Jane. This is because a few days earlier Rochester brought home a different woman named Blanche and everyone expected Rochester to propose the her. Then there was a twist in the plot and he proposed to Jane. After this happens, the readers feel the need to keep reading to find out what Jane will say and what will happen next. Coming up after that, Jane says yes and it is their wedding day. Everything is going how it is planned until Jane is informed that Rochester is married. That is the biggest suspense of all. So the wedding is called off and Jane runs away. No one expected that to come. And after that the readers want to keep reading to see if Rochester and Jane ever see each other again. Therefore, Bronte used the technique of suspense, and she did an excellent job of using it.