Jane Eyre- Perspective and Values

Question #1

Charlotte Bronte writes Jane Eyre from the point of view of a young English girl for whom the book is titled. The story starts in Jane’s childhood years, focusing on her life at school. The remainder of the novel is devoted to Jane’s eighteenth year, a year full of trials and suffering. However, the suffering helps Jane to grow stronger, building and developing her sometimes flighty character. Before lapsing into thought, she dryly remarks, “Restlessness was in my nature.” (Page 65) Neither calm nor submissive, Jane refuses to accept the limits forced upon her by society, but rather looks to God for guidance in difficult situations.

                By choosing Jane as the main character who speaks from the first person point of view, Charlotte Bronte ensured that her ideas and opinions could be expressed clearly. If the protagonist had been a weak minded or submissive character, then many of Miss Bronte’s thoughts on religion, freedom, love, and responsibility, would pass unnoticed before the reader. It is Jane’s insightful reflections that bring these thoughts into being. For instance, she remarks to herself, “Women feel just as men feel… but they suffer from too rigid a constraint.” (Page 65) Jane’s forward thinking and self honesty enables her to be an excellent narrator.

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Random House, 1943. Print