1. Create your own renditions of Jane’s drawings based on her descriptions of them. Do your drawings help you understand their meaning in new ways? 2. Write a short sequel to the novel, describing Jane and Rochester’s married life. What happens to their children? What happens to Jane after she […]
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1. Explain the importance of paranormal experiences in the novel. What do the characters learn from dreams and visions? How do these experiences modify your understanding of the characters? How do the supernatural elements interact with the novel’s realism? 2. Discuss the representations of the various women in the novel: […]
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ad infinitum endlessly alias an assumed name. ami a friend. Au reste besides. bairn a child. Bauerinnen peasant women. beau ideal the perfect type. beaute male male beauty. belle passion beautiful passion. Bon jour, mesdames good day, ladies. bon soir good evening. bonne a nurse. carte blanche complete authority. C’est […]
Read more Study Help Full GlossaryCritical Essays A Postcolonial Approach to the Novel
As a theoretical approach, postcolonialism asks readers to consider the way colonialist and anti-colonialist messages are presented in literary texts. It argues that Western culture is Eurocentric, meaning it presents European values as natural and universal, while Eastern ideas are, for example, inferior, immoral, or “savage.” A postcolonial approach to […]
Read more Critical Essays A Postcolonial Approach to the NovelCritical Essays A Jungian Approach to the Novel
The famous psychologist Carl Jung was interested in the collective unconscious, or the primordial images and ideas that reside in every human being’s psyche. Often appearing in the form of dreams, visions, and fantasies, these images provoke strong emotions that are beyond the explanation of reason. In Jane Eyre, the […]
Read more Critical Essays A Jungian Approach to the NovelCritical Essays A Marxist Approach to the Novel
Based on the ideas of Karl Marx, this theoretical approach asks us to consider how a literary work reflects the socioeconomic conditions of the time in which it was written. What does the text tell us about contemporary social classes and how does it reflect classism? Jane Eyre depicts the […]
Read more Critical Essays A Marxist Approach to the NovelCharlotte Bronte Biography
At age twenty, Charlotte Bronte sent a sample of her poetry to England’s Poet Laureate, Robert Southey. His comments urged her to abandon all literary pursuits: “Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life, and it ought not to be. The more she is engaged in her proper duties, […]
Read more Charlotte Bronte BiographyCharacter Analysis St. John Rivers
While Rochester is a prototype of the fiery, passionate man, St. John Rivers is his opposite: cold, hard-hearted, and repressed. His handsome appearance indicates moral and intellectual superiority — he has “a straight, classic nose; quite an Athenian mouth and chin” — and contrasts with Rochester’s more rugged features. Although […]
Read more Character Analysis St. John RiversCharacter Analysis Edward Fairfax Rochester
While Jane’s life has been fairly sedate, long, quiet years at Lowood, Rochester’s has been wild and dissipated. An example of the Byronic hero, Rochester is a passionate man, often guided by his senses rather than by his rational mind. For example, when he first met Bertha Mason, he found […]
Read more Character Analysis Edward Fairfax RochesterCharacter Analysis Jane Eyre
The novel charts the growth of Jane Eyre, the first-person narrator, from her unhappy childhood with her nasty relatives, the Reeds, to her blissful marriage to Rochester at Ferndean. Reading, education, and creativity are all essential components of Jane’s growth, factors that help her achieve her final success. From the […]
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