Jane Eyre

 

Literary Theory

Ms. Juneca Junta

Feminist Literary Theory
JANE EYRE: Madwoman in the Attic

___

By Nova Mae Rogeliz M. Beldad

Brief Background of the Novel

Jane Eyre is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York.

Relevance 

According to Britannica, Jane Eyre's appeal was partly due to the fact that it was written in the first person and often addressed the reader, creating great immediacy. In addition, Jane is an unconventional heroine, an independent and self-reliant woman who overcomes both adversity and societal norms.

Critical Analysis

  This paper will focus on Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, which became one of the subjects of many feminist literary researchers and theorists. To borrow Virginia Woolf: "For most of history, anonymous was a woman." In this analysis, Charlotte Bronte's ingenious way of influencing feminism will be unearthed through the lens of Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar.

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is the coming-of-age story of an orphan girl in the early nineteenth century. The novel takes place at fictional locations in Northern England. In the beginning, readers might conclude that it is another cliche story about romance. But through the lens of feminist literary analysis, I have fathomed that there is actually an underlying message that comes with its plot twist: Mr. Rochester was married to a madwoman isolated in the attic. 

In the past, women did not have the liberty that men had. They were left at home, doing household chores or taking care of their children, while men were catapulted to the top and praised for even doing the bare minimum. Perhaps this was the reason that propelled Charlotte Bronte to include some characters and scenes that allude to the disposition of women in classical society in her novel, Jane Eyre.

To support the previous statement, Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar theorized in their literary analysis entitled The Mad Woman in the Attic that Mr. Rochester's mad wife, Bertha, is a representation of the repressed emotions and voices of women during the early eighteenth to late nineteenth centuries. At that time, women had an agonizing fear of publishing their literary work because they were afraid of being antagonized by men. It is even apparent in history that almost all of the authors in the past, especially in the classical era of literature, were men. They were the only ones who were given the validity and credibility to hold a pen. Women writers had to steal the rights that were deprived of them in order to create the literary pieces that we are indulging in now. Unfortunately, myriads of readers were influenced by the misogynistic preaching that was widespread before. Thus, in order to veil the feminist concepts in every story, feminist authors had to use metaphors and euphemisms for them not to be called out—or worse, punished.

Be that as it may, Charlotte Bronte's publication of Jane Eyre was a revolutionary move. She had proven to society that women are capable. By the narrowest of margins, being a mother or a governess was just one of the many phenomenal roles that a woman could take on. Yet aside from Charlotte Bronte's successful publication of her novel, her huge probability of utilizing Bertha as a vessel to expose the oppression and limitations imposed on women is historical as well.

To sum it all up, though some would claim that Jane Eyre is nothing short of a romantic novel, I will always lean on the opposite. I acquiesce with Gubar and Sandra's theory regarding the coveted feminist dogma wrapped in the persona of Bertha Rochester. Feminism already existed eons of years ago. The subtle hints left on the pages of a book by a classical author who once hoped to be heard still ripple to this day. And like Jane Eyre, more classical books are yet to be unraveled, which will prove to us that literature is the lifeblood of knowledge, reform, and even revolution.