New Brontë-related scholar research:
From The Bottom To The Top: Class And Gender Struggle In Brontë's Jane Eyre
Selcuk University Social Sciences Institute Journal . 2017, Issue 37, p146-153. 8p.
Nilay Erdem Ayyildiz
The Victorian era, which refers to the nineteenth century in the British history, was the period of industrial revolution, which gave birth to many changes in the British politics, economy and culture. It was in this period of time that class and gender were mostly on the foreground. And it was the women who suffered more than men from these class and gender-based cultural norms. Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre revolves around the title character's struggle against class and gender oppressions as an orphan from her childhood till her adulthood. The protagonist is born into the Victorian society with double disadvantages as a female orphan. However, she does not fit into the Victorian concept of "the Angel in the House". While creating this kind of character, Brontë draws contrast between her protagonist and the other female characters throughout the novel. Jane's cousins Eliza and Georgiana and her aunt Mrs. Reed at Gateshead; Miss Temple and Helen at Lowood; Adele and Blanche Ingram at Thornfield; her cousins Mary and Diana at Marsh End represent the Victorian concept of "woman". Also, at each of her stations, let it be from either middle class or upper class, Jane encounters a man, who represents patriarchy. Her cousin John Reed at Gateshead, Mr. Brocklehurst at Lowood, Mr. Rochester at Thornfield, and Mr. Rivers at Marsh End all represent patriarchy. In her journey from Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, Marsh End to Ferndean, Jane goes against the grains of her period. She discerns that there is a false association between classes and virtues. She achieves getting over the class and gender boundaries in the end at Ferndean by climbing the ladder from bottom to the top. Thus, the aim of the study is to examine Jane Eyre's progress in contrast to the Victorian models in the novel by taking into consideration the period's concepts of class and gender.
Catherine Earnshaw, Jane Eyre, and Bertha Mason : women’s subjectivity in Victorian literature
by Machado, Tiele Patrícia
Advisor: Garcia, Rosalia Angelita Neumann
Date: 2016
Institution Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul. Instituto de Letras
The objective of this paper is to analyze three female characters from Victorian England novels: Catherine Earnshaw, from Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, and Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason, from Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. The object of analysis is their subjectivity, i.e., their minds, consciousnesses, and beliefs, related to being a woman in Victorian society. Firstly, we define what Gothic is and how Gothic elements are related to these novels. Then, we comment on Victorian society and ideals for women using the concept of “The Angel in the House,” and the life of the Brontë sisters. Finally, we comment on the novels and each of the three characters: Catherine – a wild-natured girl, and her transgressions to the feminine social ideal; Jane – an orphan girl and her search for love and identity, whose views on gender and marriage are far-ahead from her time; and Bertha Mason – the madwoman in the attic and her relation to Jane’s subjectivity.
Male Bonding and Reciprocity in Words in Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
by Jung Sun Choi
British and American literature feminism, Volume 25, Issue 1, pp. 5-34 (2017)
This essay argues that the narrative structure of the Tenant of Wildfell Hall is architecturally made to explore the meanings and effects of gift exchange. The gift exchange is more aligned with patriarchal ideology that endorses men`s alliance and that tends to ignore the presence of female participation. In other words, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is Brontë`s gift to the public. The novel`s strategic design intermittently allows a woman to experience triumph. However, through setting Gilbert as the main narrator and Halford as the intended reader in the outer form of the narrative, it only shows that efforts to achieve the woman's freedom, , And at a small scale. When it happens, It often accompanies an illusion that women can achieve freedom by their efforts or sacrifice. It is a gift to the man who realizes that he is a man who has a gift for himself. He is a gentleman. In addition, in examining the nature of a gift between men, this essay focuses on the exchange of desire, a desire that often lies on the line between homosocial and homosexual. Yet, it is conclusively that the identity of sexual desire, as Brontë shows, does not make any difference when it comes to the oppression of women. Brontë`s presentation of a gift to the economy is aimed at men who set up an intimate alliance. In addition, in examining the nature of a gift between men, this essay focuses on the exchange of desire, a desire that often lies on the line between homosocial and homosexual. Yet, it is conclusively that the identity of sexual desire, as Brontë shows, does not make any difference when it comes to the oppression of women. Brontë`s presentation of a gift to the economy is aimed at men who set up an intimate alliance. In addition, in examining the nature of a gift between men, this essay focuses on the exchange of desire, a desire that often lies on the line between homosocial and homosexual. Yet, it is conclusively that the identity of sexual desire, as Brontë shows, does not make any difference when it comes to the oppression of women.
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