Mirrors, Windows, Incest and Adultery

A couple of recent Brontë-related dissertations or bachelor's thesis:

Mirrors and Windows: Recognizing the Experience of a Woman of Color in Jane Eyre

Dinh, Katelyn N

University of Central Oklahoma, 2021

This thesis aims to present the character of Bertha in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre as a

representation of feminism and Jane’s transformation into an independent player in her

relationship with Rochester by examining the similarities in struggle, circumstance, and

oppression between the two women. A focus on feminist theory and critical race theory

will inform this thesis. By viewing Bertha as a mirror and a window for Jane, both for

Jane to realize her potential independence and to witness the oppression Bertha faces as a

woman of color in Victorian England, it becomes clearer that Bertha should be read and

recognized as an individual rather than vaguely characterized as a madwoman and a

simple plot device for Jane’s development.

Incest and Adultery in Bronte Sisters' Novels
Rostislav Hubač
Brno University, 2015

This bachelor thesis is concerned with the way the Brontë sisters wrote about incest and adultery and whether any similar opinions or tendencies may be observed in their writings. One of the chapters deals with an investigation of family law which should help us understand why marriage and family present the main issues Brontë Sisters deal with. Careful reading has been employed to identify those passages in the novel where incest and adultery are mentioned and these passages have been compared in the conclusion. The conclusion argues that both incest and adultery have been employed to depict a real family situation of the Victorian Period.