简爱独立人格发展的分析Analysis of Jane Eyre’s Independent Character
Development
Contents
Abstract (1)
Key words (1)
ⅠIntroduction (2)
Ⅱ Charlotte Bronte with Her Works (2)
ⅢVictorian Period Ideal of Woman (3)
ⅣAn alysis of Jane Eyre’s Independent Character Development.... .. (4)
4.1 At Gateshead, Jane Eyre Began to Realize the Importance of
Self-reliance (4)
4.2 At Lowood Institution, Jane Eyre Began to Form Her Independent
Character (6)
4.3 At Thornfield, Jane Eyre Gained Her Independence and Showed It
Fully (7)
4.4 At Moor House, Jane Eyre Enjoyed the Pleasure of Self-sufficiency (10)
ⅤConclusion (11)
References (13)
摘要：在19世纪的英国文学史上，夏洛蒂·勃朗特的自传体性质的小说《简爱》堪称一部经典传世之作，她成功地塑造了英国文学史上第一个对爱情、生活、社会以及宗教都采
取了独立自主的积极进取的态度和敢于斗争、敢于争取自由平等地位的女性形象。作者
生活在波动变化的维多利亚时代，那时候女性意识已有萌芽，女性独立反抗精神是《简
爱》中女主人公寻找自我的精神出发点，是她成长历程的基石。本文通过简爱从小到大
的成长经历，学会自尊自爱、自强不息、正义、追求平等、自由、真爱的独立性格，从
而阐述了《简爱》这样一个主题：人的价值=尊严+爱。本文主要对简爱进行独立性格不
同发展阶段的分析。
关键词：简爱；独立人格；自强不息；追求正义；女权思想
Abstract: In the history of English literature in the 19th century, C harlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre was called a successfull work. In that period, many women
were not satisfied with their social status and began to fight for their right of
independence, equality and freedom. In this novel, Charlotte Bronte creates a
heroine who defies the conventions of both fiction and society. The main line
of the story follows Jane’s quest for her real identity and liberty in five stages,
which correspond respectively to five houses: Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield,
Moor House, and Ferndean. Each stage is supervised by “a dominant male
figure and each home is experienced as an enclosed world from which Jane
must break out as the promise of protection gives way to the desire for growth
and liberty”.Jane Eyre struggled to acquire her self-respect, independence,
dignity and self-sufficiency at every stage of her life, both in struggling with
social pressure, maltreatment, discrimination and in resisting the temptation of
passion. This paper analyzes the different stages of Jane Eyre’s independent
character development.
Key Words: Jane Eyre; independent character; self-sufficiency; justice; feminism
I. Introduction
Many people must be well known with Jane Eyre. Jane Eyre has made a strong impression on most of the readers. Jane Eyre is not only Charlotte Bronte’s best l iterary work but also one of the best created characters in all literature of world. If we only think Jane Eyre is a love story, I think that is not correct. The author was a woman, and she lived in Victorian period of the 19th century. At that time, ideal woman had a new start—independent consciousness of woman. Just let us make an assumption, if the independence of Jane Eyre was early killed in her childhood; without her independence, she would marry with Mr. Rochester even though he had a wife; If she became mistress of Mr.Rochesrer, she would possess treasure and social status; without her pureness, we would not be affected by this story, and Jane Eyre could not became classical too. Therefore, we should think over why Jane Eyre made us so much affected, because of her independent character. The development of Jane Eyre’s character has been the major key to the novel. Through the analysis of the novel, we can see the miserable predicament of English women at that time and their strong desire of seeking for equal social position as men.
At the same time, Charlotte Bronte also criticized the hypocrisy of England charities. Just as Charlotte Bronte said, “Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last. To pluck the mask from the face of the Pharisee is not to lift an impious hand to the Crown of thorns” (Charlotte Bronte, 2003: P2). In the 19th century, many women were not satisfied with their social status and began to fight for their right of independence, equality and freedom. Charlotte Bronte attacked the Victorian conventions and morals in this novel. The Independent Character of Jane Eyre became the famous woman’s role in society. This paper analyzes that Jane Eyre’s independent character development stages.
Ⅱ. Charlotte Bronte with Her Works
Charlotte Bronte was not pretty. She was plain and little, but her name was put in the first page of the history of English literature in the 19th century because of the success of Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte was born in Thornton, Yorkshire in 1816. She was Celtic blood. When she was young, she was sent to a school for clergymen’s daughters. Her sisters died there due to the poor and unhealthy conditions. This experience inspired the later portrayal of Lowood School in Jane Eyre. As she grew up, she worked either as a
