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An Analysis of the “Forced” Awakening of Feminism in Jane Eyre
Abstract： Jane Eyre has been a well-known novel by Charlotte Bronte since the moment it was published in the 19th century， in which the theme of feminism has been discussed and explored by thousands of millions of literary researchers all over the world. However， few of them have touched the forcefulness of feminism which， therefore， is what this paper focuses on.
Key words： Jane Eyre， feminism， forcefulness
【中图分类号】I3/7 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2014）01-0006-01
1.Introduction
In the history of English literary field， the Victorian Age witnessed many a great women writer with Charlotte Bronte just being one of them. When G. K. Chesterton said “The novel of the 19th century was female”， he must have been referring to the emergence of a number of brilliant women writers whose works gave voice to the feelings and aspirations of the educated women of their age. When it comes to Jane Eyre， Luo Jingguo （2005） said， “Jane Eyre is the first English novel and even the most powerful and popular one， which presents the modern view of women’s position in society.” And when it refers to its author， Charlotte Bronte， there is no doubt that she was a great woman in that she refused to be confined in the intangible cage imposed on her by the governors of society-men， and struggled to find a vent to release herself and defend for herself as well as for other women in the world-they are as strong as men at least within if not in strength.
2.The“Forced”Awakening of Feminism in Jane Eyre
2.1.Feminism
Feminism can date back to as early as 18th century in France where women from all walks of life were treated unequally compared to men， for example， they were confined in a limited space without any freedom to take part in social activities let alone to land some jobs for themselves. What they were supposed to do is nothing but to stay at home preparing food for their family， doing house work， or spending all the daytime toiling in the field.（Gaskell， 1992）. However， as time went by， some excellent female who had got an all-side education came to awaken and realize the importance and necessity and urgency of changing such a status quo， getting rid of the unfair fetters imposed upon them and enjoying an equal right with men. Feminism came in to being in such a kind of social background and started to extend swiftly and swept across the whole Europe like a heavy storm in a short time （Shorter， C. K.， 1991）. 2.2. The “forced” awakening of feminism in Jane Eyre
As far as the author is concerned， the reason why the awakening of feminism in Jane Eyre is forced has something to do with not so much Charlotte Bronte herself as the social background and her own growing experiences. As follows are detailed explanations of this point of view.
From The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Gaskell， we can see that the first collection of poems written by the three Bronte sisters in 1846 was published in the name of three brothers， Curer， Ellis and Acton Bell， and even the publication of Jane Eyre called for a masculine signature- Koehler bel. At that time， even the critics who sang high praise for Jane Eyre had no idea of the truth that the author of it was a female until Jane Eyre was undoubtedly recognized as an eminent novel， when Charlotte Bronte for the first time made it known to the public that the author of Jane Eyre was a female at a meet-and-greet with Thackeray， a great novelist that she worshiped.
From this experience， we can imagine how hard it was for women at the time to start an undertaking. Had it not been for an employment of a masculine signature， it is hard to arrive at a safe conclusion of what would have become of Jane Eyre. In such a situation， Charlotte Bronte resorted to writing novels whereby she could give voice to her own feelings and aspirations towards a society where men and women were born equal and to her denounce of the stale customs in society and the fatherhood which had cause the customs like that （Edwards，M.，1999）. From the main character， Jane Eyre， who she portrayed in her novel， we can take a furtive glance at Charlotte’s subconsciousness to extricate herself from the fetter of fatherhood and her yearning for a harmonious living atmosphere replete with freedom and equality. At the outset， Charlotte Bronte endowed her heroine with a temporary endurance and submission， which was just a prelude to the final victory. Next， Charlotte Bronte endowed her heroine with a quality of forbearing and conciliatory so as to reveal the beauty of kindheartedness of females who’d like to address the conflicts in peace but under no circumstances give in to oppressors or the forces of evil.
3.Conclusion
In a nutshell， it was the stale social customs that cruelly limited the rights of women and ignored their aspiration for freedom and yearning for dreams that forced the feminism in Jane Eyre. Other things being equal， women who are treated fairly with men would make a difference to the world， among whom Charlotte Bronte was a good example. Therefore， thanks should to given to the forced feminism in Jane Eyre or in fact in the society of the 19th-century Victorian period in view of the fact that it is the feminism that has helped women defend against their own rights and freedom and the principles of survival and in the end fetch the sweet fruit of success. The field of literature belongs to all human beings.
References
1.Luo Jingguo.A New Anthology of English Literature[M]. Beijing：Beijing University Press，2005.
2.Gaskell，E.The Life of Charlotte Bronte [M].London：Penguin Group，1992.
3.Edwards，M.Charlotte Bronte—the Novels [M].Hamp shier：Macmillan Press，1999.
4.Charlotte Bronte.Jane Eyre[M].Modern China Press，2002.
5.Shorter，C.K.Charlotte Bronte and Her Circle[M].Green Wood Press，1991
Abstract： Jane Eyre has been a well-known novel by Charlotte Bronte since the moment it was published in the 19th century， in which the theme of feminism has been discussed and explored by thousands of millions of literary researchers all over the world. However， few of them have touched the forcefulness of feminism which， therefore， is what this paper focuses on.
Key words： Jane Eyre， feminism， forcefulness
【中图分类号】I3/7 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2014）01-0006-01
1.Introduction
In the history of English literary field， the Victorian Age witnessed many a great women writer with Charlotte Bronte just being one of them. When G. K. Chesterton said “The novel of the 19th century was female”， he must have been referring to the emergence of a number of brilliant women writers whose works gave voice to the feelings and aspirations of the educated women of their age. When it comes to Jane Eyre， Luo Jingguo （2005） said， “Jane Eyre is the first English novel and even the most powerful and popular one， which presents the modern view of women’s position in society.” And when it refers to its author， Charlotte Bronte， there is no doubt that she was a great woman in that she refused to be confined in the intangible cage imposed on her by the governors of society-men， and struggled to find a vent to release herself and defend for herself as well as for other women in the world-they are as strong as men at least within if not in strength.
2.The“Forced”Awakening of Feminism in Jane Eyre
2.1.Feminism
Feminism can date back to as early as 18th century in France where women from all walks of life were treated unequally compared to men， for example， they were confined in a limited space without any freedom to take part in social activities let alone to land some jobs for themselves. What they were supposed to do is nothing but to stay at home preparing food for their family， doing house work， or spending all the daytime toiling in the field.（Gaskell， 1992）. However， as time went by， some excellent female who had got an all-side education came to awaken and realize the importance and necessity and urgency of changing such a status quo， getting rid of the unfair fetters imposed upon them and enjoying an equal right with men. Feminism came in to being in such a kind of social background and started to extend swiftly and swept across the whole Europe like a heavy storm in a short time （Shorter， C. K.， 1991）. 2.2. The “forced” awakening of feminism in Jane Eyre
As far as the author is concerned， the reason why the awakening of feminism in Jane Eyre is forced has something to do with not so much Charlotte Bronte herself as the social background and her own growing experiences. As follows are detailed explanations of this point of view.
From The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Gaskell， we can see that the first collection of poems written by the three Bronte sisters in 1846 was published in the name of three brothers， Curer， Ellis and Acton Bell， and even the publication of Jane Eyre called for a masculine signature- Koehler bel. At that time， even the critics who sang high praise for Jane Eyre had no idea of the truth that the author of it was a female until Jane Eyre was undoubtedly recognized as an eminent novel， when Charlotte Bronte for the first time made it known to the public that the author of Jane Eyre was a female at a meet-and-greet with Thackeray， a great novelist that she worshiped.
From this experience， we can imagine how hard it was for women at the time to start an undertaking. Had it not been for an employment of a masculine signature， it is hard to arrive at a safe conclusion of what would have become of Jane Eyre. In such a situation， Charlotte Bronte resorted to writing novels whereby she could give voice to her own feelings and aspirations towards a society where men and women were born equal and to her denounce of the stale customs in society and the fatherhood which had cause the customs like that （Edwards，M.，1999）. From the main character， Jane Eyre， who she portrayed in her novel， we can take a furtive glance at Charlotte’s subconsciousness to extricate herself from the fetter of fatherhood and her yearning for a harmonious living atmosphere replete with freedom and equality. At the outset， Charlotte Bronte endowed her heroine with a temporary endurance and submission， which was just a prelude to the final victory. Next， Charlotte Bronte endowed her heroine with a quality of forbearing and conciliatory so as to reveal the beauty of kindheartedness of females who’d like to address the conflicts in peace but under no circumstances give in to oppressors or the forces of evil.
3.Conclusion
In a nutshell， it was the stale social customs that cruelly limited the rights of women and ignored their aspiration for freedom and yearning for dreams that forced the feminism in Jane Eyre. Other things being equal， women who are treated fairly with men would make a difference to the world， among whom Charlotte Bronte was a good example. Therefore， thanks should to given to the forced feminism in Jane Eyre or in fact in the society of the 19th-century Victorian period in view of the fact that it is the feminism that has helped women defend against their own rights and freedom and the principles of survival and in the end fetch the sweet fruit of success. The field of literature belongs to all human beings.
References
1.Luo Jingguo.A New Anthology of English Literature[M]. Beijing：Beijing University Press，2005.
2.Gaskell，E.The Life of Charlotte Bronte [M].London：Penguin Group，1992.
3.Edwards，M.Charlotte Bronte—the Novels [M].Hamp shier：Macmillan Press，1999.
4.Charlotte Bronte.Jane Eyre[M].Modern China Press，2002.
5.Shorter，C.K.Charlotte Bronte and Her Circle[M].Green Wood Press，1991