An Analysis of Characterization of Jane Eyre from the Feminism Perspective_英语论文

摘要

1847年，夏洛蒂·勃朗特出版长篇小说《简·爱》。小说讲述的是的女主人公简·爱，在艰难中也能不断追求自我，在经历一系列磨难后与男主角终成眷属的故事。作者创作《简·爱》时，英国的工业已经十分发达，但从女性主义的角度来看，女性作家这一新的职业类型扔不被大众尤其是男性作家所接受。可以想见，《简·爱》的著作与出版在当时是面临了多大的困境。前人多是从女性主义的角度来分析简爱，但是还有一部分人通过教育、精神分析学、从马斯洛的人类动机理论角度等角度，为我们解析了简爱的方方面面。作者通过对女主角生活环境的描述，女主角一些详细的语言表达、处理事情的态度与方式和精神世界的描述，详细地塑造了她的性格。无论是夏洛蒂·勃朗特还是女主角简·爱，她们的身上都富有坚持不懈用于反抗的精神和对女性自由幸福的渴望。因此，简·爱所树立起的了反抗压迫、争取独立自由与人格尊严的女性形象，在当时乃至现在社会，都受到了追捧并对女性平权运动产生了深刻的影响。因此，本篇论文通过研究作者怎样描写主人公的性格以及价值观等，也会对女性主义的内涵有更深刻的了解。

关键词：夏洛蒂·勃朗特 女性主义 平等

Abstract

In 1847, Charlotte’s masterpiece Jane Eyre was published. The novel is about the heroine Jane Eyre, although she was an orphan, she could also continue to pursue the freedom and dignity in a very difficult condition. And after a series of hardships, she got married with hero at the end of novel. When the author created this novel, Britain has been the world's top industrial country. But from the viewpoint of equality, British women's status has not been improved. They were still in the position that subordinated to men. The female writer was a new kind of occupation which was considered to violate the image of women at that time. It could be seen that the publication of Jane Eyre went through so many difficulties at that time. 

Predecessors always analyze Jane Eyre in the perspective of feminism. But some other people analyzed it in other point of views, such as education, psychoanalysis and from the perspective of Maslow's theory of human motivation. The author described so many aspects of Jane Eyre through the experiences of her life, her language and the way of getting along with people. After we read this book, we can know so much about her attitude for different things and her spiritual world and how the author shape Jane Eyre’s character in detail. Feminism is also reflected in the book.

Both Charlotte and the heroine Jane Eyre are full of the spirit of perseverance and the desire for women's freedom and happiness. Therefore, the image of Jane Eyre set up the resistance to oppression, freedom and dignity of the society at that time. And even now, influenced so much and deeply on women's rights movement. To summarize, this paper aims to study how the author describes the character’s personalities and values. And we can have a deeper understanding about the meaning of feminism.

Key Words: Charlotte Bronte; Feminism; Equality

Contents

1  Introduction 1

2  An Introduction to Feminism 4

2.1 Definitions of Feminism 4

2.2 History and Development of Feminism 4

3  An Analysis of Characteristics of Jane Eyre 6

3.1 Persistence and Optimism 6

3.2 Equality 7

3.3 Kindness and Reason 8

4  Reasons for Characteristics of Jane Eyre 10

4.1 Environmental Reasons 10

4.1.1 Mrs. Reed’s Home. 10

4.1.2 Lowood 11

4.1.3 Thornfield 12

4.1.4 St. John’s home 13

4.2 Influences by Some Other Characters in the Novel 13

4.2.1 Bessie 13

4.2.2 Helen Burns 14

4.2.3 Mr. Rochester 14

4.3 Influence by Author Herself 15

5  Conclusion 16

Bibliography 17

Acknowledgments 18