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  • Essay / "No Net Ensnares Me”: Rebellion Against Conformity in Jane Eyre

    At first glance, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre appears to be a novel promoting taming, preaching moderation and balance. This is seen through Jane's metamorphosis from a wild and passionate youth. for a woman whose passion is tempered by logic. However, in Jane's inner psyche, the exact opposite is happening. Jane begins as a child who longs for freedom, but is too shy to grasp it. they seem like courageous bursts of passion, in reality born from this deep-rooted need for liberation, which she is too afraid to fully express. It is only when his fears are turned upside down that his wild side can defeat this revolution, this reformist and. feminist attitude, is my definition of “savage”. Radical and unconventional, Jane frees herself from the barriers of class and gender like a bird flying from its cage. She seems more docile and sober on the surface, but in her mind, the wildness that is freedom and defiance reigns supreme. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Early in the novel, young Jane explicitly states that freedom is not worth sacrificing. The seeds of a future contumatia are definitely present in her. psyche, but the passion to achieve freedom at all costs is dormant and underdeveloped. When Mr Lloyd, the apothecary who calls to Gateshead after Jane's traumatic night in the Red Room, asks Jane if she would prefer to live with her poorer cousins ​​from Eyre, Jane. The more experienced narrative reminds Jane: "I was not heroic enough to buy freedom at the price of caste" (20) because Jane worships the glamor and comfort of upper society, the prospect of poverty for the good of society; freedom is too great to consider. Thus, Jane's passionate outburst is only a partial act of defiance, for although she condemns John (and his entire class) as "Roman emperors" (5), she is afraid of the risk. If “wild” is equated with a challenge to convention, then the opposite, “domestication,” would be manageability. By passing out in the Red Room, Jane reveals her weakness: her sensitivity to the fear that Aunt Reed instills in her. Aunt Reed's influence keeps Jane at the mercy of the caste system. After Miss Temple leaves Lowood, Jane becomes impatient for change. She says: “For freedom I panted, for freedom I uttered a prayer” (88). The desire for freedom is obviously stronger than it was when she was a child. However, she is still too passive to approach and seize it because in her mind, freedom is reserved for a rarefied upper class. Therefore, she “formulates a more humble supplication. For change, we must stimulate” (88). But even a “relaunch” is too much to ask. Ultimately, she settles for “servitude” (88). She tells herself that she does not deserve “Freedom, Excitement, Enjoyment” (88); still the shy, quiet child of the Red Room, Jane refuses to remove the class barriers that separate her from freedom because of her preconceived notions. Another type of freedom that Jane longs for is equality between the sexes. During one of her first days at Thornfield, Jane feels particularly restless; As she paces the ramparts above the third floor attic, Jane says, "Women are supposed to be very calm in general... but they suffer from too rigid restraint... just as men would suffer." (115). Jane's thoughts, imbued with the soul of Brontë's suppressed opinion, promote the iconoclastic overthrow of dominationmasculine. Whereas in the past Jane was afraid to risk poverty for equality, here Jane does not attempt to downplay or justify her need for freedom. Jane is in fact the vocal manifestation of Bronte's views on the strict social hierarchy in England. Brontë explores the ambiguous position of governess, a source of extreme tension for Jane and the characters around her. Although Jane's manners and upbringing are those of an aristocrat, she is treated more like a servant than an equal because she is a paid subordinate. So, when Jane realizes that she loves Rochester, the social barriers crystallize; she sees that although she is Rochester's equal intellectually, she is not his equal in society. Unfortunately, this painful reality is strictly enforced by the upper class, as is evident when Dowager Ingram and Blanche discuss their unfortunate history with governesses, half of whom were "detestable and the rest ridiculous, and all incubi..." (187). . Lady Ingram says of Jane: “I noticed her; I am a judge of physiognomy, and in his I see all the faults of his class” (188). Hearing this, Jane understands that although she loves Rochester very much, she will never usurp Blanche's place as Rochester's wife because of her class. However, since Jane ends up supplanting Bertha and Blanche, Jane proves to herself that the class barriers she believes to be inviolable only existed in her mind. So the freedom she gains by marrying Rochester is actually about overcoming her fear of breaking down the class barriers in her own psyche. Rochester, disguised as a gypsy, punishes this fear and incites Jane to act against society. Until now, Jane remains passive about her destiny. She does not cross the threshold of the Rochester classroom because in her mind, the lessons are impenetrable. However, at the library, Rochester tells him otherwise. Enigmatically, he says, "you are stupid, because, even if you suffer, you will not beckon him to come near, nor will you take a step to reach him where he is waiting for you" (209 ). To the reader, it is obvious that Rochester is imploring Jane to overthrow society for love. Because if “the materials are all prepared, all that is missing is a movement to combine them. Chance has somewhat separated them; let them once be approached and happiness results” (210). Clearly, the only obstacle is not the social barrier that Jane accuses, but rather her timidity to "challenge the opinion of the world" (234). Although there are limits in reality, it is more important to overcome those that Jane has created for herself in her psyche. Jane finally transcends all social barriers when she asserts her equality on the night of Rochester's proposal. In this scene, bird imagery is predominant. Birds, symbols of the freedom of the soul, are in fact mentioned throughout the novel, but are especially concentrated in this chapter, when Jane finally frees herself from the limits of her own consciousness. At the beginning of the chapter, Jane hears a “nightingale chirping in a wood half a mile away” (266); this matches the start of Jane's passionate outburst coming to mind. However, when Rochester said, “Jane, do you hear that nightingale singing in the wood? (271), Jane begins to sob "convulsively" (271), finally allowing the "vehemence of emotion...to conquer, to live, to rise and to reign at last: yes -- and to speak » (271). Finally, Jane defies both gender and social barriers and declares: “I have as much soul as you – and as much heart! » (272). She does not speak “through custom” (272), but as an equal. And although Blanche is Jane's superior financially and).