Category: Spring 2017

Spivak’s primary argument is for an imperialist reading of feminism with the ultimate goal of “incit[ing] a degree of rage against the imperialist narrativization of history, precisely because it produces so abject a script for a female we would rather celebrate” (658). The “female we would rather celebrate” refers to Jane Eyre. The way Spivak constructs her argument is though the dichotomy of sexual reproduction versus soul making. She suggests that imperial constructions of “native” females (females from the impossible country) are more likely to engage in sexual reproduction, while “othered” females (females from the colonized country) must engage in soul making. She gives the example of Bertha Mason. Bertha is seen as being between an animal and a human because she Jamaican Creole. Therefore, Bertha is an imperially other (or lesser being) seen only as having a half formed (human) self. She needs to “make/ develop a soul” in order to be seen as an (equal?) individual to someone like Jane who already enjoys the imperial luxury of being recognized as someone with a soul.

The way I eventually came to understand this article (summarized in the first paragraph of this post) made me think about one of our in-class discussions: How do we/ can we analyze Berta Mason as a human being, rather than a psychological inverse of Jane? I remembered how much I struggled. I remembered thinking, “of course we should be able to view her as an individual,” yet I felt like I never had a full picture of her as a human. I kept getting sidetracked by the animalistic wat she was described. Spivak’s article helped me understand why I might have struggled so much: I couldn’t see past the imperial viewpoint held by the majority of the characters. I let their descriptions cloud my judgement. To the imperial characters, Bertha is an othered figure, someone/something not like them. They do not acknowledge Bertha’s humanity because she, as a lesser imperial figure, is a lesser human (if human at all).

 

 

On page 214 Mr. Rochester says “Come, be silent, Richard, and never mind her gibberish: don’t repeat it.”

Previously in the novel, Bertha bite Mr. Mason so hard that Rochester had to tell Jane about Bertha and call in a surgeon. In this quote, Rochester is on edge, not because of what had happened but because he didn’t want people finding out about Bertha. His main concern was not protecting her but was protecting himself from criticism and judgement. This is interpreted because of the language that Rochester uses in the quote: “be silent and don’t repeat it.” These phrases are derogatory towards Bertha and her condition because Rochester is not allowing her to get the proper treatment that she needs. Instead of putting her in a mental institution that could help her, he is locking her away upstairs. This is not acceptable because it is the nineteenth century and it is no longer acceptable for the mentally ill to be treated from home. He is making Bertha seem like a rabid animal instead of showing concern for his wife. I say this because Bertha vigorously bit Mr. Mason and left him to cry out for help. This ties into the idea that Rochester is not as good of a character as I thought he was. He locked up his mentally ill spouse in the attic, not for her own good
but for his own personal benefit of keeping her a secret. I think this because
from a new historicist approach we know that the public during this time period
was aware that treatment from home was not acceptable.

The semicolon in the sentence draws attention to the phrase “don’t repeat it.” The emphasis on this phrase proves that Rochester just wants the situation to disappear. He is neglecting the fact that Bertha needs his help, not his “hospitality.” Rochester cannot come to terms with the fact that Bertha is his spouse and even though Bertha has a mental illness he still cannot respect her. In the middle of the quote the phrasing becomes even more fragmented and disjointed, “and never mind her gibberish.” The “and” in the beginning of the fragment makes me think that Rochester is using an aggravated and annoyed tone in his voice. This is important because it shows how little Rochester appreciates what Bertha has to say. It also brings in the idea that Bertha is indeed from a different country and has a different complexion than Rochester. This means that Bertha actually may not be speaking gibberish but Rochester thinks it is because she is of a different race. The race factor emphasizes that Rochester does not respect Bertha for more than one reason, it could be because of her race, because of post colonialism or because she is a woman. This is important to the entirety of the woman because it shows race and gender affected the way one was treated.

This quote paints Rochester in a different light, he is no longer considered a
victim but rather someone who is focused on protecting himself. He is belittling
towards Bertha because he thinks he is better than her since he is from the
United Kingdom, because he has a fair complexion and because he is a man.
Rochester is not the character I had hoped he would be instead he is a little
bit racist and a little bit sexist. The most important thing is that because
Rochester is a wealthy man of light skin, he is easily able to get away with
locking a colored woman upstairs in his attic.

“ To this crib I always took my doll; human beings must love something, and in the dearth of worthier objects of affection, I contrived to find a pleasure in loving and cherishing a faded graven image, shabby as a miniature scarecrow.  It puzzles me now to remember with what absurd sincerity I doted on this little toy; half-fancying it alive and capable of sensation, I could not sleep unless it was folded in my night-gown; and when it lay there safe and warm, I was comparatively happy, believing it to be happy likewise.” (Brontë 43)

Upon first reading Jane Eyre, the motivations of the titular character appear to be a mystery to the reader.  What does Jane want?  Why is she telling us this story?  This passage from her childhood provides a brief moment of clarity in terms of how she regards herself.  Like many of us, we can see that Jane has spent her life searching for a way to love and be loved.  Toys are a way for children to love when they are alone. This passage demonstrates the influence of Jane’s doll on her interpersonal development, especially as it relates to her own self-esteem.

The most significant part of this passage lies in Jane telling us, the reader, that “human beings must love something” (Brontë 43).  She does not say she must, or some must, but human beings must, making this an extending belief of hers.  We know she still holds this belief as she says that she “remembers” how she doted on her doll, showing reflection on the past but also distancing her from her past self.  The other people who surrounded Jane in Gateshead Hall (Bessie, the Reeds, etc.) were less worthy of love than her doll.  Given Jane’s troubled childhood past, her doll was the only object worthy for her to love.  However, she seems to make fun of this, for loving a doll so “shabby as a miniature scarecrow” (Brontë 43). This seems to ridicule her own starved emotions, showing a distinct lack of self-compassion.  Even though Jane says that humans must love something, she then deems her sincerity toward her doll absurd, as if contradicting what she had just said.  This makes Jane come across as quite conflicted, self-critical, and unsure of the sense of her own values.  Thus, even if what she says is true, she still doesn’t fully trust herself.  Jane is always present, but considers there to be “worthier objects of affection” (Brontë 43).  This seems to indicate that Jane does not love herself.

We see further significations of Jane’s destructive lack of self-esteem.  Helen Burns assures to young Jane that “if all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends” (Brontë 80).  Helen could be evoking the spiritual realm, but it also seems to suggest that Jane needs to be capable of being her own friend.  In fact, she is the only friend she can always rely on.  Jane dislikes herself and thinks very little of herself, which is frequently conveyed through her narration.  At one point Jane calls her present self “a defective being, with many faults and few redeeming points” (Brontë 88).  Even when she shows Mr. Rochester her paintings, she says they are “nothing wonderful” (Brontë 132), yet goes on to describe them in extreme detail.  Here we see Jane Eyre is inconsistent in her values, in her narration, and in her own self-worth.  What does all this mean?

It seems to show that the present Jane still has a great deal of growth left to do.  Rather than recounting to us some exciting tale or a story of how she arrived where she is, she still seems to be narrating in the rut she started in.  Jane does finally express her need to love (as she did for her doll) to Mr. Rochester (Brontë 278), but little change appears to come over the narrator’s own view of self.  As I continue reading Jane Eyre, I will be paying very close attention to see if there is any progression, not only in Jane Eyre the character but in her as the narrator.  She seems to have very conflicted beliefs regarding her own self-esteem, going all the way back to her love for her doll.

Jane and Mr. Rochester’s relationship disintegrates at the end of book two. However, thinking back to before Rochester’s secret was exposed, I’d like to consider what his and Jane’s attraction and relationship truly built on, particularly in consideration of the gender expectations that are demonstrated in Mary Poovey’s Uneven Developments. Jane and Rochester are often said to be equals at several points throughout the book, but by looking at the way that Jane does and does not comply with gender roles, bigger questions about the power dynamics between Jane and Rochester are exposed.

As a child, Jane was stubborn and outspoken. As an adult, shit is still at time these things, or at least is told she is these things. Rochester often makes note of her unusual behavior, at one point admonishing her when she complains about the ideas of a man for his wife expressed in a song, stating “any other woman would have been melted into marrow at hearing such stanzas crooned in her praise” (Brontë, 270). However, in many instances, while she is headstrong, she is often headstrong with a determination to comply to her gendered and classed roles as a governess.

Poovey describes how women in the 19^th century begin to be constructed as having a sort of ultimate maternal lover, which in scientific understandings is attributed to their reproductive nature. She describes how during the 19^th century, the understanding of women’s roles is shifted from being sexual to needing to comply to a “domestic ideal” (10). Although she describes how the existence of governesses and other unmarried women complicates the roles of women in the domestic sphere. While governesses mother without being mothers, their unbridled sexuality poses a threat.

Jane, however, in many ways, despite the limbo role in which she exists as a governess is very adamant about sticking within the gendered role that a governess has. She acts as a mother to Adele, who adores her in return. For example, Jane insists upon Adele coming into town with her and Rochester, despite Rochester forbidding it. In a moment where gender roles and the power dynamics associated with them seem to be strongly in play, Jane describes, “I half lost the sense of power over him. I was about mechanically to obey him” (Brontë, 263). This demonstrates a moment in which Jane wants to defy her master, and seems to be refusing to adhere to gender roles. But, instead of doing anything to use her wit and intelligence to defy Rochester, she gets Rochester to give in by becoming pale and otherwise looking upset.

This example demonstrates the complex relationships of gender roles to power that exist in Jane Eyre. Jane later goes further to insist even after becoming engaged to maintain her position as governess. Although she is in many ways dismantling some of the ideology of gender at the time, particularly in considerations of the odd class positioning that governesses exist in, she also very strictly wants to adhere to roles of gender relating to maternity. And while she has power over Rochester because of her wit, she also has power over Rochester because of her need for protection and overall demure-ness. And still, even these observations seem to be a little reductive of all the variables of Jane’s and Rochester’s identities with consideration of the time period. But, still, that would still only further demonstrate the complexity of the construction of gender in Jane Eyre.

“Heart-weary and soul-withered, you come home after years of voluntary banishment; you make a new acquaintance—how or where no matter: you find in this stranger much of the good and bright qualities which you have sought for twenty years, and never before encountered; and they are all fresh, healthy, without soil and without taint […] you desire to recommence your life, and to spend what remains to you of days in a way more worthy of an immortal being. To attain this end, are you justified in overleaping an obstacle of custom—a mere conventional impediment, which neither your conscience sanctifies nor your judgement approves?” (219)

One thing that has really struck me in Jane Eyre is Brontë’s ability to depict sexual tension. Brontë captures a realistic attraction between Jane and Mr. Rochester, instead of presenting an idealized and distant portrayal of love (as in A Tale of Two Cities). In this passage, Mr. Rochester clearly is indirectly soliciting Jane to live as his mistress. Of course, Jane appears largely unconscious of his direct intentions in asking this question, but it demonstrates the deep level of attraction they both have for one another.

Although Jane does not initially see Mr. Rochester as handsome, her feelings for him develop as she begins to spend more time with him: “Every good, true, vigorous feeling I have, gathers impulsively around him” (179). The attraction she feels is not ethereal or romanticized; it is “impulsive” and breaks society’s class constructs. Moreover, her feelings develop in intensely intimate moments, such as when he takes her hand in his whilst they are both standing alone during the middle of the night, after Jane has doused him in water to save his life from a fire (156). Mr. Rochester tells her: “I knew, […] you would do me good in some way, at some time” (156). For Jane, this expressed sentiment causes her a great deal of inner turmoil and longing, since the next day she “wanted to hear his voice again, yet feared to meet his eye” (157). She knows that the interaction they had crossed lines of normal social respectability, but she also desires to have another one-on-one interaction.

Both Mr. Rochester and Jane recognize that there are barriers dividing them, and thus they must keep their desires separate. However, Mr. Rochester still finds ways to present to her both his attraction and his unspoken sexual dominance in their relationship. For example, in his indirect proposal above, he clearly has no reservations in expressing his feelings for Jane. He is a man with many flaws who is open with his sexuality and his desires in a frankness that Jane ultimately finds extremely appealing. Thus, he is not the image of the ideal man, but a realistic man with a great range of emotions and attractions. Perhaps, this realistic character is what has cemented him as a cultural romantic figure in literature throughout so many years.

Photo citation: Oh, Mr. Rochester…. 8tracksradio, http://8tracks.com/potatunes/oh-mr-rochester.

“”That night, on going to bed, I forgot to prepare in imagination the Barmecide supper, of hot roast potatoes, or white bread and new milk, with which I was wont to amuse my inward cravings.  I feasted instead on the spectacle of ideal drawings, which I saw in the dark – all the work of my own hand.” (Bronte, 84).

In this passage, Jane is coming to terms with the fact that Lowood has it flaws. Even though she is mistreated physically and malnourished, Lowood as just another “low” time in her life. This passage is significant because Jane is accepting the reality of her school. She is normalizing the fact that she is underfed and because she did this, she could give up hoping for a well-balanced meal. When Jane loses hope for better treatment, she also loses her imagination. She loses her imagination for being treated well for once. This loss of imagination is not just from the lack of food at Lowood but also the mistreatment she received from her aunt. I think that this is a permanent loss of Jane’s hope and positive imagination because this thought process is like a coming of age story. Jane is shedding her imagination for a life in where is she treated well by others and focusing on she can make herself happy. It says “I feasted instead on the spectacle of ideal drawings.” This means that Jane is replacing thoughts of unhappiness and hunger with happiness and drawings. This switch is impressive because Jane is still young but has the mental capacity to normalize the wrongdoings of Lowood and find happiness within her drawings. Her drawings are symbolic because they show how despite all the hardships Jane faced with the passing of her parents, the passing of her uncle, the mistreatment from her aunt, the bullying from her cousin and the malnourishment from Lowood, she is still able to survive. This passage represents the qualities of Jane. Jane can survive any circumstance and with each mistreatment, it only makes her stronger. Her drawings allow her to escape reality for the time being and engage in something that she is passionate about. Although Jane hasn’t received much love in her life, she is learning to love through her drawings. Jane says “I was wont to amuse my inward cravings” when paraphrased, this means that Jane will not let her desire for food affect her life. She is showing strength and maturity by resisting the temptations of her stomach. I think that Jane is afraid of becoming miserable like her aunt or like Mr. Brocklehurst so she refuses to indulge in thoughts that would make her like them in anyway. By resisting the urge to hope for better treatment Jane is showing that she has true power over those who have and are mistreating her.

In the video above, “Carol Atherton explores the character of Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre through ideas of the ‘Other’, Charlotte Brontë’s narrative doubling and 19th-century attitudes towards madness and ethnicity.”

“The three gentlemen retreated simultaneously. Mr. Rochester flung me behind him: the lunatic sprang and grappled his throat viciously, and laid her teeth to his cheek: they struggled. She was a big woman, in stature almost equalling her husband, and corpulent besides: she showed virile force in the contest — more than once she almost throttled him, athletic as he was. He could have settled her with a well-planted blow; but he would not strike: he would only wrestle. At last he mastered her arms; Grace Poole gave him a cord, and he pinioned them behind her: with more rope, which was at hand, he bound her to a chair. The operation was performed amidst the fiercest yells and the most convulsive plunges. Mr. Rochester then turned to the spectators: he looked at them with a smile both acrid and desolate” (Brönte, 289).

Bertha Mason is a Creole, the daughter of a European settler in the West Indies. “Tall and large, with thick and dark hair, as well as a discoloured [black] – savage face,” Bertha’s “alienness” is made apparent upon her introduction in Chapter 25, when she tears Jane’s wedding veil (Brönte, 280). In addition to her “alien” appearance, Bertha even exemplifies a disposition entirely different from those of cultivated England. For instance, described as a “hyena,” Bertha stands on her “hind feet,” crawling on the floor, “[gazing] wildly at her visitors” (Brönte, 289). The imagery is vivid and unsettling, leaving the impression that Bertha is anything but human. Perhaps that is what Englanders thought of those from the East?

Trapped and forced to live in an attic, Bertha is left marginalized. Her rights, both as a woman and, actually, as a human, have been removed because she is forced to live in a room where she is “incapable of being led to anything higher, expanded to anything larger” (Brönte, 300-301). Even worse, the only way that Bertha articulates herself is through demonic laughter and strange, cannibalistic gestures, as seen in the instance where she “[grapples Mr. Rochester’s] throat viciously, and [lays] her teeth to his cheek” (Brönte, 289). Mr. Rochester and Grace Poole literally have to tie Bertha down to prevent her from becoming too dangerous.

Despite the understanding that Bertha is actually mad, as Rochester states, Brönte shows that, in some ways, Bertha is still perceptive. After all, she figures out that Mr. Rochester and Jane are planning to get married, as seen in her tearing apart the wedding veil. Perhaps Bertha is trying to warn Jane, and tell her not to marry Mr. Rochester? Taking this into account, we are led to sympathize with Bertha because we really don’t know her side of the story.

Nevertheless, Bertha’s character is important because she seems to be a representation of the “other,” as she is not fully English. Here, she is represented as coarse, lustful, and unrestrained. After all, her vampiric appearance suggests that she is sucking the blood – aka life – away from the “innocent” Mr. Rochester. In other words, she is a complete opposite of the polite, educated, and restrained Victorian woman. Perhaps she has been brought to England because she is in need of British enlightenment?

Bertha’s character poses another interesting question, however. In terms of Jane’s story, Bertha is a mad, unrestrained “monster,” living in the confines of a secure, domestic home. Now apply this to an even greater scale: what if these monsters are actually running around England? Even worse, what if these “others” are hiding in the streets of London? In this sense, Bertha represents both the British fears of foreigners and the unrestrained, lustful woman.

The proposal scene deals with a lot of movement both from the characters themselves, and within the plot. Up until this point the plot of the novel has moved relatively slowly, but then suddenly takes off when Rochester proposes. Whereas with the characters, they are walking, and Rochester’s proposal spurs Jane to pace back and forth in front of him. However, ever since I first read this novel, this scene has stayed with me for both the obvious reasons of it being a great literary scene, but also the way it reverses the two characters’ gender roles.
Beginning with Jane’s declaration of independence to her acceptance of his proposal, Jane asserts herself as the more dominant of the two characters—usually considered the more masculine—whereas Rochester is more manipulative and talkative of the two—or arguably more feminine. Moreover, even past their words, their situations reverse the two also, as Jane is independent of wealth and family, and Rochester is weighed down by both. Whereas in more typical 19th Century marriage plots, there is no semblance of independence for the woman.
Particularly when Jane voices her independence to Rochester, “I am not bird, and no net ensnares me…” (252), her dominance, or masculinity, radiates out of her. Indeed, this scene involves an overemotional, arguably hysteric Jane, which distorts the masculinity aspect of her character, however Rochester’s character reasserts this gender reversal. Moreover, despite Jane’s emotional state, she remains much more physically active than Rochester. Throughout this scene Rochester remains still, while Jane is in constant movement before him. However, though this may appear to be these characters acting within the confines of their gender, really the words of each character reverse their roles. Rochester may have been the one to propose, but Jane still has the power to deny that proposal. Moreover, post asking for her hand in marriage, Jane questions Rochester so that he must explain his motives in his past disguises and games, while also attempting to convince Jane to agree to marry him. Jane therefore maintains power over Rochester making her the more masculine of the two.

“I am glad you are no relation of mine: I will never call you aunt again as long as I live […] You think I have no feelings, and that I can do without one bit of love or kindness; but I cannot live so: and you have no pity […] People think you a good woman, but you are bad; hard-hearted. You are deceitful!” (49)

“Ere I had finished this reply, my soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt. It seemed as if an invisible bond had burst, and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for liberty.” (49)

In this passage, we see Jane defy her aunt, or as we would say in the 21^st century, “drag” her. This stood out to me as especially significant because up until this point in literature (for the most part, I don’t want to discount any other works that may be less well-known or that I’m forgetting), we haven’t seen a female character speak her mind as bluntly, or to the extent that Jane doing in this passage. After so many years of being controlled by her aunt, Jane defies the role of women, and also children in this narrative—normally, women were supposed to stay silent and obedient, much like children.

What is interesting here is that even though Aunt Reed is a woman, most of the qualities Jane attributes to her are ones that wouldn’t have been used to describe a female: “without one bit of love or kindness,” or “you are bad, hard-hearted.” As shown in another text from this time period, Daisy Miller, women were supposed to maintain an image of being kind, gentle, and nurturing. However, Jane and her Aunt go against these traditional female roles here—but for different reasons. As mentioned previously, many of the adjectives used to describe Aunt Reed are not the typical “feminine” descriptors. Rather, Aunt Reed is taking on a more masculine, authoritarian role through her oppression and control of Jane.

In the second passage, where we hear an older Jane muse on her outburst, she seems liberated by her own actions. As a young female, Jane shows the reader her strong-willed, determined, and simply put: badass self. Whether it was meant to be a feminist statement or not, I, for one, felt that this passage would have opened up the 19^th century reader to the notion that yes, school girls are capable of defending themselves too.

One of the elements of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eye that makes it so enjoyable to readers is the changing life circumstances of the main character, Jane, herself. In the beginning of the novel she is so unhappy, and so alone, tortured by her cousin and hated by her aunt. What makes it worse is she has no idea why. She is a child, only 9 years old, and this hatred and sorrow has been her entire life experience. While locked up in the Red Room she contemplates running away or even killing herself through not eating. Such unhappiness completely defines the character of Jane at the beginning of the novel.

That is why it is so satisfying to the reader to see the later contrast between Jane’s life at Thornfield Hall to that of her early experience. Such reader satisfaction is especially heightened after the passage in chapter 15. Jane contemplates Mr. Rochester and how, “The ease of his manner freed me from painful restraint; the friendly frankness, as correct as cordial, with which he treated me, drew me to him. I felt at times as if he were my relation rather than my master:” (152).  This newfound joy and content is pleasing to the reader, but what is interesting in this phrase in particular is the use of the word “relation”. As we know, Jane’s only living relations were horrible to her, and thus her only experience with “relations” is a negative one. It is interesting that she would be using the word here in such a positive connotation, trying to express the comfort she feels around Mr. Rochester. However, instead of being an association with blood relations, the use of this word could also be a subtle foreshadowing of her potential future with Mr. Rochester. We know they have a romantic connection and perhaps she is alluding to becoming his actual relation through marriage, aka becoming his wife. This prospect, though pleasing to the reader, is one that could face many challenges from the outside world, but a challenge it will not face is his treatment of her because he already treats her almost like a relation.