Since during the Jane Eyre debate Mrs. Stuart chose our sides for us, I am going to continue this debate on the blog, where you can choose whatever you believe is true. So again I ask, do you think that the novel
Jane Eyre can be considered rebellious? Why or why not?
No, I do not, because it seems to be more of a book that escapes from her time. There are no true signs of rebellion that I can recall. It is as simple as that there is no signs of rebellion in the novel.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if the novel as a whole is rebellious, but there are definitely some rebellious scenes in the book.
ReplyDeleteJane and Mr. Rochester's relationship is rebellious. It's not like they are unconsciously breaking a rule, they are both aware that their relationship is wrong, yet they don't do anything to stop it and still attempt to get married. If Briggs and Mason had not interrupted the wedding, they would have been married. Also, Mr. Rochester's wife is still living, yet he has mistresses and still tries to marry Jane. To me, it seems like Mr. Rochester is rebelling against his family and the Mason family because of the scam marriage. I also think that Mr. Rochester partially blames Victorian values because he trusted his father's decision and dutifully married Bertha. But, Mr. Rochester's marriage to Bertha Mason has left both of them miserable, restrained, and desperate for an escape. So, Mr. Rochester's attempt to marry Jane could also be seen as him rebelling against the Victorian social order.
Another rebellious scene is when Mr. Rochester is proposing to Jane, but Jane thinks that Mr. Rochester is just playing with her emotions. On pg. 238 Jane says, "'Do you think I am an automaton? -a machine without feeling?...Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? -You think wrong! -I have as much soul as you, -and full as much heart!...I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even mortal flesh; -it is my spirit that address your spirit; just as if we both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal, -as we are!'" In this scene, Jane is rebelling against the gender and social spheres of Victorian society. Jane says that she and Mr. Rochester are equal on all levels i.e. as people and as spirits.
The novel doesn't seem to rebellious now but at the time it was written it could be seen as rebellious. Women did not have much of a say at the time so any scene where Jane spoke up instead of being pushed around could be rebellious. I'm not sure that I would say their relationship is rebellious. Both of them are happy and aren't breaking any rules that Jane knows off. If anything Rochester could be seen as the rebellious one. He used Blanche, a person of his social status, just to make Jane jealous and he also did not tell Jane about Bertha.
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