"'To speak truth, sir, I don't understand you at all...to which you might revert with pleasure'" (161).
Charlotte Bronte is speaking through Jane trying to emphasize the point to the reader that only you can become the person you are proud to be. No one else in this world has the power to make you some one you are content with being. The theme of being happy in your own skin and realizing what you are and are not able to do is reoccurring with every turn of the page. Helen knows that her teachers get frustrated with her, but she is aware that getting frustrated right back at them gets neither of them anywhere, so she stands there and understands that she is not perfect. Helen is comfortable as she is and enjoys being herself. She is unchanging throughout the story. Bronte's main message in this book, and from this quote is that one must want to change in order for it to happen and if you want to be someone you are proud of being, then do things you are proud to be part of.
(No Outside Source)
Friday, November 27, 2009
6. Jane Eyre
"'Not quite: you have secured the shadow of your thought...Where did you see Latmos? For that is Latmos. There--put the drawings away!'" (148).
Charlotte Bronte introduced Latmos into her novel to depict the strong feelings Jane already had for Mr. Rochester. It is a subtle way of saying how dedicated Jane is to him. In another light, the notes section within "Jane Eyre" claims that Mt. Latmos is "where the moon-goddess Selene seduced Endymion in his sleep" (The Victorian Web). Jane does not seduce Mr. Rochester, but his present wife attempts to ruin him because he no longer loves her. Mr. Rochester may have wanted to get rid of the image from his eyes when he realized that it not only connects him to Jane, but also to the past of his wife whom he keeps locked away. Bronte may have included Mt. Latmos to do some more foreshadowing and to make the reader wonder why he all of sudden turned the pictures away.
"Jane Eyre's Three Paintings." The Victorian Web. 27 November 2009. 19 January 1999.
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/bolt7.html
Photo Credit:
"Endymion on Mount Latmos." World Gallery. 28 November 2009. http://www.worldgallery.co.uk/art-print/Endymion-on-Mount-Latmos-102149.html
Thursday, November 26, 2009
5. Jane Eyre
"'Like heath that, in the wilderness, The wild wind whirls away'" (136).
These lines are from a poem called "Fallen is Thy Throne," which was written by Sir Thomas Moore. The poem speaks of how something brilliant was once there, but time changes things and that brilliance is now gone. It is the reality of how something so good goes away in a blink of an eye. This feeling is apparent when Jane and Mr. Rochester first meet on the road and Jane helps him get back on his feet. Charlotte Bronte could be expressing the start of something new. The quote fits the moment in which Bronte places Jane. One moment Mr. Rochester was there in front of Jane, which mystified her, and the next he was on his way and she believed he was gone forever. Little did she know he lived under the same roof that she did at the moment. Bronte could have been trying to express the message that even if something seems to have disappeared from ones life forever, not to worry. Life is an uncertain element and it never ceases amazing people; unexplainable events occur so one should enjoy them.
"Fallen is Thy Throne.." The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore. 26 November 2009.
http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Complete-Poems-of-Sir-Thomas-Moore11.html
These lines are from a poem called "Fallen is Thy Throne," which was written by Sir Thomas Moore. The poem speaks of how something brilliant was once there, but time changes things and that brilliance is now gone. It is the reality of how something so good goes away in a blink of an eye. This feeling is apparent when Jane and Mr. Rochester first meet on the road and Jane helps him get back on his feet. Charlotte Bronte could be expressing the start of something new. The quote fits the moment in which Bronte places Jane. One moment Mr. Rochester was there in front of Jane, which mystified her, and the next he was on his way and she believed he was gone forever. Little did she know he lived under the same roof that she did at the moment. Bronte could have been trying to express the message that even if something seems to have disappeared from ones life forever, not to worry. Life is an uncertain element and it never ceases amazing people; unexplainable events occur so one should enjoy them.
"Fallen is Thy Throne.." The Complete Poems of Sir Thomas Moore. 26 November 2009.
http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Complete-Poems-of-Sir-Thomas-Moore11.html
4. Jane Eyre
"Her grave is in Brocklebridge Churchyard...with her name, and the word 'Resurgam'" (98).
Written on Helen's grave laid the word "Resurgam," which translated means "I shall rise again." Rising again could either reveal Helen's strong faith, which Charlotte Bronte could wish she had, or actually does possess. Rising again could mean to be with God, or to mean that she believes in reincarnation. Those are both possible answers, but having someone rise again definitely portrays a strong belief in some higher power. Bronte appears to be speaking of religion and God a lot through her novel. She could be revealing her personal strong beliefs through the character, Jane Eyre.
(No Outside Source.)
Written on Helen's grave laid the word "Resurgam," which translated means "I shall rise again." Rising again could either reveal Helen's strong faith, which Charlotte Bronte could wish she had, or actually does possess. Rising again could mean to be with God, or to mean that she believes in reincarnation. Those are both possible answers, but having someone rise again definitely portrays a strong belief in some higher power. Bronte appears to be speaking of religion and God a lot through her novel. She could be revealing her personal strong beliefs through the character, Jane Eyre.
(No Outside Source.)
3. Jane Eyre
"This afternoon, instead of dreaming of Deepden...what a pity it was that, with his integrity and conscientiousness, he could see no further than the prerogatives of the Crown" (68).
Charlotte Bronte expresses her thoughts and opinions through Helen as well as Jane. Helen is very in tune with herself and has a very strong faith. She can hold herself up high even if she is continuously being shot down. If Jane is portraying Charlotte's lifestyle and thoughts, I believe that Helen is the character Charlotte wishes she could have been. Helen is comfortable in her skin and knows reality. She lives in the present and Jane looks up to her because of her belief system; it is as if there is nothing that can penetrate it. By Charlotte including the quote of a former king abusing power, it enables the reader to grasp the understanding of how power can change people. When one does not have so much material items it allows him to see the truth in most situations, while those who do carry a lot of possessions with them, it blocks their view so they are not fully aware of their actions. Charlotte passes her thoughts on power through Helen, which in turn lets Helen's character become more open to what is really occurring in the world, which creates a strong minded woman.
(No Outside Sources besides the book, Jane Eyre.)
Photo Credit:
"The Synagogue of Satan." The French Connection. 28 November 2009.
http://www.iamthewitness.com/books/img/King.Charles.I.1628.AD.jpg
2. Jane Eyre
"Poverty looks grim to grown people...poverty for me was synonymous with degradation" (29-30).
Charlotte Bronte most likely included this line within her novel to get a large message across. The fact that one is poor does not really mean anything to anyone until someone points it out. The concept of being poor is misinterpreted in Charlotte's eyes. She sees poor people as those who have lost their self respect from being humiliated numerous times. Material items are not the only elements in considering if someone is poor or not. To Charlotte it is also a emotional and mental state of being. Charlotte Bronte was also an orphan, like her character Jane Eyre. She was put into the mental state of feeling like she was less than nothing, which is how Charlotte portrayed her character, Jane, as being. Charlotte shares her life experiences through Jane.
Book: "Jane Eyre." Charlotte Bronte. 26 November 2009. 2006.
Charlotte Bronte most likely included this line within her novel to get a large message across. The fact that one is poor does not really mean anything to anyone until someone points it out. The concept of being poor is misinterpreted in Charlotte's eyes. She sees poor people as those who have lost their self respect from being humiliated numerous times. Material items are not the only elements in considering if someone is poor or not. To Charlotte it is also a emotional and mental state of being. Charlotte Bronte was also an orphan, like her character Jane Eyre. She was put into the mental state of feeling like she was less than nothing, which is how Charlotte portrayed her character, Jane, as being. Charlotte shares her life experiences through Jane.
Book: "Jane Eyre." Charlotte Bronte. 26 November 2009. 2006.
1. Jane Eyre
"Bessie asked if I would leave a book...'Gulliver's Travels,' from the library" (25).
"Gulliver's Travels" is a book written by Jonathan Swift, and it is about a character named Lemuel Gulliver who decides to travel the world. He comes to all of these foreign lands where he is not treated well. However, the more places he visits, the nicer the people become. As he arrives at the end of the story he has somewhat found a decent place to live. This story is a lot like Jane Eyre in the sense that she too was not treated well among her travels. She started with her aunt, and was not treated well at all. The school was slightly better and her life kept improving with each step she took. Her last two stops were the best parts of her life where she found that someone did indeed love her and then she discovered that she did have an actual family. By including "Gulliver's Travels" in this book, I think that Charlotte Bronte is trying to foreshadow Jane's lifestyle. She is letting the readers know that Jane is not going to be living in one place,
but she has learned and grown from all of her experiences as she moves from place to place. It also gives readers the message that even if something does not seem to be working out, if one just gives it time and hopes for the best, they may be surprised what their future can hold. "Gulliver's Travels", also being criticized for its content, portrays Bronte's realization that her work can be equally compared. For the time periods that both of these works were published, it put a target on the authors. In Bronte's eyes, "Gulliver's Travels" can be seen as an equal.
"Gulliver's Travels." Sparknotes. 26 November 2009. 2009.
http://www.sparknotes. com/lit/gulliver/summary.html
Photo Credit:
"Gulliver's Travels." Children's Books Online. 28 November 2009. 2004.
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/Gullivers_Travels/pages/001_gullivers_travels.htm
"Gulliver's Travels" is a book written by Jonathan Swift, and it is about a character named Lemuel Gulliver who decides to travel the world. He comes to all of these foreign lands where he is not treated well. However, the more places he visits, the nicer the people become. As he arrives at the end of the story he has somewhat found a decent place to live. This story is a lot like Jane Eyre in the sense that she too was not treated well among her travels. She started with her aunt, and was not treated well at all. The school was slightly better and her life kept improving with each step she took. Her last two stops were the best parts of her life where she found that someone did indeed love her and then she discovered that she did have an actual family. By including "Gulliver's Travels" in this book, I think that Charlotte Bronte is trying to foreshadow Jane's lifestyle. She is letting the readers know that Jane is not going to be living in one place,but she has learned and grown from all of her experiences as she moves from place to place. It also gives readers the message that even if something does not seem to be working out, if one just gives it time and hopes for the best, they may be surprised what their future can hold. "Gulliver's Travels", also being criticized for its content, portrays Bronte's realization that her work can be equally compared. For the time periods that both of these works were published, it put a target on the authors. In Bronte's eyes, "Gulliver's Travels" can be seen as an equal.
"Gulliver's Travels." Sparknotes. 26 November 2009. 2009.
http://www.sparknotes. com/lit/gulliver/summary.html
Photo Credit:
"Gulliver's Travels." Children's Books Online. 28 November 2009. 2004.
http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/Gullivers_Travels/pages/001_gullivers_travels.htm
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