03-23-2008, 02:59 PM
I apologize to you, Desdemona, since you're the only one holding this discussion with me. I've kinda left off without any closure. I'd like to next bring up the theme of repression as it relates to Jane Eyre.
Repression always seems to be present in Gothic novels. I believe it lends the story some tension. For some characters, it leads to depression. For others, overcoming the repression or the repressive force allows them to be free/liberated. Many of the characters in Jane Eyre were repressed, whether physically, emotionally, sexually or spiritually.
Jane, as the protagonist, suffered repression at different stages and how she overcomes the repression is the essential plot of the story. As a child, she was physically and emotionally repressed by the Reed clan. Bessie witnessed this and tried, in her own way, to bring Jane out of her shell. Finally, when she was pushed too far, she retaliated, both to Mrs. Reed and her son, John. Jane sensed a momentary triumph, but fear returned. At the Lowood Institution, Jane is spiritually repressed by the idiotic Mr. Brocklehurst. But with good role models, like Helen and Ms. Temple, she matures and develops her own spirituality. When Jane falls in love and discovers that she cannot marry the man she loves, she denies herself the chance to be with him and live as his mistress. She becomes sexually repressed. It's not until St. John's persistent pleadings pushes her to the limit that she discovers her only chance of happiness was to return to Edward.
We can continue to discuss the theme of repression as it relates to the other characters.
Repression always seems to be present in Gothic novels. I believe it lends the story some tension. For some characters, it leads to depression. For others, overcoming the repression or the repressive force allows them to be free/liberated. Many of the characters in Jane Eyre were repressed, whether physically, emotionally, sexually or spiritually.
Jane, as the protagonist, suffered repression at different stages and how she overcomes the repression is the essential plot of the story. As a child, she was physically and emotionally repressed by the Reed clan. Bessie witnessed this and tried, in her own way, to bring Jane out of her shell. Finally, when she was pushed too far, she retaliated, both to Mrs. Reed and her son, John. Jane sensed a momentary triumph, but fear returned. At the Lowood Institution, Jane is spiritually repressed by the idiotic Mr. Brocklehurst. But with good role models, like Helen and Ms. Temple, she matures and develops her own spirituality. When Jane falls in love and discovers that she cannot marry the man she loves, she denies herself the chance to be with him and live as his mistress. She becomes sexually repressed. It's not until St. John's persistent pleadings pushes her to the limit that she discovers her only chance of happiness was to return to Edward.
We can continue to discuss the theme of repression as it relates to the other characters.