Slide 1

Jane Eyre chapters 21-26 Slide 2 Byronic Hero This male character type is based on the poetry and life of Lord Byron, a dashing Romantic poet whose works influenced many nineteenth-century writers. Slide 3 Byronic Hero Rochester bears many similarities to the Byronic Hero. The Byronic Hero is ruggedly handsome, adventurous, and moody. He usually has a guilty or shady past and a magnetic personality. How does Rochester exemplify or contradict the Byronic Hero? Slide 4 Conflict At the heart of every plot is a conflict- a struggle between two opposing forces. A plot is a series of events, carefully arranged by a writer to dramatize a central conflict faced by the main character. Slide 5 Conflict As a child, Jane faces conflicts with Mrs. Reed and later with Mr. Brocklehurst at Lowood School. These are both external conflicts. Often, external conflicts represent an internal or psychological conflict within the main character. Slide 6 Conflict At this point in the novel, what external and internal conflicts can you identify in Jane? Slide 7 Theme The theme relates to Jane and Rochester's marriage conflict. Jane wants to marry Rochester, but she does not want to lose her integrity. If she marries a man with a wife, she will be considered a mistress. A mistress seems to be a women who is not as good as a wife. That is not what Jane wants to be considered, so she will not marry Rochester until he is not married to Bertha any longer. What would you rather possess- love or integrity? Slide 8 Who is the madwoman in the attic? Theory #1: Bertha is a representation of the horror of Victorian marriage. Perhaps, years of forced imprisonment and isolation by Rochester have made Bertha go insane. Bertha represents the confining and repressive aspects of Victorian marriage: the lack of autonomy and freedom in marriage suffocates women, threatening their mental and emotional health. Berthas tearing of Janes wedding veil could be seen as symbolizing her revolt against the institution of marriage. Slide 9 Who is the madwoman in the attic? Theory #2: Bertha is a representation of the British Empires cultural and economic exploitation of its colonial subjects. Briggss letter states that Berthas mother is a Creole, which could mean either that she is a person of European descent born in the colonies or that she is of black or mixed descent. In either case, Bertha might have evoked British anxieties about having to deal with the other cultures under Britains dominion, and Berthas imprisonment might signify Britains attempt to control and contain the influence of these subject cultures by metaphorically locking them in the attic. Slide 10 Who is the madwoman in the attic? Theory #3: Bertha is a representation of Jane herself. She is the embodiment of Janes repressed fear and anger, both in regard to her specific situation and in regard to oppression. Although Jane declares her love for Rochester, her dreams and apprehensions suggest that she also secretly fears being married to him, perhaps even that she secretly wants to rage against the imprisonment that marriage could become for her. Although Jane does not manifest this fear or rage, Bertha does. Thus, Bertha tears the bridal veil, and it is Berthas existence that stops the wedding from going forth.