Abstract

Charlotte Brontë (1815-1855) is a famous female writer in the nineteenth century of English. Jane Eyre is generally considered as Brontë’s greatest novel and a classic of English literature. Most of the plots of the novel are based on the author’s life experiences.

This thesis gives a feminist analysis of Jane Eyre from three aspects: her pursuit of economic independence and equal marriage, and her fight for social equality. Meanwhile,it analyzes Rochester from three aspects of the perspective of feminism: obedience, confusion and opposition. In the end, the thesis analyzes the destiny of three women protagonists, revealing the limitation of feminism at Charlotte Brontë’s time. 

Through the analysis of the feminist thoughts reflected in Jane Eyre, this thesis reflects Brontë’s attitude to life and the psychological emotions of the main characters and helps the reader get more authentic pictures of the Victorian Period and much better comprehension of Charlotte Brontë and her works. 

Key words:   feminism; independence; equality; limitation

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Feminist Analysis of Jane Eyre-2

2.1 Jane Eyre’s Economic Independence-3

2.2 Jane Eyre’s Fight for Equality-5

2.3 Jane Eyre’s Equal Marriage-7

3. Analysis of Rochester from Feminism-9

3.1 Obedience-9

3.2 Confusion-11

3.3 Opposition-12

4. Analysis of Feminism Limitation in Jane Eyre-14

4.1 Jane Eyre’s Limitation-14

4.2 Helen Burns’s Limitation-17

4.3 Bertha Mason’s Limitation-18

5.Conclusion-21

References-23