jane eyre context Flashcards
how old was charlotte when her mother died?
5
which school was charlotte, maria, elizabeth and mary sent to and what happened there?
cowan bridge (a school for clergyman’s daughters) . an outbreak of TB killed maria and elizabeth. charlotte and mary left. charlotte later became a teacher in roe head but then decided to become a private governess. she found this miserable and soon left. she and her sisters set up a schol which was a failure but their literature was not.
what were their pseudonyms?
charlotte - Currer Bell
emily - Ellis Bell
anne - Acton Bell
what does Jane Eyre critique about victorian society?
victorian assumptions about gender and social class.
what aspects of jane eyre are autobiographical?
Helen dies of TB like her sisters.
Mr Brocklehurst is based on Reverend Carus Wilson who ran Cowan Bridge.
John Reed’s descent into alcoholism may be based on her brother.
Jane becomes a governess like charlotte - neutral vantage point to describe oppressive social ideas of 19th century (not part of the family or a servant)
what stages are represnted in the bildungsroman and where?
childhood-gateshead
education-lowood
governess-thornfield
rivers family-moor house
reunion-ferndean
jane becomes a mature woman who narrates the novel retrospectively from these experiences.
what does the gothic focus on?
supernatural experiences, remote landscapes and mysterious occurences which create suspense and fear.Jane’s encounters with ghosts, dark secrets, and sinister plots add a potent and lingering sense of fantasy and mystery to the novel.
how did she die?
he deaths of siblings Emily and Branwell in 1848, and of Anne in 1849, left her feeling dejected and emotionally isolated. In 1854, she wed the Reverend Arthur Nicholls, despite the fact that she did not love him. She died of pneumonia, while pregnant, the following year.
