Jane Eyre Critical Reception
Gilbert and Gubar
❥ “Bertha breaks all the conventions women were supposed to conform to”
❥ Bertha is Jane’s “truest and darkest double”
❥ “Bertha is a political symbol of female rage against patriarchy”
❥ “In one sense Jane and Rochester begin their relationship as master and servant,… in
another they begin as spiritual equals”
❥ Rochester “had married Bertha Mason for status, for sex, for money, for everything but
love and equality”
Elaine Showalter
❥ “Red Room conveys Jane’s transition from childhood to adulthood”
❥ “Lowood attempts to destroy their individuality; represents sexual repression”
Terry Eagleton
❥ Tension between “passionate rebellion and cautious conformity”
❥ Inheritance allows Jane independence and power over Rochester as she “comes to him
on her own terms”
M Jeanne Peterson
❥ “She was and wasn’t a member of the family, was and wasn’t a servant”
Rob Worrall
❥ Jane “refused to subscribe to the Victorian mantra”
Jina Politi:
❥ “Jane cannot be placed in the slot of working class, neither can she be considered part
of her aunt’s class”
❥ Jane’s refusal to be subordinate to Rochester is hollow because of Jane’s complicity in
a patriarchal system
Penny Boumelha:
❥ “Jane’s rise in social status comes in fact as a con rmation of what is already there
rather than a transformation”
Eric Solomon:
❥ “The novel is divided into four acts and a brief conclusion. In each act the same scenes
are played out: Jane comes into con ict with authority, defeats it by her inner strength,
and departs into exile”
❥ “At Lowood, self-control defeats the inside force of Jane’s own passion”
Jean Wyatt:
❥ “Jane’s passion for Rochester follows the lines of a girl’s love for her father”
❥ “This sequence of life intensi ed upon the entrance of a hero encourages female
readers to think of their time alone as a mere prelude”
Elizabeth Bronfen:
❥ “Helen re ects her shy, frightened self-abnegation which must be transformed to
boldness”
fl fi fl fi
Gilbert and Gubar
❥ “Bertha breaks all the conventions women were supposed to conform to”
❥ Bertha is Jane’s “truest and darkest double”
❥ “Bertha is a political symbol of female rage against patriarchy”
❥ “In one sense Jane and Rochester begin their relationship as master and servant,… in
another they begin as spiritual equals”
❥ Rochester “had married Bertha Mason for status, for sex, for money, for everything but
love and equality”
Elaine Showalter
❥ “Red Room conveys Jane’s transition from childhood to adulthood”
❥ “Lowood attempts to destroy their individuality; represents sexual repression”
Terry Eagleton
❥ Tension between “passionate rebellion and cautious conformity”
❥ Inheritance allows Jane independence and power over Rochester as she “comes to him
on her own terms”
M Jeanne Peterson
❥ “She was and wasn’t a member of the family, was and wasn’t a servant”
Rob Worrall
❥ Jane “refused to subscribe to the Victorian mantra”
Jina Politi:
❥ “Jane cannot be placed in the slot of working class, neither can she be considered part
of her aunt’s class”
❥ Jane’s refusal to be subordinate to Rochester is hollow because of Jane’s complicity in
a patriarchal system
Penny Boumelha:
❥ “Jane’s rise in social status comes in fact as a con rmation of what is already there
rather than a transformation”
Eric Solomon:
❥ “The novel is divided into four acts and a brief conclusion. In each act the same scenes
are played out: Jane comes into con ict with authority, defeats it by her inner strength,
and departs into exile”
❥ “At Lowood, self-control defeats the inside force of Jane’s own passion”
Jean Wyatt:
❥ “Jane’s passion for Rochester follows the lines of a girl’s love for her father”
❥ “This sequence of life intensi ed upon the entrance of a hero encourages female
readers to think of their time alone as a mere prelude”
Elizabeth Bronfen:
❥ “Helen re ects her shy, frightened self-abnegation which must be transformed to
boldness”
fl fi fl fi
