Jane
Eyre is not a fairy tale. It can be described as a fictional coming
of age story with a hint of mystery and a trace of autobiographical details,
but not a fairy tale. With that being said, I often found myself drawing
parallels between the characters and settings in Jane Eyre and the stories I loved (and still love) as a child: Cinderella
and Beauty and the Beast.
Jane herself lost her parents when
she was very young, left to be raised by a wicked Aunt who never wanted her in
the first place. Sound familiar? I don’t know whether Brontë meant this as a
reference to Cinderella, but the comparisons did not end there. Eliza and Georgiana Reed certainly play the
role of evil step-sister at the beginning of the novel. With sisters described
as having a, “spoiled temper, a very acrid spite” and “headstrong and selfish”,
it is no wonder that Jane was eager to leave Gateshead (Brontë 16). Later in
the novel while Jane is discussing her future with Rochester, he details how he
plans to “clasp the bracelets on these fine wrists and load these fairy-like
fingers with rings” (Brontë 303).
Rochester is prepared to treat his bride to all the
adornments fit for royalty, a far cry from the unfortunate situation she was
brought up in. This rags to riches story ends before the wedding of course, but
I still think it is a significant reference.
Another
parallel I found while reading was the similarities between Jane’s relationship
with Rochester and Beauty and the Beast. Rochester is said to have, “a
gentleman’s tastes and habits” just as the Beast is used to life as royalty
(Brontë 159). However, his physical attributes are far less striking, “decisive nose, more remarkable for character
than beauty (…) grim mouth, chin, and jaw (…) neither tall nor graceful”
(Brontë 183). Jane, like Belle, is a
beautiful young maiden full of curiosity and desire to break out of “this
provincial life” (Belle). Going beyond the likeness between the characters,
both pairs share a love that cannot be understood. In Beauty in the Beast, it is the townspeople who are confused while
in Jane Eyre many readers are left
with a similar feeling.
It is
important to note that the seemingly apparent references to these fairy tales
continues, though less obviously, until the end of the novel. Just like any fairy tale, the heroine gets to
marry her love.
Link to Lyrics referenced: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/beauty+and+the+beast/belle_20601426.html
I agree with you that in many ways, Jane Eyre is similar to many of the fairytales that we’ve all grown up with. However, even though Charlotte Bronte draws several parallels to fairytales, she is able to differentiate her novel through her creation of Jane’s character. In fairytales, often the main female protagonist is someone who suffers through life and waits for her prince to rescue her from her misery. Moreover, usually in fairytales, the main female protagonist is usually submissive and fails to fight for her beliefs.
ReplyDeleteIn direct contrast, Jane Eyre (the main female protagonist in the novel) is a strong and independent woman. Jane constantly fights for what she believes in and stands up for her principles. She makes sure that she is treated as an equal by those around her.
Furthermore, unlike fairytales where the main female protagonist’s main goal in life is to get married, Jane’s main goal is to become a powerful and experienced woman. At one point in the novel, Jane states, “I longed for a power of vision which might overpass that limit; which might reach the busy world, towns, regions full of life I had heard of but never seen; that then I desired more of practical experience that I possessed” (129). Jane has a desire to explore the world and to learn as much about it as she possibly can. She wants to become an independent woman that holds a respectable and distinguished position in society.
I had never considered drawing parallels to classic Disney movies while reading Jane Eyre but your analysis makes me realize that there are striking parallels. When reading the book I saw the allusions to fairytales and fantasy stories, such as when Jane was worried that Mr. Rochester’s dog was one of “Bessie’s Gytrash-a lion-like creature with long hair and a huge head” (132). Throughout the novel there are multiple references to supernatural beings, but now that I think of it, there are underlying connections to Cinderella. I agree that Mrs. Reed represents the evil stepmother, while her two daughters could be viewed as the evil stepsisters. Jane also follows the plot line when she takes matters into her own hands and leaves Lowood to try to get a better life, just as Cinderella goes to the ball. As for the reference to Beauty and the Beast I see it less in the novel, but I can still see why you drew the reference based on the love stories. Both Belle and Jane love men who are deemed unlovable by society, and both are poor and not the obvious choice for the rich Beast and Mr. Rochester. Yet in the end of both stories love conquers all and despite all of the reasons why readers and viewers believe that the couples should not end up together, they do. Overall I found these parallels fascinating because they had never crossed my mind, yet there are clear similarities once they were brought to my attention.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree with this post and the examples that were given – that many characteristics of the novel can be likened to fairy tales – I do think it might be far fetched to explicitly call Jane Eyre a fairy tale because of the ways in which the two can be vastly different. In some ways, the plot of Jane Eyre, makes me think of modern day Disney fairy tales and makes me think Bronte might have been truly ahead of her time with Jane’s character. In some of the modern Disney fairy tales, like Frozen, the female protagonist challenges gender norms in ways that most other fairy tales have not done before. Jane from the very beginning of Jane Eyre does not cope well with simply fading into the background especially when she feels she is being mistreated. She rejects gender norms by standing up for herself and not following conventional roles in society that have been laid out for her. In Frozen, Anna meets a prince at the ball and afterwards believes that she wants to get married to him. Her sister, Elsa, exclaims “Anna, you can’t marry a man you just met!” (“Disney Does Gender” 1). This comment is sort of a self-ridicule of all the previous Disney plot lines of princesses that continually meet men and are married to them shortly after. The plot continues so that Anna finds her true love through mutual experiences and a friendship – a deeper connection than social status and looks. In Jane Eyre, these are the same fundamental principles that attract Jane to Rochester. Rochester treated Jane better than most of the men she had encountered throughout her life. They are able to develop a type of friendship that goes beyond her job description. After one of their nightly conferences Jane states, “The ease of his manner freed me from painful restraint: the friendly frankness, as correct as cordial, with which he treated me, drew me to him. I felt at times, as if he were my relation, rather than my master… So happy, so gratified did I become with this new interest added to life” (146).
ReplyDeleteWallace, D. February 08, 2014. Disney Does Gender. Retrieved March 08, 2017, from https://blogs.longwood.edu/comm470danawallace/2014/02/09/you-cant-marry-a-man-you-just-met-disney-does-gender/
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