Tuesday, June 24, 2014

In Jane Eyre, through chapters 11-15 explain Jane’s identification with Adele.

This is a very interesting question to consider, because
it is possible to view every other character in this book as being relevant only in the
way that they cast light on the central character, that of Jane Eyre. Jane is juxtaposed
and influenced with almost every character in the book, and Adele is no exception. You
might like to consider the way in which Adele and Jane are presented as doubles of each
other. Both are orphans, and both find themselves dependent upon others. Note, for
example, how Jane in Chapter Fifteen responds to being told about Adele's past and that
she is the illegitimate offspring of a French opera singer who was wanton in her sexual
relationships:


readability="15">

Adele is not answerable for either her mother's
faults or yours; I have a regard for her, and now that I know she is, in a sense,
parentless--forsaken by her mother and disowned by you, sir--I shall cling closer to her
than before. How could I possibly prefer the spoilt pet of a wealthy family, who would
hate her governess as a nuisance, to a lonely little orphan, who leans towards her as a
friend?



Jane's personal
experience of life as an orphan and being disowned by everybody gives her a real
appreciation of Adele's position. In addition, you might like to think about the way
that Adele, like so many other characters, represents one extreme that Jane has to
battle against: that of being overpowered by passion and sensibility. Adele is persented
as rather a silly little girl who is overly fond of presents and dresses. The way that
her feelings rule her is something that Jane recognises and works to correct. Yet Jane
herself has been subject to the overwhelming force of her feelings: let us not forget
the famous Red Room incident. In this way, Adele presents another aspect of Jane's
internal psyche.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the meaning of the 4th stanza of Eliot's Preludes, especially the lines "I am moved by fancies...Infinitely suffering thing".

A century old this year, T.S. Eliot's Preludes raises the curtain on his great modernist masterpieces, The Love...