LLCE Jane Eyre ART FORMS and DEBATES OF IDEAS

« Jane Eyre ART FORMS and DEBATES OF IDEAS ART FORMS and DEBATES OF IDEAS Art and protest Art that sparks debate Charlotte Brontë uses her story to convey messages and denounce things / denounce oppression and fight for a fairer world. The novel reveals social inequalities due to industrialization and exposing social issues. In a period of changes in Victorian society, there was a growing gap between the rich and the poor and many inequalities which led to social reforms all through the 19th century which helped to improve the electoral system, the situation and rights of women, education, justice, and particularly the working conditions of factory workers. QUESTIONING SOCIAL RULES, CONVENTIONS, ROLES, VALUES and PRINCIPLES and ENCOURAGING READERS TO THINK - Jane embodies the fight against GENDER and CLASS INEQUALITIES (equality was not in the norm). Indeed, Jane, as an orphan and a woman, questions the social norms of her time. The novel thus becomes a means of criticizing rigid social structures and a rigid set of rules (there were many manners in the Victorian era) and defending women’s rights. In a male-dominated patriarchal society, men are supposed to be strong, independent, free and women are supposed to be shy, emotional, quiet, weak and associated with being at home and doing nothing more than educating children and making food.

It was also rare for a woman to make her own decisions.

Individualism and determination were not common for a woman at that time. - The novel addresses many issues that continue to be debated today, challenging taboos and myths, breaking the rules and questioning gender roles, women’s role in society, morality (high moral principles and moral values) and the relationship between the individual and society. To some extent, the novel documents the hidden truth. ART FORMS and DEBATES OF IDEAS The Art of debate - Jane engages in intellectual and moral debates with the characters around her, whether it is with Miss Temple, Mr. Rochester or St. John Rivers. - A peculiar aesthetic in the book reflects debates: the Gothic aesthetic reflects the dark and narrow society at that time (exclusion of women, many inequalities and poverty). Social status in 19th century Britain was very unequal especially for children obliged to work and women, judged shy, fragile and dependent on their men, on their husbands. (John’s behavior towards Jane reflects this idea in a scene where he tells her the house is his and she depends on the family because she is a girl and an orphan…) Gender roles were too strict and too unflexible and women’s conditions were not very good. Only men had money, and women had financial security through marriage or their father.

They were judged dependent.

(The Victorian era was marked by high moral principles and a strict social hierarchy especially in marriage and divorce). Charlotte Bronte denounces the rules of a patriarchal tyrant in a male-dominated society in which women could not have a real voice. She makes us think of women’s conditions at the time. The author presents us with a unique heroine voicing her opinion despite the strict rules imposed on her by her social status, which shows that women were not allowed to express their opinions. The author conveys a message of free will and reinforces Jane’s characterization as a determined and original character. Jane, a fictional character, embodies a Jane, a fictional character, embodies a feminist and independent thought about women. Jane wants to be free and independent, so it questions women’s roles (free women don’t need men, so it debunks the idea that women need men). For example, it was rare for a woman to walk alone without a chaperone, especially at night (but Jane often walks alone). For example, Jane’s decision to leave Mr. Rochester despite her love for him raises questions about personal autonomy and sacrifices that women are often forced to make. - Writing was deemed unsuitable for women.

Paradoxically enough, many novels were written by women at that time: female writers used male pseudonyms, and most romantic writers were women and most readers were women, so women questioned the norm. PROTOFEMINISM: feminist ideas before the term “feminism” was coined in the 20th century (strong female heroines and reflection on women’s conditions.) feminist and independent thought about women. Hiring a GOVERNESS was a symbol of social status.(Charlotte Bronte used her real-life experience to write the novel, create her character and criticize some aspects of society).

Governesses had a peculiar place in upper-class families and wealthier middleclass families who employed them. - Difference of social status between social classes: ex: Rochester and Jane: rich/poor, master / servant. The relationship between Rochester and Jane is unconventional.

Governesses were not supposed to fall in love with their master because of the social hierarchy at that time. Rochester and Jane ignore conventions and overcome social rules. - The book criticizes EDUCATION, which was based on social classes.  These themes encourage readers to reflect and discuss gender roles, women’s position and social expectations. - The book criticizes RELIGION in workhouses, religious deviances and abuse, religious hypocrisy (ex: the well-dressed daughters of Brocklehurst), the radical teaching of the Bible and the Christian faith in the institutions (Christianism at Lowood, how Mr.

Brocklehurst tells Jane she is Satan’s relative; he uses religion as a pretext to persecute girls, etc.) - Criticism of education in institutions like Lowood, where poor children were mistreated. - The book denounces the BAD TREATMENT OF CHILDREN and especially ORPHANS in the Victorian era. (« orphans were either raised by relatives or sent to workhouses depending on their social status ») - Criticism of religion in workhouses and the radical teaching of the Bible and the Christian faith in these institutions (Christianism in Lowood, the abuse of authority of Mr. Brocklehurst, how Mr.

Brocklehurst tells Jane she is Satan’s relative; he uses religion as a pretext to persecute girls, etc.) The author questions the values supposedly dear to religious orphan asylums. INTEREST IN THE NOVEL in the 19th - The bitter reality of the treatment century: The novel became very popular in of children and the “crazy lunatic in the Victorian age.

It provided entertainment the attic”. but also sensitized readers to social problems. People wanted literature to reflect contemporary society.

They wanted to read stories that were close to what they lived.

The novel was aimed at amusing the middle class and people had a new interest in the psychology and feelings of the character. So, readers wanted to identify with the characters. SOCIAL REALISM Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real sociopolitical conditions of the working class as a means to criticize the power structures behind these conditions / to express SOCIAL CRITICISM. Jane Eyre: a social novel / a novel of social realism (= roman à visée sociale) A novel of social realism is a literary genre that focuses on the depiction of everyday life, particularly the struggles and experiences of ordinary people in a socioeconomic context. Autres documen ts - Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens, 1838: SOCIAL REALISM (denunciation of child labour and religion in workhouses) Dickens’s novels contain both humour and tragedy.

Many of his characters are - Oliver Twist: child labour - film adaptations of Oliver Twist (1968, Carole Reed and 2005) - I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach, 2016 picturesque or grotesque, close to caricature.

But Dickens also wanted his novels to reform society and used them to criticize poverty, crowded slums, the exploitation of children, the absurdities of the law - any form of cruelty or social injustice. - Painting “Applicants for Admission to a Casual Ward”, Sir Samuel Luke Field, 1874 - video by Isaac Gotian, 2018 “Children at work” - Billy Elliot (SOCIAL REALISM with miners’ conditions + Opposing the Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher) - I, Daniel Blake, Ken Loach, 2016: SOCIAL REALISM a social realist film. - video: “#We are all Daniel Blake” (2016) - Sorry, we missed you, Ken Loach, 2019 - The God of Small Things, by Arundhati ROY published in 1997: The caste system in India, denunciation of class inequalities and the situation of Untouchables. - Banksy, Follow your dreams - Cancelled, 2010 -George the Poet “Search Party”, 2015 (rapper and spoken-word artist) - Sorry, we missed you, Ken Loach, 2019 - Banksy, Follow your dreams -Cancelled, 2010 - George the Poet “Search Party”, 2015 - The God of Small Things, by Arundhati ROY published in 1997: the caste system in India - The painting “Leaving Home” by William Gilbert Gaul in 1907 - Lee Miller: the work of women during World War II. EXPRESSION and CONSTRUCTION of the SELF EXPRESSION and CONSTRUCTION of the SELF EXPRESSION and CONSTRUCTION of the SELF Staging the self Exploring the self through art: the self as subject and object of Initiation and learning Growing up in the Anglo-Saxon world: becoming an adult as a Expression of emotions Jane Eyre FEELING INTENSE EMOTIONS.... »