Friday, February 21, 2014

Jane Eyre---LR

Goodness:
Q: How is “goodness” measured by Mrs. Reed and Bessie? How do their perceptions of “goodness” affect Jane?

“a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgianna Reed” (63)

“there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner. Be seated somewhere; and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent” (63)  

What is Jane’s idea of how people should act?

Jane’s perception: “You are good to those who are goo to you. It is all I ever desire to be. If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people would have it all their own way: they would never feel afraid, and so they would never alter, but would grow worse and worse. When we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we would as hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again” (119) 

How does Charlotte Bronte evoke feelings in her writing? What is your sense of Jane’s predicament as a child?


In regards to elevation in society, how did Jane’s schooling help her social elevation? Would staying at the Reed’s given her any other prospects? (marriage)

How do we see Jane react to class differences? (p. 139), her first impression of Mrs. Fairfax? 

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