Jane Eyre as a valued text
During 1848, shortly after the appearance of Jane Eyre, Victorians themselves believed that the Victorian novel was the genre least likely to survive into the next generation. A novel based only on the mores and customs of Victorian society would surely hold limited value today, except as a historical document. Nevertheless, that idea has turned out to be very wrong. Victorian novelists have demonstrated a staying power and value and Jane Eyre retains power, force and strong value, even in a post modern world. To evaluate why Jane Eyre is a valued text, one must look at critical perspectives on why it was valued during Victorian times as well as why the novel is valued today, 150 years after its original publication. During the early 20th century, Jane Eyre was valued because of things such as language and themes. One must consider that as the world changed and moved toward the 21st century, critics came to see that the novel had other readings in it, such as feminist and Marxist values, and more reasons for why the novel was valued came about. A novel creates its own internal world through the language that it uses. Thackary once quoted, "Who the author can be I can't guess, if a woman, s
The story of a woman in love would be interesting, but not necessarily valued. The story of a woman's fight to express her own personality in love would be interesting but not necessarily valued. Jane Eyre is valued because it is all of these things and much more. It is a love story, it is a fight for free expression of personality in love, but it is also a record of the external conflict between the flesh and the spirit, a conflict that is solved when passion is spent. Jane Eyre may speak for many women, but it speaks also for all of humanity, for the 19th century, as well as the 20th century and will continue to be valued for centuries to come. The detailed exploration of a strong female character's conscience has made readers in recent decades consider Jane Eyre as an influential feminist text. In freeing Jane Eyre from conventional trappings of femininity and granting her liberty to feel and express her feelings, to think and express her thoughts, Charlotte Bronte created what R.B. Martin called "the earliest major feminist novel". This is one major reason why Jane Eyre is valued today. Society has become much more equal between men and women, yet the struggle for equality for women is an extremely value
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Approximate Word count = 821
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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