Philology Sciences
Gorkovenko S.V., Mustafina K.E.
Kostanay State University, named after A.Baitursynov
Charlotte Bronte- the expert of female character sketch on the example
of the novel "Jane Eyre."
Charlotte Bronte’s novel "Jane Eyre" is an
amazing work of high artistry. This novel brought her a howling success. From
the date of its publication this novel caused numerous and often dissonant reviews, but
received wide acclaim of the progressive writers.
"Jane Eyre" is a social-psychological novel
of formation. It reveals the spiritual life of the heroine and forms a proud, hot
tempered, passionate and striving character. The novel is known as
autobiographical, though represented persons and events aren’t directly related
to the life of the author. Obviously inner feelings of the heroine are very
similar to the experiences of Charlotte Bronte. In fact she departed out of
this world at the age thirty, never having enjoyed marriage and maternal
happiness that she had given to Jane.
Jane’s image is based upon the principle of contrast.
Here Charlotte Bronte contrasts the appearance of the heroine and her intelligence,
the beauty of her soul. “and the strange
little figure there gazing at me, with a white face and arms specking the
gloom, and glittering eyes of fear moving where all else was still, had the
effect of a real spirit…” as thus Jane saw herself in the mirror. Not every
child gets up the nerve to look at the image in the mirror at night and to
compare oneself with a real spirit. The author shows us that when Jane was
little, even at that time she had already her own opinion. Jane said: “I had read Goldsmith’s History of Rome, and
had formed my opinion of Nero, Caligula…Also I had drawn parallels in silence,
which I never thought thus to have declared aloud.”
It is inner speech which is one of the main methods of
the image-building of the heroine. An interior monolog is very emotional in the
novel. Some kind of elevation of style in the interior monolog of the heroine
is attained only because of using literary language and complex syntax. “I could not see how poor people had the
means of being kind; and then to learn to speak like them, to adopt their
manners, to be uneducated, to grow up like one of the poor women I saw
sometimes nursing their children or washing their clothes at the cottage doors
of the village of Gateshead: no, I was not heroic enough to purchase liberty at
the price of caste”.
Inner thoughts, dreams render us her real desires and
true image. “I dressed myself with care:
obliged to be plain—for I had no article of attire that was not made with
extreme simplicity—I was still by nature solicitous to be neat.
It was not my habit to
be disregardful of appearance or careless of the impression I made: on the
contrary, I ever wished to look as well as I could, and to please as much as my
want of beauty would permit. I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer; I
sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and small cherry mouth;
I desired to be tall, stately, and finely developed in figure; I felt it a
misfortune that I was so little, so pale, and had features so irregular and so
marked”.
Also Charlotte Bronte describing the appearance used the vocabulary of
different emotional coloring. Simile – is one of the main expressive means that
emphasize the spirit of the heroine. “I
was like nobody there; I had nothing
in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage.”
“ They were not bound to
regard with affection a thing that
could not sympathise with one amongst them; a heterogeneous thing, opposed to them in temperament, in capacity,
in propensities; a useless thing,
incapable of serving their interest, or adding to their pleasure; a noxious thing, cherishing the germs
of indignation at their treatment, of contempt of their judgment. I know that
had I been a sanguine, brilliant,
careless, exacting, handsome, romping child…”.
Jane’s unsightliness was always brought into focus by
the author in the speech of other personages:
“…you are genteel
enough; you look like a lady, and it is as much as ever I expected of you: you
were no beauty as a child.” – said Bessie.
“…and whether
she was a little person, rather thin and a bit pale-faced.” –said
Mr.Rochester.
Characteristics that are
given to Jane by other personages to some extent are descriptive of themselves.
So, for example Blanche’s words about Jane such as “creeping creature”, “that
person” . Charlotte Bronte uses superciliousness in the tone of her Blanche to
show us, that she is a high-fed spoiled young woman and she thinks if little
account to Jane. Though that Jane worked hard for the bacon.
But St. John claimed “Jane is not
such a weakling as you would make her… I consider you a
specimen of a diligent, orderly, energetic woman…” These words all of a piece show us a
character of St. John.
The narrative description
of Jane’s appearance is in the dialogs between Jane and Rochester. Mr.
Rochester’s interest in Jane also is
evidenced in the dialogs.
“You looked very
much puzzled, Miss Eyre; and though you are not pretty any more than I am
handsome, yet a puzzled air becomes you…”-
continued Mr. Rochester. But when Rochester
turns out to be a Gypsy and reads fortune to Jane, the author let us into the
most exact full image of the main heroine. “The flame flickers in the eye; the eye shines like dew; it looks soft
and full of feeling; it smiles at my jargon: it is susceptible; impression
follows impression through its clear sphere; where it ceases to smile, it is
sad; an unconscious lassitude weighs on the lid: that signifies melancholy
resulting from loneliness.”
A young writer presented
us the beauty and dramatics of soul-making of a lady struggle against the
social fate. In spite of the fact that Mr. Rochester said: “I see no enemy to a fortunate issue but in the brow;
and that brow professes to say,—‘I can live alone, if self-respect, and
circumstances require me so to do.”
A strong moral power is
embodied in the main heroine – a young governess. She esteemed her independence
and dignity. “Never,” said Rochester, as
he ground his teeth, “never was anything at once so frail and so indomitable.”
When Jane takes a position of a beloved woman evaluative lexis is
prevailing. “Jane, you look blooming, and
smiling, and pretty,” said he: “truly
pretty this morning. … This little sunny-faced girl with the dimpled cheek
and rosy lips; the satin-smooth hazel hair, and the radiant hazel eyes?” –said her darling.
The net result is that Charlotte Bronte despite
everything created a portrait of a happy woman. “I hold myself supremely
blest—blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband’s life as
fully as he is mine.”
Charlotte Bronte manifested herself as a brilliant
expert of female character sketch. Only carefully
crafted speech and stylistic element were used to
show the real image of the main heroine. But the main aim that she gorgeously
reached was to show the feelings and inner world of Jane. She sensationally
described the atmosphere of that time, though it is so hard to understand the
past. The more years and years it was ago, the more difficult for us to
understand it. The epochs separate not as much as the time, but human’s
perception.
Charlotte Bronte created images of bright individuals,
extraordinary figures whose characters are brought to the light only on
exception cases. And this is opposed to the age of Enlightenment. She created
such an emotional atmosphere, which presents us all-consuming passion of the
figures.
Ñïèñîê
èñïîëüçîâàííîé ëèòåðàòóðû
1. Áðîíòå Ø. Äæåéí Ýéð. Ì.:
Èíîñòðàííàÿ ëèòåðàòóðà, 1982.
2. Ñîêîëîâà Å.À. Òâîð÷åñòâî
Øàðëîòòû Áðîíòå. Ì.: 1995
3. Åñèí À.Á. Ïðèíöèïû è
ïðèåìû àíàëèçà ëèòåðàòóðíîãî ïðîèçâåäåíèÿ .Òðåòüå èçäàíèå. Ì.: Ôëèíòà, Íàóêà,
1998.