Philology science
Mustafina K.E., Gorkovenko S.V.
A. Baitursynov Kostanay State University
CHARLOTTE
BRONTE – THE EXPERT OF FEMALE CHARACTER SKETCH ON THE EXAMPLE OF
"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.