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1、You cant judge a book by its cover, but you can judge a book by its first sceneA critical literary analysis of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte简爱简爱文学评论文学评论“There was no possibility of a walk that day” (p. 7). In this simple sentence, Charlotte Bronte establishes the motif of entrapment and subsequent i
2、ndependence that recurs throughout the novel Jane Eyre. In the first scene of the novel, the setting helps to shape Janes character. Jane introduces the first of numerous images of birds as she reads Bewicks History of Birds, and also the parallel imagery between humans and animals. Janes first arti
3、culation foreshadows the plot of the novel, predominantly the persistent thread of her mobility. These literary elements, which have their foothold in the first scene of Jane Eyre, manifest broader themes throughout the novel. Janes first utterance establishes the space that she occupies throughout
4、the novel: “There was no possibility of taking a walk that dayI was glad of it” (p. 7). Janes simple ascertaining of the fact she must remain inside the dreary, hostile Gateshead environment foreshadows her continued plight as a prisoner of personal and circumstantial constraints, and her endeavors
5、to break free from these constraints. Janes entrapment begins at Gateshead, where circumstances have placed her under the care of her cruel aunt. The inclement weather situates her inside the Gateshead library, enshrined in the window-seat: “Folds of scarlet drapery shut in my view to the right hand
6、; to the left were the clear panes of glass, protecting, but not separating me from the drear November day” (p. 8). Here, although she is a prisoner within the house, she is also a captive of the fantasies of literature: They were those which treat of the haunts of sea-fowl; of the solitary rocks an
7、d promontories by them only inhabited; of the coast of Norway, studded with isles from its southern extremity, the LindesnessEach picture told a story” (p. 8-9). Physically, she becomes a prisoner in the red room: “Take her away to the red-room, and lock her in there” (p. 12). This abuse is characte
8、ristic of Mrs. Reeds general attitude towards Jane, continually preventing her from being a loved member of the family, instead maintaining her as a relative no better than a servant. Mrs. Reeds torment is a method of palpable entrapment. However, Janes entrapment, even as a child, is also emotional
9、, for Jane is continually trapped within other peoples perceptions of her. Jane is trapped within her familys opinion of her as a “bad animal” and a heterogeneous thing, opposed to them in temperament, in capacity, in propensities; a useless thing, incapable of serving their her aunt and cousins int
10、erest, or adding to their pleasure, a noxious thing (p. 116) Jane has no means of breaking free from her aunts negative opinion of her, and as long as she resides at Gateshead she is trapped within a seemingly vile personage. Jane struggles against this imprisonment when she later confronts her aunt
11、. This saga of entrapment and subsequent confrontation extends throughout the novel, as Jane contests Mr. Rochesters depiction of her as a grand beauty, and St. Johns hopes for her as a missionarys wife. Before Jane has the means to escape physically from such cages, she escapes mentally by way of h
12、er uncles library. “I returned to my book- Bewicks History of British Birds with Bewick on my knee, I was then happy” (p. 8-9). As Jane returns to her book of birds, the story recurrently refers to images of birds. Jane parallels birds. At the simplest level, Janes name, Eyre, sounds like the medium
13、 that buoys up birds in flight. However, the bird image is also used to shed light on the contrasting personalities of Jane and Mr. Rochester. Jane is Mr. Rochesters sweet skylark: “Oh! You are indeed there, my sky-lark!I heard one of your kind an hour ago, singing high over the wood” (p. 463). Mr.
14、Rochester, on the other hand, is referred to as a bird of prey even before his blindness. Jane is caught by his “falcon-eye flashing, tenderness and passion in every lineament” (p. 286). When she finds him after the fire, the bird imagery once again dominates her description: I saw a change: that lo
15、oked desperate and brooding- that reminded me of some wronged and fettered wild-beast or bird, dangerous to approach in his sullen woe. The caged eagle, whose gold-ringed eyes cruelty has extinguished. (p. 454) As illustrated, the possibility of Jane and Mr. Rochester being united in marriage is abo
16、ut as unlikely as a falcon and sky-lark sharing a nest and feeding each other worms. The metaphor allows the reader to envision the oddity of such a couple. Mr. Rochester again uses bird imagery to illustrate his opinion, and furthermore, admiration, of Jane: “Childish and slender creature Jane! It seemed as if a linnet had hopped to my foot and proposed to bear me on its tiny wing” (p. 329). He sees in Jane a full hear
