In class today, Dr. H. talked about the different
voices of Jane Eyre. On page 19, there is an example of Jane using one of her “voices.”
She describes how children have feelings, but are not able to analyze those
feelings. I believe Jane is trying to explain her own behavior (because it was
not appropriate for children to act this way in the Victorian era) and maybe
coming up with reasons or excuses for
her future outburst with Mrs. Reed. I think this is Jane’s grown up voice
looking back on the situation and leading the reader through the thought processes
of little Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë was brilliant in this way. She uses
several different voices throughout the book. One of my favorite things that
she does is to start a paragraph with, “Now reader…,” and explain something
that is happening in the text. She gives us more of an explanation of the
events that are occurring. It does not stop the flow of the book; I think it is
courteous of the author to do this. It is almost as if she knows when we might
have a question about the happenings in the chapter.
I really like how Bronte does this too! Its almost as if she's gently guiding us through the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree, which is honestly a (life-savor) this book is wonderful to read and I feel as though she wrote it so we could kind of put ourselves in her place gives us more reason to gain experience from it.
ReplyDeleteI was also going to comment on the "Now reader" paragraphs in the text. I was wondering if this was conventional for the time period? In postmodern literature, I notice many authors addressing the reader, but do many 19th century authors do it as well? It was interesting that Bronte also uses it! It makes me feel as if Jane is telling the story directly to me.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to see you all talking about this! For some readers, this (the "Reader" move) might seem heavy-handed or take you out of the moment, but I think Bronte does it quite well. For me, it adds intimacy: we get the feel of Jane talking to us.
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