This book continues to be extremely frustrating to me. Jane Eyre is a girl who almost creates problems for herself, in my opinion. From the beginning of the book, we see that she is over analytical, yet somehow is completely irreverent to the fact that she places herself in situations. She knew that he quirks were maddening to Mrs. Reed, however she still chose to conduct herself however she wanted, regardless of the consequence it lead to with Mrs. Reed. I’m not siding with Mrs.Reed, I’ve made it clear I don’t like her character, but Jane could make things easier on herself and chooses not to. By leaving the pearl necklace she knowingly leaves Thornfield without a dime in her pocket, and sets herself up to beg. Again, this was her decision. I understand how hardships make her a stronger character, but does it count as a hardship if it was a conscious decision on her part? She’s throwing herself down a flight of stairs and asking people to feel sorry for her.
Oh, man. I kind of want to agree with you here. I absolutely see what you're saying. And yet, I also kind of disagree. I feel like no matter what Jane did, she would irk Mrs. Reed; it was a no-win situation for Jane. But yes, she does set herself up to beg. However, I was on the unpopular side of Jane-chester: I wanted her to leave because I felt that it was an emotionally abusive relationship. But yes, she definitely should have given herself more of a chance for survival.
ReplyDeleteI feel that irking Mrs. Reed was absolutely unavoidable, but I do think that Jane makes a decision, whether it's subconscious or conscious, to allow her own self to be dictated by others' desires and needs. With that said, I liked that Jane left the necklace behind; I felt it symbolized leaving her abusive relationship behind. She finally made a decision on her own account... she knew what she was worth, and she knew that it was more than a pearl necklace.
ReplyDeleteA great little debate springing up here!
ReplyDelete