Women's Search for Independence in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Table of Contents: Introduction -- Chronology -- Chapter 1. Background on Charlotte Bronte -- 1. The Fight for Independence as Student, Governess, and Writer / Herbert J. Rosengarten -- Charlotte Bronte was reared in Haworth, England, attended boarding school, worked as a governess, went to study abroad, and returned to Haworth to become a novelist. -- 2. The Bronte Sisters at Cowan Bridge School / Elizabeth Gaskell -- Lowood School in Jane Eyre was universally recognized as Cowan Bridge School, which the four Bronte girls attended, two of them dying from conditions there. -- Chapter 2. Jane Eyre and Woman's Search for Independence -- 1. Female Independence as a Central Theme in Jane Eyre / Inga-Stina Ewbank -- In the course of Jane's rebellious pursuit of economic and inner independence, she trades in the traditional religion of the patriarchy for an Earth Mother. -- 2. Vision and Power in Jane Eyre / Peter J. Bellis -- Unlike the subjugated women of her day, Jane Eyre develops her own independent vision, incorporating it into her autobiography. -- 3. Parallels Between Colonialism and Female Oppression / Susan L. Meyer -- Bronte equates and abhors English colonialism and the lack of female independence. -- 4. The Harem Slave and Rochester and Jane / Joyce Zonana -- Jane Eyre is filled with references to oriental enslavement in harems, similar to Jane's vision of what life would be like as Rochester's mistress. -- 5. From Patriarchy to Matriarchy / Nancy Pell -- The heart of Jane Eyre is a young woman's lifelong struggle for justice and independence within a religious-based patriarchy. -- 6. Balancing Romance and Independence / Jean Wyatt -- Outwardly Jane battles in a patriarchy for her self-identity and independence but inwardly never loses her passion for her patriarchal lover. -- 7. Romance Is Not Compatible with Freedom / Melodie Monahan -- In Jane Eyre, Jane's attempt to free herself from society's oppression of women is in sharp conflict with romance with masculine despots. -- 8. Sexual Awakening and Freedom / John Maynard -- Jane's fight for independence involves her sexual awakening and her attempt to keep passion from making her a slave. -- 9. Religion as a Tool of Justification / Margaret Howard Blom -- Jane always makes decisions in her own best interest, using religion only as a justification for her acts but refusing to obey Christian dictates. -- 10. Class Restrictions on Jane's Independence / Terry Eagleton -- The lower-middle-class: Jane is conflicted about a class system that regards her as a servant and refuses to accommodate her search for independence. -- 11. Revolution with an Undertone of Conservatism / Parama Roy -- Jane Eyre is basically a revolutionary, fighting against social and religious tradition for her independence; yet there is an undercurrent of conservatism. -- Chapter 3. Contemporary Perspectives on Female Independence -- 1. Finding Independence and Embracing Feminism / Rosanna Eang -- A young woman in a culture that teaches women to be dependent and obedient, emerges from poverty to find her independent self. -- 2. The Case Against Marriage / Jessica Bennett, Jesse Ellison -- All the old reasons for a woman to marry and relinquish her independence are now irrelevant. -- 3. A Matriarchal Society Is Not Imminent / Katha Pollitt -- Women who strive for education and create strategies for improvement are progressing, but inequality of and demeaning cultural attitudes toward women still create burdens for them. -- 4. Women Must Take Ownership of Their Finances / Suze Orman -- A woman's wise control of her money is the path to true independence and fulfillment and has a direct effect on self-esteem and the lives of those she loves. -- For Further Discussion -- For Further Reading -- Bibliography -- Index. Contributor Bio:  Johnson, Claudia Durst CLAUDIA DURST JOHNSON is Professor of English at the University of Alabama, where she chaired the Department of English for 12 years. She is series editor of the Greenwood Press Literature in Context series, which includes her works "Understanding To Kill a Mockingbird" (1994) and "Understanding the Scarlet Letter" (1995). She is also the author of "To Kill a Mockingbird: Threatening Boundaries, " (1994), "The Productive Tension of Hawthorne's Art" (1981), and "American Actress: Perspectives on the Nineteenth Century" (1984), and coauthor (with Vernon Johnson) of "Memoirs of the Nineteenth-Century Theatre" (Greenwood, 1982) and (with Henry Jacobs) "An Annotated Bibliography of Shakespearean Burlesques, Parodies, and Travesties" (1976), as well as numerous articles on American literature and theatre.