简爱中女性生态意识解读

A Thesis For

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Charlotte Bronte’s Eco-feminist Consciousness Perceived from Jane Eyre

Specialization: English Literature

Field of Research: English Literature

Name of Author: Liu Liu

Registration Number: 0625804008

Name of Supervisor: Xue Yahong

Title of Supervisor: Professor

Foreign Languages Department

May 17, 2010

昌吉学院 论文（设计）分类号：

本科毕业论文（设计） 密 级：

《简·爱》中夏洛蒂·勃朗特的生态女性意识解读

系 院: 昌吉学院外语系

学科门类: 英语语言文学

专 业: 英国文学

学 号: 0625804008

姓 名: 柳柳

指导教师: 薛亚红

教师职称: 教授

2010年5月 17 日

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本人郑重声明：所呈交的论文是本人在导师的指导下独立进行研究所取得的研究成果。除了文中特别加以标注引用的内容外，本论文不包含任何其他个人或集体已经发表或撰写的成果或作品。本人完全意识到本声明的法律后果由本人承担。

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摘 要

维多利亚时代女作家夏洛蒂·勃朗特在1847年以柯勒·贝尔之名发表的小说《简·爱》自出版至今160余年来一直备受关注。夏洛蒂·勃朗特摒弃传统的写作风格，塑造了一个像自己一样个子不高、其貌不扬，但却具有抗争精神的女主角。与小说同名的女主角简·爱追求独立与平等的抗争精神，这使她成为了一个典型的追求自我觉醒与平等的女性形象。细读这部作品，笔者发现与其说《简·爱》这部作品是女主角简·爱的罗曼史，不如说是作者夏洛蒂·勃朗特的生态女性主义宣言。因为，作品创作于19世纪的英国，工业化已从城市发展到了农村，如同女性遭受男权社会的压迫一样，大自然遭到了人类的无情践踏。正是这种社会现状唤醒了作者沉睡中的生态女性意识。事实上，在此之前，不少学者曾分别就“女性意识”（邸玲，2007：54）和“悲剧意识”（覃承华，潘建新，2006：98）对夏洛蒂·勃朗特及其作品进行过探讨。然而，对《简·爱》中夏洛蒂·勃朗特的生态女性意识的关注依然不足。

本论文旨在通过对《简·爱》中“月亮”、“石头”、“树”、“火”等意象的分析揭示女性与自然之间存在的既复杂又紧密的联系，结合作品创作的时代背景以及作者的生活环境、家庭及个人等因素在作品中的渗透，分析作者生态女性意识的形成以及在其代表作《简·爱》中的体现：“月亮”的变化暗示着女主角的心理及其命运的变化；“石头”和“树”揭示了女主角对男权社会的不满；具有净化功能的“火”则是女主角的生态女性宣言。笔者通过对以上几方面的分析，探索作品中体现的夏洛蒂·勃朗特的生态女性意识，最终达到揭示19世纪英国妇女为解放妇女和自然、构建一个两性平等的和谐社会而不懈奋斗的事实的目的。

关键词：生态女性主义；意识；意象

Abstract

Jane Eyre, which was written by Victorian woman writer Charlotte Bronte in the name of Currer Bell, has won great popularity for more than 160 years since it was published in 1847. The heroine of this novel is a unique female character to pursue a life of independence. Charlotte Bronte gets rid of traditional writing style and creates a heroine who looks like herself, short and ordinary looking, but has a rebellious spirit. Due to her spirit of struggling for the right to be independent and equal, the heroine who has the same name with this novel becomes the typical unique female character who strives for self-realization and equality. Reading this novel carefully, the author finds that this novel is Charlotte Bronte’s feminist declaration rather than the heroine’s Romance, for this novel was written in the 19th century when industrialization has developed from the cities to the rural areas in Britain, and Nature has been damaged by human beings, just as women were oppressed by the domination of men. Under these circumstances, the author’s eco-feminist consciousness has been wakened from a deep sleep by this existing state of society. As a matter of fact, “feminist consciousness” (Di Ling, 2007:54) and “tragic consciousness” (Qin Chenghua, Pan Jianxin, 2006:98) have been separately adopted into understanding Charlotte Bronte and her writings. Nevertheless, few endeavors have been made to probe Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness in Jane Eyre.

This thesis aims to show the complicated and close relationship between women and Nature by an analysis of images，such as “moon”, “tree”, “fire”, “ice” in Jane Eyre, combining with the social milieu, Charlotte Bronte’s familial influence and personal upbringing, then to explore Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness embodied in this novel: the variety of moon hinted at the change of heroine’s slight and complex psychological sensation and suggested the character’s fate; the “stone” and the “tree” revealed the heroine’s dissatisfaction with patriarchy; and the “fire”, which has the function of purification, was the heroine’s feminist declaration. The author shows the fact of the women in the 19th century in Britain to set free female and Nature and to build a harmonious and equal society for male and female by analysis on these aspects above.

Key words: Eco-feminism；Consciousness；Image

Contents

摘 要 I

Abstract II

Introduction 1

Chapter One Brief Introduction to Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre 4

1.1 A Brief Introduction to the Author 4

1.2 A Brief Introduction to Jane Eyre 4

Chapter Two Formation of Charlotte Bronte’s Eco-feminist Consciousness 6

2.1 Social Milieu 6

2.2 Familial Influence 6

2.3 Personal Upbringing 7

Chapter Three Charlotte Bronte’s Eco-feminist Consciousness in Jane Eyre 9

3.1 Women and Nature 9

3.1 1 Women and Paintings 9

3.1.2 Women and Moon 11

3.2 Men, Women and Nature 12

3.2 1 Image of Stone 12

3.2.2 Image of Tree 13

3.3 Charlotte’s Feminist Declaration 14

3.3.1 Image of Ice 14

3.3.2 Image of Fire 15

Conclusion 16

References 18

Acknowledgements 20

Introduction

The Bronte Sisters are world-famous Victorian women writers who sprang up on the stage of British literature and were called “Bronte Cliff” in England in the 19th century. Among them, Charlotte Bronte is the most successful one. Both foreign and domestic scholars have spent countless hours on Charlotte Bronte and her works, exploring her feminist consciousness, tragic consciousness, independent consciousness etc. from various perspectives. Her masterpiece Jane Eyre, which was published under a pseudonym, Currer Bell, gained great reputation since it was published in 1847. It was considered a milestone in the history of English fiction and gave the literary world of England a big shock. In this novel, Charlotte Bronte created an ordinary woman like herself, short, bland in appearance, from low class, but longed for equality and freedom, fought with the dominance of male and never submitted to her adverse fate. Because the prototype of the heroine was charlotte Bronte herself, this novel is also regarded as Charlotte Bronte’s autobiography.

The story took place in the 19th century, when the industrialization has developed from cities to rural areas in England, and Nature was damaged by human beings. Having been oppressed for a long time, women began to realize the significance of independence and freedom. As a result, a new academic concept, eco-feminism, emerged as the times required. Ecological feminists think nature is to human what female is to male, because female has been oppressed by male for a long time in the patriarchy society. They call on women to launch an ecological revolution to save Nature and themselves. Charlotte Bronte’s feminist consciousness has also been wakened from a deep sleep.

The academic concept, eco-fiminism, or ecological feminism, was coined by a French woman writer —— Francoise d’Eaubonne. It first appeared in her two pieces of works which were published in the 1970s: Le Feminisme ou la Mort (1974) and Ecologie Feminisme: Revolution ou Mutation (1978). In the first book, Francoise d’Eaubonne integrated the feminist viewpoint that women was oppressed by man with the ecological viewpoint that nature was trampled by human beings to “represent women’s potential to bring about an ecological revolution to ensure human survival on this planet. Such an ecological revolution would entail new gender relations between women and men and between human and nature.”(Murphy, 2000：84) At the same time, she tried to call on women to launch an ecological revolution to save themselves and even the earth.

Like all the ecologists, eco-feminists fought against anthropocentrism. They also opposed androcentrism on this basis, and formed a series of theories to link human beings’ control over Nature, racial discrimination and speciesism with men’s oppression to women and deterioration of nature. They believed it had a direct and positive connection between the social mentality of oppressing and controlling women and the social mentality of abuse of natural resources.

So many scholars have paid much attention to the academic concept, eco-feminism, since it was advanced. Fan Caixia (2009:60) pointed out “Charlotte Bronte applies ‘fire’ image to illustrate her feminism in the light of the similarity between female and nature．She succeeds in denouncing the patriarchal society by the voiceless ‘mad woman’ who set fire to and destroyed the old world in the loss of discourse.”

Wang Wenhui (2005:89) mentioned “because of many religious descriptions of the moon and the fire which indicate the fates of the protagonists, Jane Eyre becomes mysterious and obscure. Both the moon and the fire also interpret the agitation and surmounting of love, express the sublimation of reality and ideal. On the other hand, it reveals the theme of the novel which is suffering—searching—being happy. The result is that the theme image comes into being through the religious description and the novel also becomes more meaningful and attractive.”

Fu Yuqun, Li Chengjian (2009:82) showed clearly that “in recent years, domestic researches on eco-feminist criticism have achieved a lot, as is revealed by many essays, thesis, dissertations and some social projects. However, the problems of domestic researches on eco-feminist criticism do exist.”

This thesis aims to analyze Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness using the images, such as “moon”, “stone”, “tree”, “fire”, etc. combining the social background to the novel, the familial influence and the personal upbringing of the author. There are three chapters in this thesis. The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the novel and the author. The second part analyzes the formation of Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness. The search for Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness in Jane Eyre is analyzed in the third chapter. Finally, in the concluding part, a comment on Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness perceived from Jane Eyre is made, and some ideas about the equality between female and male are also stated.

Chapter One Brief Introduction to Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre

In order to analyze Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness perceived from Jane Eyre better, it is necessary to have a brief introduction to this novel and the author of this novel. This chapter aims to introduce Jane Eyre and the author of this novel, Charlotte Bronte briefly.

1.1 A Brief Introduction to the Author

Charlotte Bronte was a famous Victorian woman writer who enjoys worldwide reputation and remains an interesting figure in the world of literary criticism. She was born in Yorkshire, England in 1816. Her father graduated from Cambridge University and was a clergyman who was learned but remained poor all his life. He worked as a clergyman in Haworth, a podunk in Yorkshire. Due to the poverty of family, after their mother died of cancer, Charlotte and her sisters, except the youngest one, Anne, were sent to the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge, which was for the daughters of poor clergymen. Because of the poor conditions of this school, lots of students here were infected with tuberculosis. Maria and Elizabethan, two of Charlotte’s sisters, died from the lung disease. After then, Charlotte and Emily were brought back home and educated by their father. From 1839 to 1841, Charlotte had worked as a governess twice. All these experiences well prepared her for her literary career, especially for her masterpiece, Jane Eyre. In 1847, Jane Eyre was published. This vivid, skillfully constructed novel attracted a great deal of admiration and made Charlotte become a great critical realistic novelist. During all her life, Charlotte Bronte wrote four novels: The Professor, Jane Eyre, Shirley and Villette. Among all her works, Jane Eyre is the most influential one.

1.2 A Brief Introduction to Jane Eyre

In 1846, Charlotte Bronte’s first novel The Professor, which was written under the pseudonym of Currer Bell, was rejected by many publishing houses for it lacked amazing plot and varied taste. Taking publishers’ advice, Charlotte wrote Jane Eyre which still enjoys great popularity up to now. As soon as Jane Eyre was published in 1847, it attracted a great deal of readers. Luo Jingguo (1997) said, “Jane Eyre is the first English novel, even the most powerful and popular novel, which presents the modern view of women’s position in society.” It was regarded as the masterpiece of Charlotte Bronte.

In this novel, Charlotte Bronte created a homonym heroine who was short, bland in appearance, from low class, but longed for equality and freedom, fought with the dominance of male and never submitted to her bad fate.

Jane Eyre was an orphan who lost her parents when she was only a baby. Then she was sent into Gateshead Hall and lived with her uncle Reed, who died shortly after her arrival. After her uncle’s death, Jane who was only ten years old received lots of neglect and abuse from the Reeds, but she never surrendered. Then Mrs. Reed sent her to a charitable school, Lowood, which had a poor condition and was even like a murky prison. After 8 years’ life in Lowood, Jane left there and worked as a governess in Thornfield Hall. Then she fell in love with the master of Thornfield Hall, Edward Rochester. After a series of conflicts, they planned to marry, but on the wedding day at the church, she was informed that Rochester had already married. Jane made up her mind to leave Rochester. After leaving Thornfield Hall, she was taken in by a clergyman, St. John. When St. John proposed to her, she knew, as a matter of fact, St. John did not love her at all, and he just wanted to be a great missionary. As Jane did not want to be a sacrifice, she went back to Rochester. However, when she returned to Thornfield Hall, it had already been ruined there. Bertha Mason, Rochester’ wife, died in the fire and Rochester became blind and lost one arm. Under these circumstances, Jane married Rochester and they lived a happy life. Rich (1973:78) says, “Jane Eyre, motherless and economically powerless, is vulnerable in a highly class— conscious society.” As a matter of fact, this novel is not about Jane Eyre’s romance, but rather about Jane Eyre’s courage, independence and freedom.

Chapter Two Formation of Charlotte Bronte’s Eco-feminist Consciousness

People who live in the society have to be influenced by this society. Thus, the formation of Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness was influenced by many factors: social milieu, familiar influence and personal upbringing.

2.1 Social Milieu

In the middle 19 century, England was governed by Queen Victoria. At the age of Victoria, a strict hierarchy was formed in England and men enjoyed higher social status than women. The society was characterized by turbulence. The capitalism was developing and its internal defects were exposed little by little. The conflicts between employees and employers were fierce. The unemployed lived in poverty and a large number of child laborers were tormented to death. Under this historical background, the first labor movement, Charter Movement, sprang up to make Workers and the Capitalist class equal in politics. In Jane Eyre (2003:103), Rochester was going to “attend a public meeting at Millcote”. This was clearly a Chartists secret meeting. At that moment, Charter Movement sprang up in the North of England. As it happened, Charlotte Bronte’s hometown, Haworth, which was in West of Yorkshire, was also here. However, when Charter Movement was springing up, there were another group of people who were in the lower social position than men. They were women, who were then naturally to be regarded as the vassal of men. They have no rights to accept higher education. “Although women’s colleges were established at Cambridge in 1869 and at Oxford in 1879, women could not take degrees at the university until 1920-1921”(Huang Yanchun, 2006:35). There was no job for them except governess or writer, even so, women was still discriminated against. In such a social system, men had the initiative, while women could only play passive roles in the society. That is to say, women didn’t have their own words and they could only keep silent. The only way they could express their feelings was writing.

All these above made great contributions to the formation of Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness.

2.2 Familial Influence

Charlotte Bronte’s family background had a great effect on the formation of her eco-feminist consciousness. Charlotte Bronte was born in Yorkshire in 1816. Her mother died from cancer when she was very young. Her father, Patrick Bronte, was a poor clergyman. He was peremptory and stern and was a typical Victorian patriarch. Due to the poverty of her family, Charlotte Bronte had to seek a way out and achieve the economic independence for her sisters and herself, because she was the eldest and the most responsible one of the family after her two sisters’ death. At that time, there was no job for women except governess or writer. Ma Yongfeng (2004) says, “(In the Victorian time) to be a governess is the only way open for a woman to earn a living.” Nevertheless, “the status of the governess in Victorian Society was an ambiguous one” (Blamires, 1988:49), because “a governess is a servant, trapped within a rigid social function, which demands industriousness, subservience and self-sacrifice” (Terry, 1988:16). As there were so many unjust things and no one she can seek help from, the only way she can choose was to pursue freedom, equality and independence in her life. So Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness was strengthened.

2.3 Personal Upbringing

In the Victorian time, the convention made women suffer a lot from men’s oppression, and Charlotte Bronte suffered even more because of her own experience. She must obtain everything she wanted through her own effort and struggle, for she could depend on no one.

When Charlotte was very young, she and her sisters were sent to the Clergy Daughters School at Cowan Bridge, which was a philanthropic school founded for the daughters of poor clergymen. Due to the poor conditions there, lots of students were infected with tuberculosis. Her sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, also died from the lung disease. This school also became the prototype of Lowood Institution in Jane Eyre.

“The stronger among the girls ran about and engaged in active games, but sundry pale and thin ones herded together for shelter and warmth in the verandah; and amongst these, as the dense mist penetrated to their shivering frames, I heard frequently the sound of a hollow cough.”(2003:36)

She also created a tragic character named Helen Burns who died from the lung disease and the prototype of Helen Burns was Charlotte’s sister. After then, Charlotte and Emily were brought back home and educated by their father. From 1839 to 1841, Charlotte had worked as a governess twice. However, governess was a humble occupation. She tried to open a school but also failed. In 1852, she married Arthur Bell Niahols, who was her father’s curate, and she was already 38 years old. After their marriage, they lived a happy life, but six months later, Charlotte fell ill and died at the age of 39 in 1855.

The rough and rugged paths of life of Charlotte Bronte: death of her two elder sisters, experience in philanthropic school, poverty of her family, humiliation as a governess, etc. were the essential elements for the formation of Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness.

Chapter Three Charlotte Bronte’s Eco-feminist Consciousness in Jane Eyre

Nature has a close relationship with human beings. It influences us without a moment’s pause. In Jane Eyre, it was Nature which the heroine gained enlightenment from; and it was also Nature which gave power to Jane to struggle with patriarchy. And Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness can be seen everywhere in this novel. In this chapter, the author will try to make an analysis of Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness perceived from the images, such as “moon”, “stone”, “tree”, “fire”, etc.

3.1 Women and Nature

In eco-feminists’ opinion, women and Nature have many similarities. On one hand, Nature was damaged by human beings, and women were oppressed by men. On the other hand, women, as givers of life, are engendered to closer connections with Nature. Nature is like human beings’ mother, for she is selfless to give her children courage and power.

3.1 1 Women and Paintings

Charlotte Bronte was good at painting. In Jane Eyre, she also gave the same skill to the heroine. Charlotte described three pieces of Jane Eyre’s paintings. The first one was described as follow:

“The first picture represented clouds low and livid, rolling over a swollen sea: all the distance was in eclipse: so, too, was the foreground; or rather, the nearest billows, for there was no land. One gleam of light lifted into relief a half-submerged mast, on which sat a cormorant, dark and large, with wings flecked with foam; its beak held a gold bracelet set with gems, that I had touched with as brilliant tints as my palette could yield, and as glittering distinctness as my pencil could impart. Sinking below the bird and mast, a drowned corpse glanced through the green water; a fair arm was the only limb clearly visible, whence the bracelet had been washed or torn” (2003:100).

This painting was Jane Eyre’s pessimistic description of her living environment and yearning for the unknown world. The “swollen sea” which was “no land” was Jane Eyre’s true feeling to the life which was constrained, hopeless and fluctuated, and it was a vivid representation of Jane Eyre’s mental reality: orphan and prisoner. Orphan is the symbol of loneliness and helplessness, and the prisoner embodies the state that human beings’ free will is enslaved and confined in a cangue. However, Charlotte created this character, Jane Eyre, as the one who could not be enslaved and confined. The “fair arm” and the “gold bracelet set with gems” in cormorant’s beak told us that the “drowned corpse” was female. How beautiful the life is. Nevertheless, it was being engulfed by the inexorable sea. That means Charlotte saw it clearly that women were suffering from the oppression and unjustness in patriarchal society, and she was dissatisfied with this state.

“The second painting contained for foreground only the dim peak of a hill, with grass and some leaves slanting as if by a breeze. Beyond and above spread an expanse of sky, dark blue as at twilight: rising into the sky was a woman’s shape to the burst, portrayed in tints as dusk and soft as I could combine. The dim forehead was crowned with a star; the lineaments below were seen as through the suffusion of vapour; the eyes shone dark and wild; the hair streamed shadowy, like a beamless could torn by storm or by electric travail. On the neck lay a pale reflection like moonlight; the same faint luster touched the train of thin clouds from which rose and bowed this vision of the Evening Star”(2003:100).

“A woman’s shape to the burst” was “rising into the sky”, “the eyes shone dark and wild”, all these represented Charlotte’s feminist consciousness to break the authority of men. The crown represented the king. King means domination, and the consciousness of King means the consciousness of freedom. Everyone makes himself or herself a king, and everyone’s life is a course of pursuing the crown and achieving one’s own value. From Gateshead Hall to Lowood, from Thornfield Hall to Moor House, and then Ferndean, the course of Jane Eyre’s life is a course from slave to King. In the course of Jane Eyre’s pursuing the crown, Charlotte made the Kings who had domineered over Jane Eyre fall down from their throne: John Reed killed himself; Mrs. Reed died dissatisfied in regrets; her two female cousins were hostile to each other; beautiful Georgiana married an old man; Eliza spent her remaining years in a convent; Thornfield Hall was in ruins, and Rochester became blind and lost one arm; St. John died in India. All these above showed Charlotte’s feminist consciousness clearly.

The third one with a background that “the pinnacle of an iceberg piercing a polar winter sky… a colossal head, inclined towards the iceberg, and resting against it… a brow quite bloodless white as bone…”(2003:100). The head “resting against” the iceberg must be a male’s. Charlotte let this character lie down and “white as bone” showed us Charlotte’s dissatisfaction at patriarchy and contempt for men. The iceberg was the sedimentary accretion of Jane Eyre’s life experiences. It was also an inexhaustible power to confine life. Charlotte wanted to confine patriarchy by this power, and to protect female’s equal right in patriarchal society.

In these three paintings, Charlotte combined female with nature and expressed her strong eco-feminist consciousness.

3.1.2 Women and Moon

Among the natural images used in this novel, “moon” appeared most frequently. As there was a close relation between women and moon, Charlotte succeeded in hinting at the change of heroine’s slight and complex psychological sensation and indicating the character’s fate by describing the variety of the moon.

It was in Chapter Eight that the moon first appeared in this novel:

“Resting my head on Helen’s shoulder, I put my arms round her waist; she drew me to her, and we reposed in silence. We had not sat long thus, when another person came in. Some heavy clouds, swept from the sky by a rising wind, had left the moon bare; and her light, streaming in through a window near, shone full both on us and on the approaching figure, which we at once recognized as Miss Temple”(2003:54).

There was no doubt that the description of the moon above was not only describing the scenery, but also auguring for the appearance of Miss Temple.

It happened that there was a similar case:

“It was he: here he was, mounted on Mesrour, followed by Pilot. He saw me; for the moon had opened a blue field in the sky, and rode in it watery bright: he took his hat off, and waved it round his head” (2003:229).

This time, the rising of the moon augured for the appearance of Rochester.

The similarity was that Temple and Rochester were both the people who were deeply loved by Jane, and both of them had a positive effect on Jane. That means the appearance of these two characters will bring happiness to Jane’s soul and hope to Jane’s life; just as the moon bring light to human beings.

Indicating the heroine’s fate is a significant function of moon in this novel. It was in Chapter Twelve that Rochester appeared on the stage for the first time:

“On the hill-top above me sat the rising moon; pale yet as a cloud, but brightening momentarily…” (2003:88) At this moment, Jane had lived in Thornfield Hall for almost four months. That the moon was “brightening momentarily” means Jane’s fate began to be better, for the days in Thornfield Hall brought her hope.

She also saw the moon “left the hill-tops, from which she (the moon) had come” and “aspired to the zenith” (2003:93). There was no doubt that “the rising moon” was the true portrayal of Jane Eyre’s fate of love. These were symbolizing that Jane would put an end to her single life and intended to pursue her true love without hesitation. Obviously, Nature brought courage and power to Jane and encourage her to struggle with the patriarchy. Finally, the hero, Rochester, who is the representative of patriarchy, fall in love with her.

After being informed that Rochester had already married, Jane suffered from ambivalence and agony. She must make her choice between to stay and to leave. At this crucial moment, Nature helped Jane to make a better choice:

“I watched her come—— watched with the strangest anticipation… She broke forth as never moon yet burst from cloud… it whispered in my heart—— ‘My daughter, flee temptation.’ ” (2003:265)

The moon in Jane Eyre’s dream was not simply materialized thing any more, but a power in spirit and the embodiment of God. It helped Jane Eyre to “flee temptation” and to be an independent woman.

Nature served as the motive power of Jane Eyre’s feminist consciousness. They influenced each other and struggled with patriarchy together.

3.2 Men, Women and Nature

Eco-feminists think that the relationship between men and women is the same as that between human beings and Nature. In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte expressed her dissatisfaction to patriarchy by the images of “stone” and “tree”, and then her eco-feminist consciousness was embodied.

3.2 1 Image of Stone

In Jane Eyre, the ones who were always associated with the stones were Blocklehurst and St. John. The first time little Jane met Blocklehurst was in a cold winter. She described him:

“I looked up at—— a black pillar! —— such, at least, appeared to me, at first sight, the straight, narrow, sable-clad shape standing erect on the rug: the grim face at the top was a carved mask, placed above the shaft by way of capital.” (2003:21)

An ice-cold, indifferent and grim image will come into our mind when we refer to the “stone”. He gave no thought to the students’ health for his own selfish interests. In the guise of philanthropist, he pocketed a portion of the benevolent fund. Jane Eyre also described Blocklehurt as a “black marble clergyman”(2003:51) when he came to inspect the school. The “black pillar”, “grim face” and “carved mask” were a true portrayal of Blocklehurst’s characters: grim, hypocritical and evil. Charlotte related Blocklehurst with “pillar” to express not only Jane’s abhorrence of Blocklehurst, but also her own abhorrence of the patriarchy.

St. John was a sensible man who set his mind on becoming a lawgiver, a statesman and even a conqueror. Although he did not love Jane, he asked Jane to marry him, to leave her hometown and to be a wife of a preacher. He gave no thought to Jane’s feeling. As Charlotte described him as “a cold cumbrous column”:

“I saw he was of the material from which nature hews her heroes——Christian and Pagan—— her lawgivers, her statesmen, her conquerors: a steadfast bulwark for great interests to rest upon; but, at the fireside, too often a cold cumbrous column, gloomy and out of place.” (2003:328)

It was perfect to use the image of column to summarize St. John’s characters: grim and lack of tender feelings.

3.2.2 Image of Tree

When we refer to the tree, we should concentrate our eyes on the horse-chestnut, under which Rochester sued for Jane’s hand in marriage.

Even at such a moment when Rochester was asking Jane to marry him, he still kept his utterance of patriarchy: “But, Jane, I summon you as my wife: it is you only I intend to marry.” (2003:208) “You, Jane, I must have you for my own—— entirely my own. Will you be mine? Say yes, quickly.” (2003:209) As an independent image, Jane tried to struggle, to rebel and to be independent. She did not want to be a vassal of man. She also decided to go on teaching Adele as a governess to earn her crust. However, Jane gradually realized she was losing herself step by step. “My future husband was becoming to me my whole world; and more than the world; almost my hope of heaven.” (2003:226) It was under the horse-chestnut that Rochester succeeded in asking Jane to marry him, and it was also under the horse-chestnut that Jane began to be fettered by Rochester’s jewels and patriarchal consciousness.

Nevertheless, Nature was closely linked with Jane’s fate. “… a livid, vivid spark out of a cloud at which I was looking, and there was a crack, a crash, and a close rattling peal…” (2003:210) The horse-chestnut which bore witness to Rochester’s courtship was “struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away” (2003:227).

It was the remnant of this horse-chestnut that enlightened Jane: “scathed as you look, and charred and scorched, there must be a little sense of life in you yet, rising out of that adhesion at the faithful, honest roots” (2003:228). Jane Eyre’s innermost indomitable feminist consciousness was awakened by Nature, just as the horse-chestnut, of which the vitality would not vanish, was split into two.

3.3 Charlotte’s Feminist Declaration

3.3.1 Image of Ice

The “ice” is not only the symbol of ruthlessness, miserableness and despair, but also the embodiment of unfeelingness and callousness. Jane Eyre’s cousin, St. John, seemed to be kindhearted, pious and reproachless, but he did not have the calm in his soul or the satisfaction in his heart as a sincere Christian. In Jane’s eyes “his reserve was again frozen over, and my frankness was congealed beneath it”(2003:330). In order to achieve his goal, he, on the false pretenses of God, asked Jane to go to India with him as wife of a missionary. However, when he was facing Jane’s refusal, he said to Jane, “I am cold: no fervour infects me”(2003:320). At this moment, Jane made her strong declaration of feminism: “Whereas I am hot, and fire dissolves ice”(2003:320). He asked Jane to marry him, not for love, but for his sacred duty and the glory of God. Jane described St. John’s kiss “as marble kisses or ice kisses”(2003:333). The “ice kisses” showed us this clergyman’s cold-bloodedness. Just as Jane’s feeling: “Reader, do you know, as I do, what terror those cold people can put into the ice of questions? How much of the fall of the avalanche is in their anger? How much of the breaking up of the frozen sea in their displeasure?”(2003:345) St. John was like a man made of ice, while Jane Eyre was full of vitality like fire. They could not accept each other, just as there was no intercourse between water and fire. It was the image of “ice” that portrayed a typical clergyman who was cold-blooded, selfish and hypocritical. It was also the image of “ice” that made Jane’s desire of independence and rebelliousness stronger and stronger. Under such circumstances, Jane made her declaration to dissolve the “ice” with “fire”.

3.3.2 Image of Fire

There are various contexts describing fire in Jane Eyre, but in this section, we will discuss the symbolic meanings of the “fire” which were set on by Bertha Mason. It is not difficult to find out that every appearance of Bertha Mason was always accompanied with fire.

It was during a night after Jane met Rochester for the first time that Bertha Mason appeared to revenge. She set on fire to Rochester’s bed-curtain and attempted to burn her husband who did not love her at all and imprisoned her for over ten years. It was the strict hierarchy that labeled her as a “madwoman”. It was the unjust treatment that took away her freedom. Therefore, she took advantage of the power of Nature—— fire to destroy her enemy—— the patriarchy.

At the end of this novel, Bertha set on fire to Thornfield Hall. That was the best evidence that Bertha was harbouring bitter hatred for oppression of patriarchy and kept rebelling against patriarchy. In Bertha’s rebellious consciousness fire was the only weapon to destroy the convention and autocracy. We could see Bertha’s wild delight of revenge through the fire, and we could also hear women shouting in patriarchal society. As the symbol of patriarchy, Thornfield Hall was burnt down in this fire. It was also this fire that took all Bertha’s hatred away.

As a matter of fact, the function of fire was not only to abolish the outdated things, but also to cleanse and to create new things. Fire is the symbol of civilization of the human race. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was known as a hero who stole fire and brought human race light. In a sense, stealing fire was a challenge to the absolute power system. It was full of rebellion to the convention and the autocracy. Therefore, the “fire” in many classics was the symbol of redemption and baptism, and it often helps people to get out of evil, to overcome themselves and to be reborn.

In Jane Eyre, Charlotte gave the “fire” a new connotation of eco-feminist consciousness. It was the fire that cleansed all the evil; it was the fire that purified Rochester’s supercilious soul; it was also the fire that made Jane Eyre enjoy the equal position to Rochester. In other words, the fire which burnt down Thornfield Hall was the symbol of Charlotte Bronte’s feminist declaration. She challenged men’s authority through Bertha Mason’s hands, and encourages women to fight for liberation.

Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness toward the harmony between human beings and Nature is embodied in her description of Nature which is seemingly describing the variety of plot. Her masterpiece, Jane Eyre, has struck a responsive chord in the hearts of its readers, for whose resonance with the oppression of men and the damaged details of Nature. Charlotte Bronte implies that the relationship between men and women should not be of hierarchy and dominance by using images, such as “moon”, “tree”, “painting”, “fire”, etc. The “moon” and the “tree” give hints of life to Jane; the “stone” and the “painting” is the eco-feminist consciousness deep in Charlotte Bronte’s heart; the “fire” is the feminist declaration of Charlotte Bronte. The use of these images gives us a good insight into her respect to Nature which gives her courage and power; her dissatisfaction at the society of patriarchy; her strong desire to set free female and Nature and to build a harmonious and equal society for male and female.

Conclusion

The study of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre from eco-feminist perspective helps us gain new insight into Charlotte Bronte’s great concern with the relations between human Beings and Nature, and between men and women. The analysis made in this thesis reveals that Charlotte Bronte is a woman writer with eco-feminist consciousness. The images in Jane Eyre embody her response to the relationship between male and female, the necessity of eliminating inequality between men and women; and her concern with Nature, the acknowledgement of human beings’ place in Nature, and the relationship between human beings and Nature. The relationship between her consciousness of revolt and independence perceived from Jane Eyre and her eco-feminist consciousness should be inter-dependent and reciprocal.

Charlotte Bronte recognizes women’s dominated status in the system of power relation in which men always win. The “madwoman”, Bertha Meson is the best examples of victims in such a system. She set on fire to Thornfield Hall, ended the oppression of patriarchy and set herself free. Charlotte Bronte put her feminist declaration in Jane Eyre:

“It is vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility: they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it… Women are supposed to be very calm generally; but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex.”(2003:87)

Charlotte Bronte also recognized Nature’s status after Industrial Revolution and discovers the value of nature as people’s spiritual sanctuary. After leaving Thornfield Hall, the heroine Jane Eyre felt helpless. However, when she stepped into the embrace of Nature, she got inexhaustible power.

“Nature seemed to me benign and good; I thought she loved me, outcast as I was; and I, who from man anticipate only mistrust, rejection, insult, clung to her with filial fondness. Tonight, at least, I would be her guest, as I was her child…” (2003:268).

It is Nature which is like human beings’ mother, gives Jane Eyre courage and power. Eco-feminists hold that “Life on earth is an interconnected web, not a hierarchy” and that “Humans should not attempt to manage or control nonhuman nature, but should work with land”(Taylor,1986:19-20). Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate inequality between not only men and women, but also human and Nature.

“Nature has a value that can not be reduced to the usefulness of human; woman has a value that can not be reduced to the usefulness of man”(Tong, 1998:260). Therefore, for both Charlotte Bronte and the eco-feminists, the relationship between men and women and that between human beings and Nature allow no hierarchy and dominance but inter-dependence and reciprocity.

Charlotte Bronte’s eco-feminist consciousness demonstrated in Jane Eyre shows us that it is necessary to set free female and Nature and to build a harmonious and equal society for male and female.

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Acknowledgements

I feel deeply indebted to those who have given me boundless assistance and support without which this thesis would not have been possible.

First of all, I would like to acknowledge the guidance and help of my supervisor, Professor Xue Yahong, who has offered me many encouragements and supports in the progress of my thesis writing. Without her continuous encouragements and constructive advice, the thesis would not have come to its final form. Her earnest attitude towards work and academic research has promoted me to better my work and study.

Secondly, I would also like to extend my gratitude to all the professors and teachers whose courses provided me with precious enlightenment.

Thirdly, I owe my sincere thanks to my beloved parents for their meticulous consideration and financial support in my study.

Finally, my gratitude goes to my friends, who are now studying in Anhui and Chengdu, for their selfless help to send me valuable materials.

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