English Research Task 2

                                       Research Task 2                                         1. I couldn’t believe Jane was behaving in such an inappropriate manner as to hitting master John. She was completely acting out, showing no constraint or control over her actions. She seemed to have completely lost perspective as to the correct way of behaving; being in the position that she was, this was unimaginably strange. As instructed by Miss Reed, miss Abbot and I attempted to take Jane to the Red-room. Kicking and screaming we led her upstairs. As we entered the red-room, we placed her on the chair, hoping she would have calmed down by this time. Seeing that she has not, I instructed miss Abbot to lend me her garter to tie Jane down. She must have realised that being tied down will only make the punishment more unpleasant, because she decided to calm down. Miss Abbot and I then  tried to explain to Jane that such behaviour was unacceptable and that she should understand what her place was in the house; a place inferior to the rest of the family. She should respect her caregivers and realize that she would be worth nothing without them. I tried to explain these things as subtle as possible, hoping Jane would realize the importance thereof, although miss Abbot felt the usual stern way would be appropriate.
We then left Jane there to continue with our other daily duties.
After quite some time, we heard a dreadful scream coming from the red-room. We ran to check whether the child was okay, and found an hysteric girl begging to leave.  She desperately grabbed my hand, but at that moment Miss Reed entered the room. She was upset that we were with Jane, seeing as her orders was that she would attend to Jane later on herself. I tried to explain to Miss Reed what Jane had told me about the shadow/light she saw, but she was too upset to listen to any reason. She unsympathetically instructed another hour in the red-room for Jane and ignored the hysteric child begging for some other sort of punishment. We left Jane there, where she presumably passed out.

2. I agree with Adrienne Rich’s argument. The Red-Room incident lays out the foundation of the life and struggles Jane has to deal with. It contains the moment where she rationally sets out the events of her life and comes to realize the unfairness of her position.

3. Sandra M. Gilbert suggests that, “the incident of the Red-Room”, has been carefully set-out to serve the purpose of an sample in which the actual story is laid out. The circumstances of the Red-Room triggers the young Jane into realizing how unfairly she has been treated and in her statement, “I dared commit no fault; I strive to fulfil every duty; and I was termed naughty and tiresome, sullen and sneaking from morning to noon, and from noon to night”, it becomes clear that she realises the unjust of her situation. As she is labelled, at that age, inferior due to being an orphan; she realizes that this is the position she will fill for the rest of her life if she neglects to do something about it. Then other aspects, such as being a woman, her appearance and her upbringing will call attention to her position of being dependent.

In the Red-Room situation she sets out her thoughts and rationalizes the events of her life. This, unfortunately makes it clear to her that the life she lives, is one that forces her to walk the road alone; a thought she despises but is unable to change. Her revealing of her thoughts in the quote, “I was a discord in Gateshead Hall, I was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage. If they did not love me, in fact, as little did I love them”, basically highlights the fact that she knows she is not wanted and simultaneously proves how she avoids feeling affection in an attempt to shield herself from further pain.
As she is forced to stay in that enclosed room, she is once again physically isolated as many prior times in her life. Through the course of the book, she constantly finds herself in positions of isolation and seclusion. She emphasizes this by admitting that “[she] had no communication by letter or message with the outer world: school-rules, school-duties, school-habits and notions, and voices , and faces and phrases, and costumes, and preferences, and antipathies: such was what [she] knew of existence”. As restricted as her experience was, she had an inner urge to learn more and improve her worth. She attempted in rising above the rest at school but found that her achievements were constantly undervalued, thus society succeeded in keeping her from gaining too much knowledge and also independency. When Mr. Broklehurst questions her about her experience and knowledge she states that she has only “[read] such books as [come] in [her] way, and they have not been numerous of very”.
It is therefore clear that the red-room plays a key role in Jane’s struggle to escape the social norms which prevent her from living the life she dreams of.

[english TASK 1]

1.       Revisit the definitions of the following key terms: class, gender & feminism, and ideology.
A brief summary of Warwick’s “Key Critical Concepts” for Victorian Studies.

Class: “a group relation to the means of production; that is whether a group is made up of workers or owners, and share of the wealth created through work.” People were divided into groups (classes), depending on their wealth and power . The three main classes of the nineteenth century were the upper class, middle class and the working class. The class into which an individual would fall had an enormous influence on his “experience of existence.”

Gender & Feminism : John Ruskin lays out the difference between men and women by emphasizing that  men work in the open world, where they face danger and risk getting wounded or hardened.
Their duties are to protect women whom may not face danger, temptation or cause any offence. Women remain sources of moral and spiritual support because of their distance from the public arena. In order to prevent moral “fall” they were isolated from too much activities and knowledge. Men had control over this aspect.

Ideology: Although an ideology is defined as “a set  of beliefs”, it does not exist merely out of ideas. An ideology takes a concrete form in the social establishments that direct people’s general behaviour.

2.       What do you think motivated Bronte to write this Preface? Comment on the argument she presents. Why does she write as Currer Bell?

To inform the reader about the precise content of the Norton Critical Edition
To inform the reader about the value of the content eg. When which articles was last edited or updated and by whom
To explain how this edition differs from others and in what ways has been improved
To highlight that the footnotes has been made more “reader-friendly” in an effort to improve students interest
To thank the people who assisted in the production of this edition and to give recognition to those who deserve it

She gives an detailed argument about why she feels this edition is a definite improvement of the previous one. Her argument is strong due to the usage of facts, supplying reasons for the changes and acknowledging the people who was involved. Her argument is logically laid-out and includes detail on all the important aspects as to why this edition is worth reading.

Currer Bell was the name she used to disguise herself as the writer. She distances herself to avoid personal judgement as well as to prevent emotion from clouding it, by working from an unconcerned, rational point of view.

3. In general, the reception of Jane Eyre by the Victorians would not have been the ideal a author would wish for. Although it complies with some of the Victorian society’s norms considering class and gender ideologies, it frequently goes against is, making it an unpopular piece among them. The gender ideology which grants the man power and respect, despite his shortcomings, is notable in the sentences, “Mr. Rochester, the hero of the story, is clearly the vision of a woman’s fancy...” and “Mr. Rochester is a man who deliberately and secretly seeks to violate the laws both of God and man, and yet we will be bound half our lady readers are enchanted with him for a model of generosity and labour.” Here it becomes evident that women is truly at higher risk of moral “fall” than gentlemen. However, in the sentence, “Yet we cannot wonder that the hypothesis of a male author should have been started, ...” it becomes clear that, irrelevant of the standard of women’s appearances and behaviour, their worth will never be regarded equal to that of a men. They are expected to be modest and virtues and accept the little recognition awarded to them, if any. Jane Eyre’s story does not comply to these social standards of the Victorians, as noticed in the sentences describing her story, “Throughout there is masculine power, breadth and shrewdness, combined with masculine hardness, coarseness, and freedom of expression” and “Slang is not rare”. She represents the exact opposite of what a woman should be. This quality labels the story of Jane Eyre as inappropriate to the Victorians. However, the middle-class Victorians, might have an more open-minded style than the upper class and might therefore portray less hostile attitudes.
Still, “every word she utters offends [them]” which has a significant influence on their impression of the story. This is proven in the sentence, “ There is an intimate acquaintance with the worst parts of human nature, a practiced sagacity in discovering the latent ulcer, and a ruthless rigour in exposing it, which must command our admiration, but are almost startling in one of the softer sex.”

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