I've read Jane Eyre years ago, sometime in the early 90ties - hm, now I wonder whether I actually read it in an English Lit class. :) But The Mad Woman in the Attic by Susan Gubar and Sandra Gilbert has been one of the seminal texts of feminist literary criticism. I was graduating in history, using works of literature as historical sources, and their argument was a must-read. I am sure it is out-dated now, but back then, their book was a first step away from a very predictably 20th century-feminist interpretation of 19th century women's literature.
Not sure if it's so easy to interpret the ending of Jane Eyre as simply reinforcing gender stereotypes of the 19th century. Women back then believed very strongly in "separate but equal", with each sex having their specific qualities and their specific roles to fulfil - as you surely know. For me it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to look for our feminist ideals in 19th century books and judge them by standards that are ours today. I am more interested in the ways Charlotte Bronte could express something as a writer and a woman that her age barely had the words and concepts for. Are you familiar with the work of historian Carrol Smith-Rosenberg? Her writings were a revelation to me. Good luck on your paper!
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-03-08 11:18 pm (UTC)Not sure if it's so easy to interpret the ending of Jane Eyre as simply reinforcing gender stereotypes of the 19th century. Women back then believed very strongly in "separate but equal", with each sex having their specific qualities and their specific roles to fulfil - as you surely know. For me it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to look for our feminist ideals in 19th century books and judge them by standards that are ours today. I am more interested in the ways Charlotte Bronte could express something as a writer and a woman that her age barely had the words and concepts for. Are you familiar with the work of historian Carrol Smith-Rosenberg? Her writings were a revelation to me. Good luck on your paper!