Who''s Afraid of Jane Eyre? Ambiguity of Gender, Class, and Race

• Main Authors: Mei-chi Huang, 黃鎂琪
• Other Authors: Hsiao-hung Chang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 1999
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/05743227681245135110

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 外國語文學系研究所 === 87 === My study argues that male and female subjectivities are formed to some degree through the three social determinants-gender, class and race. In Charlotte Bronte''s Jane Eyre, these three categories not only have great impact on the three major characters, Edward Rochester, Bertha Mason and Jane Eyre respectively, but also influence their relations with each other. Previous critiques from their own theoretical perspectives tend to focus chiefly on one particular issue; however, my reading argues for a new interpretation of the gender/class/race intersection, the Jane/Rochester/Bertha interaction, and finally the interconnection between the three key terms and the vital human relations in the text. Chapter One offers a critical review of Jane Eyre, including feminist, Marxist, Marxist-feminist, deconstructive criticisms, and the most recent studies. Chapter Two associates gender with race in a discussion of the relationship between an English man and a Creole woman. Chapter Three elaborates on the intersection of gender and class observable in the relationship between an upper-class man and a lower middle-class woman. Chapter Four presents the interaction between race and class in the relationship between an upper-class Creole woman and a lower middle-class English woman. My thesis concludes that Bronte retains its contemporary practice of class-consciousness and ethnocentrism despite its revolution in gender categories.