Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Jane Eyre 26

We discussed chapter 26 as a turning point in the novel. We looked back upon the earlier Thornfield chapters through 26 and investigated how the events of 26 change (and in many cases confirm) what we thought about characters, events, and themes. We also thought about what might happen next, keeping in mind that Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman: where might Jane's identity development and relationship with the social order be headed in the subsequent chapters?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Chapter 26 in many way is the turning point of the novel, because Jane makes a life changing decision: to leave Thornfield, her love, and everything that she was looking forward to. At first when i read this chapter, i had no idea where Jane would end up. She was poor, and had nobody to turn to. And for a while that is exactly what happened. When she eventually got taken in at the Moor House I knew something had to happen, in order for her to develop as a character. This chapter is the first time that Jane is really on her own, her aunt sent her to Lowood, from there she got a job at Thornfield, now she had no where to go, and that sets up the novel for a traditional bildungsroman, because in a way in order to grow up you need to make it on your own.