Thesis:
Given, then, the vexed discourses of
gender, domesticity, and faith surrounding Jane Eyre’s production, an easy
reading of the book's ending is neither possible nor desirable.
Background:
These ambiguities reflect the tensions real
Victorian women of faith experienced in trying to meet multiple, often
conflicting demands in their lives. Such challenges were complicated further by
the fact that nineteenth-century Evangelical Christianity-attentive to the
realities of sin, sorrow, sacrifice, and loss-was no easy creed for women or
men. Despite the attractive "healthy-mindedness" of so much of Jane's
theology in her narrative, the book's tormented ending reminds readers that
Bronte, freethinker as she was, nonetheless subscribed to Christianity that
cherished Christ's "Crown of Thorns" as its standard.
1 comment:
I think you are *nearly* there, but the thesis is more specific than that. Lamonaca's main argument is that "Jane Eyre's conclusion leaves open the possibility that Jane, despite her efforts, has failed to reconcile the conflicting demands of domesticity and faith".
Lamonaca's background information focuses on how critics have generally felt that the ending of the novel shows Jane comfortably involving herself in domestic life, having turned her back on St. John and his religious goals. However, her final comments show great respect for St. John, and perhaps even implies that she is not sure if she has chosen the correct path. As Lamonaca says, she seems to worry that 'she may be confusing her own desires for Godd's will'; perhaps God really did want her to be a missionary after all.
In other words, Lamonaca believes the book does not have a completely comfortable ending, but leaves the reader wondering whether Jane has chosen the right path.
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