Abstract:Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte in the Victorian age, is a novel that describes a new female image who seeks for her happiness and beliefs regardless of the worldly values in the early 19th century. The rebelliousness that Jane owns is the basic standpoint that throughout this whole novel helps the heroine continuously achieve herself. She no longer admits the traditional women’s virtue and puts forward scathing accusation to the oppressors. It is exactly such an image that encourages diverse generations of female to go out of the oppression caused by the patriarchal system and pursue their equality, independence and freedom. This thesis puts stress on the analysis of sources, performance and comments of the female consciousness of the heroine, Jane, including some explanations to the women’s liberation. An overall grasp of the image of Jane will help women to get liberation and guide them to continuously seek after their own freedom and equality and make unremitting efforts.

Keywords: feminist; feminism; equality; independence; freedom

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter 1 Introduction-1

1.1 Charlotte Bronte and Her Main Achievements-1

1.2 A Brief Introduction to Jane Eyre-1

1.3 Literature Review-1

Chapter 2 Background And Origins of Female Consciousness in the Early 19th Century-3

2.1 The Background and Unequal Condition in the Victorian England-3

2.2 Female’s Status And Rising of Feminism under a Patriarchal System-4

2.3 Charlotte Bronte’s Experiences and Her Creation-4

Chapter 3 Jane Eyre’s Female Consciousness-7

3.1 Jane Eyre--A New Image in Early 19th Century-7

3.1.1 Jane Eyre’s independent spirit-7

3.1.2 Jane’s view on love and marriage-7

3.2 The Influence of Jane to the Women’s Liberation-8

Chapter 4 Advances And Limitations in Jane Eyre’s Female Consciousness-11

4.1 Advances of Jane’s Female Consciousness-11

4.1.1 Jane’s “new” spirits in Victorian England-11

4.1.2 Jane Eyre’s influence on the awakening of female consciousness-11

4.2 Limitations of Jane’s Female Consciousness-12

Chapter 5 Conclusion-13

References-14

Acknowledgements-15