Abstract

Jane Eyre is the masterpiece of Charlotte Bronte, British famous female writer in 19th century, which is the first novel inflecting feminism in the history of English Literature. The success of this novel promoted the position of female writers and many common women at that time. The heroine Jane Eyre sets a good example to myriad women who have advanced thought. The independent and rebellious spirit of Jane awakens women's consciousness to fight for rights and equality.This thesis studies the feminism in the novel mainly from two aspects: breakthrough and limitation. Firstly this thesis shows the compositional background and the development of the plots in the novel. Then, this thesis analyzes in detail the four stages of development of the heroine Jane Eyre's feminist ideas: The emergence period at Gateshead; the formation time at Lowood institution; the perfection stage at Thornfield and Moor house. After that, this thesis discusses the limitations of the feminism from two aspects: Jane's negative attitude toward appearance and Jane's halfway resistance to male chauvinism. Finally, at the end of the thesis, combing with social background, it exposes the real connotation of women's liberation : Women's real liberation comes from the satisfaction of their own needs and desires, as well as the establishment of value culture belonging to themselves.

Keywords : Jane Eyre; Feminism; development stages; limitation

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction.1

2. Literature Review1

2.1 The introduction of feminism1

2.2 The summary of Jane Eyre2

3. The Development of Jane Eyre’s Feminism3

3.1 The emergence period at Gateshead3

3.2 The formation time at Lowood institution.4

3.3 The perfection stage at Thornfield and Moor house5

4. The Limitation of Jane Eyre’s Feminism.6

4.1. Jane’s negative attitude toward appearance7

4.2. Jane’s halfway resistance to male chauvinism 8

5. Conclusion10

References.12