Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre - A Romantic Ending In An Anti-Romantic No

Jane Eyre - A Romantic Ending In An Anti-Romantic Novel This paper discusses the ending of Jane Eyre, discussing whether it is a â€Å"good† ending. The paper draws on three criticisms of both the novel and Romantic literature in general to conclude that, yes, it is indeed a good ending because it both fits the prevailing realism of the main character’s worldview, and conforms to the predominant literary trends of the period. The climate in which Charlotte Bronte wrote her magnum opus was one that had almost fully recovered from the rationalist excesses of the Enlightenment. The existing climate had replaced ‘scientific’ realism with Romanticism of the Byronic sort, drawing on the ancient ideals of chivalry and the new ideals of individual freedom to craft a literature in which suffering does not end with the last romantic sunset. Ultimately, concepts such as happiness cannot be guaranteed to skeptics like Jane Eyre and â€Å"hideous† men like Rochester -- only the divine union of passion can be guaranteed. Yet, for Bronte’s characters, this is sufficient reward and an appropriate closure for a love story about such atypical characters. Below, I will use characterizations of the Romantic literary school, as well as criticism of Jane Eyre, to explain how the ending of the novel fits perfectly with the rest of the landmark novel. Jane Eyre ends only after a succession of unlikely (and frankly hideous) circumstances come to pass, transforming the lives and psyches of Jane and Rochester beyond their stoic realism. However, because Jane and Rochester are such believable characters, the events that wrack their mortal lives are taken in stride by both the characters and the reader, although the grap... ...e that she could not write a novel that ended with man and woman being absolute equals in marriage, and Charlotte producing Jane Eyre to satisfy the bargain. However, in a more realistic vein, the novel’s ending is able to adhere to some prevailing Romantic conventions (melodrama most noticeably) while providing the reader with a thoroughly realistic ending. Bibliography Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Norton, 1987. Mellor, Anne K. Romanticism and Gender. New York: Routledge, 1993. Oates, Joyce Carol, â€Å"Declaration of Independence: the biggest surprise in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is its unromantic heroine,† Salon.com Classics Book Group, accessed November 17, 2001, http://www.salon.com/sept97/oates970929.html Penner, Louise, â€Å"Domesticity and Self-Possession in The Morgensons and Jane Eyre,† Studies in American Fiction 27:2, 131-146.