从《简爱》看知识改变女性命运
Abstract
Jane Eyre is an excellent autobiographical works. The heroine Jane had not beautiful appearance or a supple, graceful carriage, but she still attracted us deeply like the beauties of other works; Jane was born into an impoverished family and became an orphan, and then she was sent to Lowood Institution, living hard, but finally, she became a versatile Miss, having extraordinary temperament and getting Mr. Rochester’s deep love. How could common Jane become an uncommon female? One of the reasons is: Jane loved reading and learning and eagerly sought knowledge from them, finally she obtained the momentum of survival, growth and struggling for happiness and freedom.
The females today go out of home, competing with males to display their wonderful life, and showing the complete and true ego. So the females today need more knowledge to improve and enrich ego. This paper will explain that knowledge is very important to females, especially to the females today. It will deal with the effects of knowledge on Jane, and then make further analysis on the significance which knowledge brings to the females today.
Key Words
Knowledge; Females Fate; Jane Eyre
摘 要
《简•爱》是一部出色的自传小说。女主人公简没有娇好的面容，婀娜的身姿，却和其它著作中的美人一样，深深地吸引着我们；简出生贫寒，是一个可怜的孤儿，随后又被送进寄宿学校，过者艰苦的生活，但最终她成为了一位多才多艺的女子，拥有非凡的气质，并得到罗切斯特先生的深爱。平凡的简是怎样变成一个不平凡的女性的？原因之一是：简爱读书和学习，她渴望从中得到知识，并从中汲取到生存，成长和争取幸福、自由的力量。
今天的女人走出了家门，和男人们比拼着生命的精彩，向世界展示着完整真实的自我，今天的她们需要更多的知识来提升和充实自己。本文将由知识对简一生的影响谈起，说明知识对女性，尤其对当今女性的重要性，并进一步分析知识给当今女性带来的益处。
关键词
知识;；女性命运；简.爱
Introduction
“Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! --- I have as much soul as you, --- and fill as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you…and we stood at God’s feet, equal, --- as we are!” When you read this paragraph of classical dialogue, you will think of “the Cinderella- Jane” who is the leading character in the novel Jane Eyre of Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre has already come out for one and a half century. But up to now, readers still remember the works, because its heroine Jane is distinctive---She has normal appearance and unfortunate experiences, but has internal temperament and happy marriage. Why could the unfortunate heroine’s life change? This paper will analyze the reason---Knowledge changes Jane’s destiny. And then can the knowledge change the fate of females today? The answer is certain. Knowledge can make homely females become good-looking, and make beauty become more beautiful; Knowledge can bring the capital of modern females to the females today; Knowledge can make women mentally healthy; Knowledge can change females’ future and make them win the world.
I. The Brief Introduction of the Novel and Its Author
A. Introduction of the Novel
Jane Eyre is an important works in the history of British literature. Jane Eyre is such a great novel that it holds an important position in the history of British literature. It has been translated into various languages and adapted for movie, dazzling generations of readers all through the world.
The period when Jane lived roughly corresponds with the time of queen Victoria’s ruling. Victoria who ruled over the British Empire for over 60 years was a well known queen in English history. She mounted the throne in 1837 when British literature reached a prosperous period. In the 1940s, British literature reached its peak. The realists were one of the main groups at that time, and the author of Jane Eyre belonged to this group.
This novel begins with little Jane as a despised orphan in the house of her uncle’s widow. Being rebellious, she is packed off to a charitable boarding school, which administers harsh discipline with especial vigor. Jane sets herself to learn, qualifies herself as a teacher, advertises for a post, and is employed as governess of the illegitimate French daughter of Rochester in his country mansion, Thornfield. A love relationship develops between Jane and Rochester. Jane’s resolute free spirit, her soul of fire, brings from the dominant Rochester a proposal of marriage. But at the very moment, the wedding ceremony was interrupted, for Rochester is discovered to have a mad wife who is hidden in that house. Jane doesn’t want to be Rochester’s mistress and subsequently leaves Thornfield, wandering far away. She is rescued by the Rivers family and urged to marry John Rivers in order to undertake missionary work at his side. Almost she consents, but as she ponders, Rochester’s voice crying her name resounds in her ears. Then Jane gains a large amount of inheritance from her uncle whom she has never known before. She returns to Thornfield, but the mansion has been destroyed by a fire started by the mad wife. In a scheduled country house nearby, she finds Rochester, blind and alone; they marry and find happiness together.
B. Introduction of the Author
II.The Influence of Knowledge upon Jane in Her Different
Periods of Life
A. The Early Childhood Life of Jane
When little Jane as a despised orphan lived in the house of Aunt Reed who is her uncle’s widow, she was abused very much. But why could she live down bravely and keep mentally healthy? That is because she could get conciliation from the knowledge of books.
During the period when Jane lived with her Aunt Reed, she had not a good-looking and no one loved her, her life was even worse than the servants of Aunt Reed. When Aunt Reed’s children Ehza, John, and Georgiana were clustered round their mama in the drawing-room, Jane had dispensed from joining the group. John Reed called Jane “Madam Mope! Bad animal!”, and bullied and punished Jane---not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually. At that time, she had no appeal whatever against those. Finally, Jane had turned against John to avert his irrational violence, so that she was loaded with general opprobrium and locked in the red-room. She was frightened badly, and then lost her consciousness.
Speaking generally, a good family environment is very important to the growth and the future of a child. For example, most of young criminals today are living in such kind of broken families; much less one child can undergo a family situation like Jane’ s. So we can say that one bad family environment will produce an unhealthy child easily, but Jane lived down strongly and had so healthy mentality. Why? Because of books’ knowledge, when she read books, she would be understood, be comforted and be told by books there was a beautiful world and she would be given survival hopeness. So when Aunt Reed kept her at a distance, she did not cry, but slipped into a small breakfast-roan which contained a bookcase to read book---Bewick’s History of British Birds. At that time, she was deeply attracted by the book’s pictures and stories, forgetting the injustice. The next day of the incident of the red-room, Jane felt physically weak and inexpressibly sad, which made her almost lose any interest towards any thing. But when Bessie, a servant in Gateshead, asked Jane if she would have a book, the word “book” acted as a transient stimulus, and she begged Bessie to fetch Gulliver’ s Travels from the library.
B. The Educational Life of Jane
Being rebellious, Jane was packed off to Lowood Institution, which was a charitable boarding school. She suffered the molestation of the spirit and body continuously, but because she had the motion of studying, she grew up bravely and became a woman who had good accomplishment.
Lowood Institution practiced one kind of ruthless education which declared “punish body to rescue soul”. Jane could not eat fully and wear warmly. Additionally, Mr. Brocklehust accused her falsely: “The Evil one had already found a servant, she was a really bad child.” At that time, her heart bore so much weight that she was almost crumbled. Fortunately, she met Miss Temple who is her teacher, announced that Jane’s imputation had been completely cleared, Jane was relieved from a grievous load, she set to work afresh from that hour, resolved to pioneer her way through every difficulty: “I toiled hard, and my success was proportionate to my efforts; my memory, not naturally tenacious, improved with practice, exercise sharpened my wits.” So the motivation and conviction that she wanted to learn more knowledge there to improve ego made her survive there for a long period of time and became a noble and intelligent woman. And then her qualify had made up her homely-looking.
After eight years in Lowood Institution, Jane was tired of the routine. She desired to have a look at the outside world and see with her own eyes the persons, pictures which in the books she had read. So she advertised for a post, this was the beginning of her new and interesting life. All these are caused by the knowledge of reading.
C. The Love of Jane
Later, Jane was employed as governess of the illegitimate French daughter of Rochester in his country mansion, Thornfield. She worked very hard here and gradually attracted the attention of the wise and rich Rochester. How could she catch Rochester so deeply? It was not her pretty appearance or good shape but extraordinary temperament, brilliant mind, especially noble nature and unsullied character. To a considerable degree, all of her qualities came from the accumulation of education and the conversion of the knowledge.
Jane had been described by servants like this: “If she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness; at any rate, a beauty like Miss Georgiana would be more moving in the same condition.” One time, Jane met with Rochester. When she said that she had lived in Lowood School for eight years, Rochester sighed: “Eight years! No wonder you have rather the look of another world. I marveled where you had got that sort of face.” These can explain that Jane really had not an exterior to please others. But Bessie had also described Jane like that: “You were not beauty as a child, I dare say you are clever though.” It was the truth. In the eight years, Jane had learned to play piano, draw paint, both read and speak French, work on muslin and canvas, but the beautiful Miss Reeds could not do these well; These internal things that she had learnt made her no beauty but delicately beautiful. Rochester once told Jane: “You--- you strange, you almost unearthly thing! ---I love you as my own flesh. You--- poor and obscure, and small and plain as you are--- I entreat to accept me as a husband.” Just because of the knowledge she had read from the books, she had an unearthly soul under ordinary appearance.
Jane gradually grew up and the more she read books, the more she had knowledge ,and became more and more charming. When she slipped into the library of Thornfield, seeing these books in bookcase, she was contented temporarily and felt they could offer an abundant harvest of entertainment and information. When she was saved by Mr.St. John and lived with his sisters, she found they were more accomplished and read more books, so she began to follow in the path of knowledge they had trodden before her and devoured the books they lent her. One girl like this, everyone would like her, of course, Rochester was not an exception. Though there was something such as rank and wealth severing them widely, there was indeed something in Jane’s blood and nerves, which assimilates her mentally to Rochester. The mysterious thing is spirit, Jane’s spirit was improving along with the increase of the knowledge she had obtained from self-education, so she would enjoy similar spiritual state with Rochester
.
III. The Great Significance of knowledge to Females Today
From Jane Eyre, it can be found that Jane’s success has the direct relationship with the knowledge she learned from the books and the knowledge she got in Lowood Institution. And whether knowledge is of great importance to females today or not is worth pondering.
A. Females’ Beauty Coming from Knowledge
How many women look as radiant and beautiful as the hostesses of Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice and so on? How many women possess perfect figure as good as Cindy Clauf? In fact, majority of women are ordinary like Jane. Of course, today we are dazzled by the endless array of beautiful cosmetics in modern society. So many females use cosmetics to make up the deficiency of looks. But a woman who only knows to wear well and dress up beautifully is shallow, and her internal world is empty, and her inside story lacks substance. There is another group of women. They are really more beautiful than others, but they are shallow, having little knowledge. These women are afraid of becoming old every day, because they will have nothing once they lose their looks. Gentlemen will not really love the above- mentioned women. Then, which kind of women would the gentlemen prefer? We can get the answer from Rochester: “ To women who please me only by their faces, I am the very devil when I find out they have neither souls nor hearts---when they open to me a perspective of flames, triviality, and perhaps imbecility, and ill- temper; but to the clear eye and eloquent tongue, to the soul made of fire, and the character that bends but does not break--- at once supple and stable, tractable and consistent--- I am ever tender and title.” So a gentleman would like to contact with a lady who has rich internal, graceful temperament, and a lady who has read a lot of books, learn many things and get much knowledge would possess permanent temperament and unfailing charm.
Many books have referred to the conception of beauty. And an ancient book described a beauty like that: she has an appearance as beautiful as a flower, a voice as sweet as a bird, a posture as graceful as a willow, bones as pure as a piece of jade, skins as spotlessly as snow, and has a heart as rich as poems. So the most precious is poem, today we can regard the poem as extensive books. And in one modern book called Complete Works of Woman’ s Glamour and Capital, the writer once wrote: the females who have extensive reading will become noble character and ambitious gradually; their speech and deportment are very natural without any rudeness. These females possess permanent beautifulness.
B. The Capital of Modern Females Coming from Knowledge
What are the modern females? Modern females refer to knowledge females and temperament females. Since the females today are living in modern society, they should keep pace with the times and be modern females. The modern females should have these characters: elegant taste, tolerance, mild disposition, self- respect, independence, wisdom, health and happiness. And the above- mentioned characters are derived from knowledge, the easiest way of acquiring knowledge is extensive reading or learning. The women who like reading and learning constantly will strive to become stronger and wiser. They never depend on men, they are really the women who can conquer men and the world. They can adjust mentality to get happiness easily. They are not only gentle and cultivated but also rigid in principle, they have gentle looks and firm will, they enthuse about their life but never bow down to life. If now you still consider that knowledge is not important for modern female, then please read the following contrasts. Before liberation, most of Chinese females had not knowledge, how about their mind? Although they looked forward to marrying good men, they had to comply with an old system--- a woman follows her husband no matter what his lot is. Even if they were maltreated by their husbands, they would be afraid of leaving the men. So three big mountains [imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat- capitalism] weighted down on the backs of the Chinese people at that time; and there was another big mountain on the backs of the Chinese females, that is the authority of the husband over his wife. While now most of modern females have knowledge, advocating the equal rights between men and women. They are not afraid of divorcing, much less the violence of husbands--- they will leave at once, because they believe they need not other’s support for a livelihood and they will find good men everywhere. The contrast is mind’s contrast, and the mind’s awakening is closely related to accumulation of knowledge.
All of the feminism founders are knowledge females. Modern females are waking up, advocating equal rights for women, being influenced considerably by feminism. Reviewing the founders of feminism, we can find every feminist is knowledgeable. For instance, Simone de Beauvoir is the world famous French writer and erudite female scholar. Her book, The Second Sex is called one book of “the most perfect, the most rational, and the most intelligent to discuss the problems of women.” It contains the contents of philosophy, history, literature, biology, ancient mythology and cultural customs. If Simone de Beauvoir had not profound knowledge and had an empty head, she could not write this works which shocked the men’s world. Virginia Woolf is also a typical knowledge female, she was one of the most great novelists in 20th century. Feminism has a deep influence on modern females, so modern females should learn from the founders of feminism to gain rich knowledge.
The modern females should promote feminism through the power of knowledge. The development history of feminism is a history of knowledge increase of females. And the influence of feminism becomes wider and wider with the increasing of females’ knowledge. Feminism is a result of the awakening of females’ ideology, when females have a fair knowledge level with males, their eyes are extended and they begin to use their knowledge to improve their ability and pursue rights for themselves. So you must read and learn extensively, and improve all the parts of your knowledge. Nowadays, women’s status has been improved a lot, but sometimes the equality is in vacuum. Females should use sharp argument and good working ability which are all turned by rich knowledge to defend themselves. There is an article about feminism. One man talked widely: “Feminism is only a right which ษmales give females. It is an unearthly dream.” One woman who likes reading books, especially the books about feminism opposed the statement: “One man can have idea and ambition, why can not a woman have them? There is no difference between men and women in essential aspect. We have the same blood, the same flesh, the same soul. Since ancient times, people have had different theories about the origin of the humankind. Some thought man was created by God, later people were convinced that man was descended from apes. No matter how many versions there were, there is always a version: Women are the ribs of men. It means that a man and a woman can make a complete human together; women need the protection of men, and men need the sanctuary of women; so the world will be conquered when men and women go forward hand in hand.” What an excellent explanation! If she had less talent and knowledge, she would not utter well. On the other✈ hand, since women are equal with men, women have the same right to receive influence of knowledge. So females should grasp and cherish the chance, learn more and more.
C. Females’ Mental Health Coming from Knowledge
Knowledge can tidy up females’ psychology. One person’s psychology is more important than physiology, that is, soul is more important than body to a person. Just because of this, Lu Xun would give up being a doctor and engage in literature. So cosmetics can make women become beautiful, but only the decoration of mentality can make women tower above the ordinary. It is said that a beauty relies on 30% of dress-up and 70% of immanence. Healthy mentality is beautiful mentality. So we should put the mental health on the first place. There are two aspects in mental health which are the most important to the females today: self- confidence and independence.
1. Females’ Confidence
It is said that knowledge enriches the mind, so only when a female has a wide range of knowledge and has rich immanence can she own the capital of self- confidence.
The self-confident females believe they are bea유utiful, and then the beauty will be given out from the inside to the outside. The females today should be rational, mature, bright and capable, and inspire noble temperament, elegant posture from immanence. The confidence follows around them at any time. A woman who has not good appearance but has confidence, she would still own a rosy cheek, bright eyes, a free and easy manner, and a generous bearing, because she believes that the most powerful arm of a female is not beauty but wisdom. A wise female is quite out of the ordinary in power of discrimination, she is sensible enough to make best use of the advantages and bypass the disadvantages, she is not short- sighted to only notice the weaknesses of appearance and is not afflicted with appearance day and night such as “my figure is not perfect”, “my eyes are too small”, “there are black spots in my nose”. And wise women usually want to increase their knowledge. While there are some females who indeed have some weaknesses of appearance , but because they have special skills or great learning; their any move and the way they talk always give others the feeling of beauty and comfort.
Knowledge makes females become self-confident and modest. Knowledge can help females open eyes and notice other’s merits so they would not become self- willed but be modest enough to learn from those in a lower position and know knowledge is limitless.
2. Females’ Independence
Knowledge makes females own independent spirit state, because knowledge and ability are the basic of independence. Comparing to the independence of material, females’ independence of spirit is more important; because men live in substance, but women live in spirit. The females’ spiritual world is very mysterious and rich. The independence of females’ spirit is an affirmation to themselves. When a female’s spiritual world is dominated b♋y others, she will live in sorrow.
So Victor Hugo once said: “The books are the tools of remoulding soul, human beings need the nourishment of enlightening, and reading is just this nourishment.”
D. The Changes of Females’ Fate Coming from Reading
Knowledge will bring permanent beauty, the capital of modern females and mental health to females today; And the most important is that knowledge can change females’ fate. Such as many outstanding figures.
Rice: She is called the most powerful woman in the world. In her neighbour’s memory, when Rice was a kid, she always liked to read and study hard. Smiseman who lived on Rice’s block in fifties of the past: “Rice always studied first, and then went to play. At that time, we often went to play baseball or others in the afternoon, she sometimes would not come with us. When night drew on, we came back, we would also find she was reading a book in the yard.” Rice’s diligent studying made her succeed later. Now, Rice possesses a honourable title of “Assistan유t of State for Safe Affairs in USA”. And she as a black was described by medium of American like this: She is not only Bush’s consultant, but also his pretty young lady bosom friend. Wherever Bush goes, we often see Rice’s figure. And Rice was once the Russian Affairs’ expert of old Bush’s State Commission for Safe. Old Bush had introduced her to Boris Yeltsin: “What I know everything of Russia was told by her.” She is also the key person of White House. Committee of Foreign Affairs of the White House is spreading a view: The president would listen to the suggestions of Dick Cheney，and pay attention to the opinions of Colin Powell，but always make a last decision in consultation with Rice. Now Rice still yearns for knowledge, despite of her success. An investigation shows that the Americans purchase about 2.5 billion books, and per capita purchase is 9 books. It is also said that most of American adults do not read books, while Rice has an elegant name “the number one bookworm of White House”.
WuYi: a petite woman but has manliness. She also attaches great importance to knowledge. On Dec. 2006, when she visited GuangZhou University, XingHai Conservatory of music, GuangDong Foreign Language and Foreign Trade University and so on, she asked for summarizing the experience of Universities carefully and making contribution to the whole Country’s cultural and educational career; more over, she encouraged University students to study hard and read widely. Just because she had paid great attention to knowledge and had wide knowledge, she was transferred to Ministry of Foreign Economy and Trade as vice- minister, negotiating with Carpenter who is a world- famous master of negotiation about intellectual property right between China and America. After making frontal engagement many times with WuYi, Carpenter gave WuYi a title of “iron lady”, which washer own title. There are also many good examples such as Gloria Arroyo, Tarja Halonen. So if someone wants to succeed, first she should acquire more knowledge.
Conclusion
When Jane Eyre was published, it caused a sensation and the heroine Jane became famous overnight, even surpassed the author Charlotte Bronte’s fame. Because Jane was different from the heroines of Gone with the Wind, Pride and Prejudice and so on. Jane was only an ordinary woman who lived in the mid-19th century, She had an ordinary appearance and poor family, she had hard life and experiences; But she had unique character, noble nature, wisdom and charm. Besides, she won the love of Mr. Rochester and got the happy life. All of these are the result of the knowledge she got from the books and from Lowood Institution.
Jane Eyre has already come out for one and a half century but has an enduring appeal to the readers today, because Jane influences many women deeply including the females today, she has become a good example of the females. So the females today should like reading and learning as Jane, then they can have a chance to gain extensive knowledge and succeed like Jane.
In fact, knowledge is more important for females today. Jane was only a female, living the past. She had known the importance of knowledge. Females today should know that blue comes from the indigo plant but is bluer than the plant itself. So the females today should have more widely sphere and more progressive mind than Jane’s, they should read more and learn more to improve their own knowledge and change their own fate.
In a word, reading has great meaning for Jane, and has greater immediate and far-reaching significance for the females today.
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