Identity, Identification and Finding One's Self in Mid-Victorian Female Gothic: 'Jane Eyre', 'Villette' and 'Wuthering Heights'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Identity, Identification and Finding One's Self in Mid-Victorian Female Gothic: 'Jane Eyre', 'Villette' and 'Wuthering Heights' by Sandra Bollenbacher, GRIN Verlag
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sandra Bollenbacher ISBN: 9783656324164
Publisher: GRIN Verlag Publication: November 28, 2012
Imprint: GRIN Verlag Language: English
Author: Sandra Bollenbacher
ISBN: 9783656324164
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
Publication: November 28, 2012
Imprint: GRIN Verlag
Language: English

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, University of Heidelberg, language: English, abstract: 'Who are you, Miss Snowe?' (V 287) Ginevra Fanshawe asks Lucy Snowe and draws attention to one, if not the central question of humankind: Who am I? How do we define who we are: by our job, by our social roles, or by the view others have of us? Moreover, living in a society and having to interact with other human beings, we also need to know who they are: friend or foe, villain or potential lover? However, it is impossible to reduce a human being to just one trait ('She is a mother', 'He is open-minded', 'She is a writer', 'He is a man.'). The same applies to most rounded literary characters. This paper will discuss the presentation and identification of the main characters in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Villette. At first I will have a closer look at what is expected of the characters on the narrative level, for example, being the hero of a novel. The second part of the paper will deal with the self-perception and search for identity of the protagonists Jane Eyre, Lucy Snowe and Catherine Earnshaw/Linton/Heathcliff. In the last part, I will discuss how these characters are identified through others, focusing on doppelgänger. However, when doing a characterisation of the protagonists of Jane Eyre, Villette and Wuthering Heights, one has to consider that the narrators in all three novels are homodiegetic. This means - in these particular cases - that they are biased and, most likely, unreliable. The description of the characters and their behaviour is filtered through the eyes and words of the narrators. Therefore, one should always keep in mind that the information given to the reader is already interpreted or at least coloured by the narrator. Even though the main focus of this paper will be on the Mid-Victorian Gothic novels Jane Eyre (1847), Villette (1853) and Wuthering Heights (1847), I will also draw comparisons to other works of female writers of the 19th century. There are, for example, interesting parallels to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and to the short story 'The Yellow Wallpaper' (1892) written by the American author Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The latter provides a 'terribly good' (Howells 7; qtd. in Shumaker 1) example of a woman's loss of identity and therefore perfectly matches the discussed novels of Charlotte and Emily Brontë.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2011 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, University of Heidelberg, language: English, abstract: 'Who are you, Miss Snowe?' (V 287) Ginevra Fanshawe asks Lucy Snowe and draws attention to one, if not the central question of humankind: Who am I? How do we define who we are: by our job, by our social roles, or by the view others have of us? Moreover, living in a society and having to interact with other human beings, we also need to know who they are: friend or foe, villain or potential lover? However, it is impossible to reduce a human being to just one trait ('She is a mother', 'He is open-minded', 'She is a writer', 'He is a man.'). The same applies to most rounded literary characters. This paper will discuss the presentation and identification of the main characters in Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Villette. At first I will have a closer look at what is expected of the characters on the narrative level, for example, being the hero of a novel. The second part of the paper will deal with the self-perception and search for identity of the protagonists Jane Eyre, Lucy Snowe and Catherine Earnshaw/Linton/Heathcliff. In the last part, I will discuss how these characters are identified through others, focusing on doppelgänger. However, when doing a characterisation of the protagonists of Jane Eyre, Villette and Wuthering Heights, one has to consider that the narrators in all three novels are homodiegetic. This means - in these particular cases - that they are biased and, most likely, unreliable. The description of the characters and their behaviour is filtered through the eyes and words of the narrators. Therefore, one should always keep in mind that the information given to the reader is already interpreted or at least coloured by the narrator. Even though the main focus of this paper will be on the Mid-Victorian Gothic novels Jane Eyre (1847), Villette (1853) and Wuthering Heights (1847), I will also draw comparisons to other works of female writers of the 19th century. There are, for example, interesting parallels to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1818) and to the short story 'The Yellow Wallpaper' (1892) written by the American author Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The latter provides a 'terribly good' (Howells 7; qtd. in Shumaker 1) example of a woman's loss of identity and therefore perfectly matches the discussed novels of Charlotte and Emily Brontë.

More books from GRIN Verlag

Cover of the book Erstellung eines Bewertungsrasters für Facharbeiten im Unterrichtsfach Deutsch der Sekundarstufe II by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Milan Kundera - a modern existentialist? Or: Why 'The Joke' is not an existential novel by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Variable Entlohnung von Bereichsmanagern in dezentralisierten Unternehmen anhand unternehmenswertorientierter Beurteilungsgrößen by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Das Elterngeld als Instrument der Familienpolitik by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Der verführte Held - Die 'Jüdin von Toledo': Entwicklung und Bearbeitung eines Mythos by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Der eigene Unterricht: Analyse der Entwürfe und Kritik by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Ein Verlängerungskabel mit 6-poligen Hartingstecker und Hartingdose fertigen (Unterweisung Elektriker, -in) by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Unterrichtsstunde: Eine Spielidee mit Indiaca aufrechterhalten - Spielerweiterung von 'Indiaca-Brennball' um ein für alle spannendes Spiel zu schaffen. by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Cytogenetik. Praktikum zu den unterschiedlichen Möglichkeiten der Lichtmikroskopie by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Streetwork Pforzheim by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Präsentation der Neobiota in den deutschen Medien by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Freies Erinnern bei Kompatibilität von Wortvalenz und motivationalem System. Zum Embodiment des Annäherungs- und Vermeidungssystems by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Leiharbeit im Spannungsfeld unterschiedlicher Interessen in Baden-Württemberg und Thüringen by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Erziehung und Bildung der Mädchen und Frauen im Nationalsozialismus by Sandra Bollenbacher
Cover of the book Einflussfaktoren auf die individuelle Lebenserwartung in den USA by Sandra Bollenbacher
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy