2. Lexico-stylistic devices of Ch. Brontein creating images in the novel "Jane Eyre"

2.1 Portrait image of Jane Eyre

One of the main advantages of the novel “Jane Eyre” is the creation of a positive image of the heroine. The novel attracted and amazed readers with the image of a brave and pure girl, alone leading a difficult struggle for existence.

Image of Jane Eyre, t

Just like most other images, it is built on the principle of contrast, which in this case consists in the fact that the writer contrasts the heroine’s appearance with her inner appearance. When creating the image of the heroine, Brontë set herself the goal of showing a plain-looking heroine, but attractive due to her inner nobility, as opposed to the generally accepted “beauty” who was usually depicted in literary works. In his book about Brontë, Gaskell quotes from the anonymous obituary, “On the Death of Correll Bell,” in which the author writes:

“She once told her sisters that they were wrong in usually portraying their heroines as beautiful. They replied that it was impossible to make the heroine interesting in any other way. Her answer was: you will see that you are wrong: I will show you a heroine as ugly and small as myself, and she will be as interesting to the reader as yours.”1

Jane's plainness is constantly emphasized by the author in the speech of various characters, in her internal monologue, and in the narrative itself. So, the maid Abbott simply calls her a freak (such a little toad as that p. 39.). Rochester, when he first meets her, says that she looks like a person from the other world (you have rather the look of another world), like a family

Rivers, she gives the impression of a pale, very ugly girl, devoid of charm (pallid... not at alt handsome... grace and harmony of beauty are quite wanting in those features).

Drawing the image of Jane, Bronte shows her as an extraordinary, thinking girl with a strong will and spiritual purity.

We meet Jane's characteristics, as well as her appearance, in the speech of other characters and in the internal monologue. Already in the first chapters of the novel, where the author describes Jane's life in the Reed house, we can get an idea of the girl's character. From the statements of Mrs. Reed, her children, and mainly the servants. Thus, the servant Besya, who takes pity on the girl, considers her a strange child; When talking about Jane she constantly uses the word “thing”, Little roving solitary thing… a queer frightened shy little thing… you little sharp thing… (small, lonely creature...strange, scared, shy little creature...you are a small, observant creature). Another maid in the Reed-Abbott house also calls her a “hidden creature” ( thing Fa -5).

The characteristics that the characters in the novel give to Jane Eyre, to some extent, also serve as characteristics of themselves. So, Blanche’s words about Jane are “creeping creature” (nonentity), “that person” (this person); the contemptuous tone in Blanche’s speech is not accidental: it emphasizes the disdainful attitude of a spoiled aristocrat towards a girl who lives by her own labor.

From the characters' statements about Jane, we learn about her character traits. Rosamond Oliver considers Jane calm, balanced, firm in her decisions, St. John, wanting to convince Jane that she has the qualities necessary for a missionary’s wife, says: “You are diligent, understanding, unselfish, truthful, constant and fearless.” The statements of St. John and Rochester about her self-sacrifice are also essential for the characterization of Jane. When Jane agrees to marry the blind cripple Rochester, the latter says that she "finds joy in sacrifice"

(you delight in sacrifice). Saint John expresses the same thought more sublimely: “...a soul that revelled in the flame and excitement of sacrifice” (a soul that experiences pleasure in the exciting flame of sacrifice). For St. John, this is connected with Jane's attitude towards the inheritance that she divided between him and his sisters; To voluntarily give money, according to St. John, is a very big sacrifice, which is why he talks about it so pompously.

We receive a detailed description of Jane's appearance related to her character through Mr. Rochester's monologue. He is disguised as a gypsy, Jane Eyre guesses: a flame flashes in her eyes; their gaze is transparent like dew, it is soft and full of feelings; those eyes are smiling; they are expressive; impression after impression is reflected in their depth; they are mocking, etc. He further describes the mouth: ... it loves to laugh, it is ready to express everything that the mind suggests; this is a mouth that is ready to talk a lot and smile often, to express warm human feelings; but he will remain silent about what his heart is experiencing. The forehead seems to say: “I can live alone if self-respect and circumstances require it.” Rochester makes a general conclusion: “the forehead declares, `Reason sits firm and holds the reins, and will not let the feeling burst away and hurry her to wild chasms …judgement hall still have the last word in every argument, and the casting vote in every decision. Strong wind, earthquake-shock, and fire may pass by: but I shall follow the guiding of that still small voice which interpres t the dictates of cjnscience." (this forehead declares: “the mind sits firmly in the saddle and holds the reins, and does not allow feelings to break out and drag it into the abyss... the decisive word in any dispute will always be with the mind. Violent winds, earthquakes, fires, so that I am not in danger, I I will follow the still small voice that expresses the dictates of my conscience” (vol. 1, p. 305).

When describing the appearance of the heroine, S. Bronte uses vocabulary of various emotional tones. So, speaking about the first impression that Jane made on the Rivers, she uses figurative means of expression and vocabulary emphasizing the difficult state of the heroine: comparison as white as clay or death (pale as chalk or death), expressions such as a mere spectre (just a ghost), fleshless and haggard face... very bloodless (haggard, haggard face... completely bloodless) . Rochester, in describing Jane's appearance, also often resorts to comparisons: (you look like a nun, a little pale elf, a mustard seed, etc.). On the other hand, in the description of Jane’s appearance, after she finds out that she is loved, the vocabulary of the evaluative order predominates: blooming, smiling, truly pretty, sunny-faced girl, dimpled cheeks, blissful mood, radiant hazel eyes, etc. (blooming, smiling, truly pretty, beaming girl, dimpled cheeks, blissful state, radiant brown eyes). As we see, Bronte constantly connects the description of the heroine’s appearance with her internal state and achieves this by using appropriate vocabulary and figurative expressions.

Gradually, during the course of the narrative, Brontë continues to reveal the character traits of her heroine, and the same trait is perceived differently by different characters. For example, Elena Burns condemns Jane for her impulsiveness and passion, and Rochester calls her “a self-confident, independent creature, fragile outwardly, but inflexible inwardly, freedom-loving and persistent in achieving her goal. What was unacceptable in her for the humble Helen was precisely the qualities that Rochester loved in her and St. John appreciated.

The realistic social novel of the 19th century played a major role in the history of the development of English literature, and the work of Charlotte Bronte and, in particular, her novel “Jane Eyre” left a special mark on literature. The novel was an amazing combination of topical socio-political relevance and high artistry. The main artistic discovery of the young writer was her ability to reveal the beauty and drama of the formation of the spirit in the struggle against social “fate.” The ideal of human will, not subject to public opinion, was embodied in the image of a young governess who most of all values her independence and human dignity.

Lexico-stylistic analysis of the writer’s work, artistic features practically no attention was paid to the novel, therefore, our chosen topic “Female images in Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre”” seems relevant and determines the main goal of the work - to reveal some features of the writer’s method in describing female images by analyzing artistic and stylistic means and, in particular , the lexical composition of the novel "Jane Eyre".

"Jane Eyre" is built according to the compositional laws of the "novel of education". Everything that happens to Jane Eyre" are episodes in the life evolution of the heroine, who comes through struggle, suffering and difficulties to comprehend duty, and from this comprehension to happiness.

Almost all the images in the novel are deliberate exaggeration, satirical, and sometimes romantic hyperbole. Brontë changes both the method of depiction and the emotional key of the narrative. Most of the novel fits almost entirely into the picture of a romantic novel, but there are elements of realism. Thus, we can say that in the work of Charles Bronte a special mobility of the ideological and aesthetic line between romanticism and realism was revealed. Charlotte Brontë proved herself to be a master of literary portraiture. Her work is distinguished by her careful choice of words and phrases used to externally characterize the images, but the main task, which she brilliantly solved, was to show the inner world of the people she painted: she subordinated everything else to this task.

When deciding on characters, Brontë resorted to various writing techniques, striving for the most expressive reproduction of what is typical for a particular personality. In some cases she is deliberately hyperbolic (Blanche Ingram and her mother Lady Ingram), in others she adheres to a strict reproduction of the life “norm” (Miss Fairfax).

We see how the local nobility are drawn, gathered in the Rochester house. Here the sting of her satire is sharper, the intonation becomes more caustic and hyperbolization is used. Blanche Ingram calls Lady Ingram “Lady Mother,” and she answers her daughter calling her nothing more than “my soul,” then “my angel,” then my lily of the valley, these absurd epithets in the mouths of well-bred ladies are not “ignorance of life,” but deliberate appeal to the grotesque.

But Bronte does not often resort to grotesque techniques. In most cases, when solving characters and painting portraits, she prefers direct realistic reflection. There are many different shades on her palette. There are a lot of female characters in the novel and each of them in one way or another influenced the fate of Jane Eyre or the development of her character, but the main female characters, in my opinion, were: Jane Eyre, Mrs. Reed and her daughters, Helen Burns, Miss Temple , Blanche Ingram and Bertha Mason.

The image of Jane Eyre, like most other images, is built on the principle of contrast, which consists in the fact that the writer contrasts the heroine’s appearance with her inner appearance. When creating the image of the heroine, Brontë set herself a goal - in contrast to the generally accepted “beauty”, which was usually depicted in literary works, to show a plain-looking heroine, but attractive due to her inner world. Jane's plainness is constantly emphasized by the author in the speech of various characters. So, the maid Abbott simply calls her a “freak”; Rochester, when meeting her for the first time, says that she looks like “a person from the other world”; to the Rivers family she gives the impression of a pale, very ugly girl, devoid of charm. We meet Jane’s characterization, as well as her appearance, in the speech of other characters, from the statements of Mrs. Reed, her children, and mainly servants. So, the maid Besya, who pities the girl, considers her a strange child, when talking about Jane she constantly uses the word “creature” (small, lonely creature, strange, frightened, shy little creature, you are a small, observant creature). Another maid in the Reed house, Abbott, also calls her a “hidden creature.” From the characters' statements about Jane, we learn about her character traits. Rosamond Oliver considers her calm, balanced, St. John says: “You are diligent, understanding, unselfish, truthful, constant and fearless.”

When describing the appearance of the heroine, S. Bronte uses vocabulary of various emotional tones. Thus, speaking about the first impression that Jane made on the Rivers, she uses vocabulary that emphasizes the difficult state of the heroine: the comparison “pale as chalk or death,” expressions such as “just a ghost,” “haggard, emaciated face completely bloodless.” Rochester, in describing Jane's appearance, also often resorts to comparisons: “you look like a nun, a little pale elf, a mustard seed.” On the other hand, in the description of Jane's appearance, after she finds out that she is loved, other expressive vocabulary predominates: “blooming, smiling, truly pretty, radiant girl, dimpled cheeks, blissful state, radiant brown eyes.” As we see, Bronte constantly connects the description of the heroine’s appearance with her internal state and achieves this by using appropriate vocabulary and figurative expressions. The novel is narrated in the first person, and we see that Jane’s thoughts about the morals of the people around her, norms of behavior, and her own aspirations and experiences are given in the form of an internal monologue. Inner speech serves as one of the main means of characterizing the heroine. The most characteristic thing in the novel is the reflection of the heroine in the form of a conversation between two voices. For example, after her failed marriage to Rochester, the author describes in detail Jane’s experiences. It is also worth pointing out that the characteristics that the characters in the novel give to Jane Eyre, to some extent, also serve as characteristics of themselves. Thus, Blanche’s words about Jane “nothing”, “this person”; the contemptuous tone in Igram’s speech is not accidental: it emphasizes the disdainful attitude of a spoiled aristocrat towards a girl who lives by her own labor. While Jane speaks of her as “the most spectacular, stately, slender, like a poplar and built, like Diana.” And if outwardly she aroused admiration, then by her speeches one can evaluate her internally. " Ugly woman“For her, it’s an “insult to nature.” And a cruel and cold look already reveals her character.

The next image is Mrs. Reed, the widow of Uncle Jane Eyre, who always could not stand this girl, but became her guardian at the behest of her husband and with great difficulty fulfilled his last wish. Mrs. Reed unfairly disadvantaged Jane by setting her own people as an example, thinking that by doing so she was eradicating Jane's bad inclinations. Described in the novel as “ruthless, heartless.” She speaks directly about the physical superiority of her children over Jane, calling her “obnoxious and disgusting.” The image of Mrs. Reed is unpleasant from the very beginning, and even before her death, Jane cannot reconcile with her aunt. We can judge her from Jane’s first monologues, “Yes, Mrs. Reed, how much mental anguish I owe to you.” In describing Mrs. Reed's appearance, Jane herself finds similarities in Mrs. Blanche, “the look was cold and cruel,” which reminded her of Mrs. Reed, and it never changed even before her death. She “dressed with taste and knew how to wear beautiful toilets,” was a “fat woman,” but her eyes never reflected “heartfelt kindness.” All this gives us a description of a domineering and selfish woman who, no matter how much she was afraid of the determined Jane, was able to say: “People think you are kind, but you are bad and have an evil heart. You are the liar." Even in her dying hours, she could not forgive Jane, did not do a good deed for her by reuniting her with her uncle, and so she died with this feeling. In order for the reader to understand the inner world of Mrs. Reed, Brontë used vocabulary that shows her obnoxiously proud character.

In the image of Helen Burns, we see Charlotte Bronte's older sister, Maria Bronte, who, like Helen, died as a result of the harsh living conditions at the Cowan Bridge Theological School. She is Jane Eyre's spiritual advisor at Lowwood. This smart and kind young girl amazes Jane with her “extraordinary intelligence and high courage.” She tells Jane that “if the whole world hates you and considers you bad, but you are clear before your own conscience, you will always find friends.” From the very beginning, having met Helen, the reader notices that all her aspirations are aimed at reunification with God, she does not care about her earthly life, she endures suffering, hoping only that very soon it will end and “real” life will begin, in Paradise. She is described as "sickly, thin, pale, with bloodless cheeks", but has a very strong character. The epithets and comparisons chosen by Bronte to describe Helen tell us about the girl’s strong soul. Jane compares her to a spring from which a pure and fiery soul flows. She never “tired of her company.” Their friendship did not last long, as Helen was ill with consumption, but it left an important mark on Miss Eyre’s life.

The image of the teacher Miss Temple in Lowwood becomes for Jane Eyre the loving “mother” she had been missing since childhood. Since Miss Temple did not have her own family, she gave her affection and care to her beloved students Helen Burns and Jane Eyre, who were defenseless. Miss Temple, as befits a real mother, taught Jane what she could do: draw and speak French, and she was also the standard of teacher that Jane tried to live up to during her time as a governess and teacher. At first sight she aroused Jane's "noble delight." “Slender, beautiful, brown eyes, long eyelashes, noble facial features and movements full of dignity,” this is how Jane saw her for the first time. Miss Temple always “encouraged by word and example” her students, urging them to go forward like “brave soldiers,” and Jane always listened to her. It was she who did not allow her to withdraw after Mr. Brocklehurst’s words and gave her the opportunity to tell her life story. Miss Temple is the person Jane needed, deprived mother's love. The character of Miss Temple is also complete; by the time she married and left Lowwood, she had fulfilled her purpose in Jane Eyre's life. She is an image that is beautiful on the outside as well as on the inside.

Since childhood, Jane Eyre had no close relatives who loved her in any way. She had no loving mother, no father, no sisters or brothers. But over time, Jane found Helen Burns, who became a gentle “sister” for her, Miss Temple, who was a loving “mother”, and also, having arrived in Thornfield, Jane Eyre met Mrs. Fairfax, who very soon became a kind and caring aunt .

From Jane Eyre's first acquaintance with Mrs. Fairfax and everything that surrounded her: “sitting in an old armchair, a clean, neat old lady” next to her, Jane saw “the ideal of home comfort.” Jane compared and saw the comfort of the house in Mrs. Fairfax herself. Mrs. Fearfax was the ideal of thoughtfulness, guardianship and good nature to the very end. Jane had “gratitude for her kindness and affectionate attitude” towards her, and returned the same respect. Miss Eyre had expected to find "stiffness and coldness" in the house, and was surprised to be treated "like guests." Charlotte, in describing Miss Fairfax and her actions, uses vocabulary that speaks of her as a kind, sympathetic and very caring person, ready to devote her life to her loved ones.

The last image that I explored was Bertha Mason. She is Mr. Rochester's legally insane wife, whom few knew about. In describing her image, a lot of grotesques were used: “bloodshot eyes, a terrible sinister face, blue-purple cheeks”; when they first met, Jane compared her to “a vampire from German fairy tales.” Her image was also compared to a creature, an “animal,” that ran on all fours and snorted and barked. Involuntarily, a woman with such a description evokes horror.

As a result, Jane Eyre, despite many obstacles and the cruelty of people, “found” all those people who replaced her loving relatives and became a “shelter” from all life’s troubles.

In their descriptions of the characters, we see a selection of epithets that describe the relationship of both the author and Jane herself. Often images show us the contrast between the appearance and inner world of the heroes.

Although Helen looked sickly and was thin, she was very courageous in character. In the descriptions of Lady Blanche, Mrs. Reed and her daughters we see a lot of grace, beauty, wealth, which does not correspond to their inner world. Their character is clear through their actions and words. The vocabulary used helps us understand a person’s inner world and compare it with the outside. creativity literature character

Image main character is revealed so much that we fall in love with her, sympathize with her failures and twists of fate. The combination of realistic fate with romantic twists, understatement and the end gives us a complete work that has been loved by more than one generation.

Content
Introduction 3
Chapter 1. Charlotte Brontë - 19th century writer 5
Chapter 2. The influence of Charlotte Bronte's biography on the plot of the novel 8
Chapter 3. Female images in Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre” 10
3.1. Image of Jane Eyre 11
3.2. Image of Mrs. Reed 14
3.3. Images of Eliza and Georgiana Reed…………..……………………..……15
3.4. Image of Helen Burns 17
3.5. Miss Temple Look 18
3.6. The image of Mrs. Fairfax…………………………………………………………….. 19
3.7. Blanche Ingram's image 20
3.8. Image of Bertha Mason……………………………………………………….... 21
Conclusion....23
References 25

Introduction

The realistic social novel of the 19th century played a major role in the history of the development of English literature. Realist writers of this period include, first of all, Dickens, Gaskell, Eliot, Meredith and the Brontë sisters. Among the latter, the work of Charlotte Bronte and, in particular, her novel “Jane Eyre” left a special mark on literature.
If we talk about the genre of "Jane Eyre", then it combines the features of an autobiographical and socio-psychological novel. Both realistic and romantic principles of writing are combined here. Everything connected in the novel with the depiction of the birth and development of Jane’s feelings for Rochester, as well as the collapse of hopes for the union of the heroine with her beloved, has great emotional potential and was carried out by the author under the obvious influence of Byron’s romantic poems.
In any author, the reader appreciates, first of all, the originality of his poetic voice, which is usually called creative individuality. The personality of the writer, his perception of the world and attitude to reality, emotional structure, and life experience give rise to uniqueness and originality.
Creative individuality is determined by the characteristics of the writer’s talent, his worldview, the principles of artistic reflection of life and is manifested in the characteristics of the material selected in the creative process, in the assessment of life phenomena, in the methods of creating artistic images.
One of the ways to create images in a work of art is the portrait characteristics of the characters, through which certain aspects of the writer’s creative individuality and the features of his method are revealed.
In this regard, the work of Charlotte Bronte is interesting, whose artistic method contains a psychological portrait of the characters.
The book contains deep experiences and various life situations that any of us can experience and experience all the vicissitudes of fate. Therefore, we chose this work as a study.
Purpose of the work: to consider female characters in Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre”.
Tasks:
1. Outline the biography of Charlotte Bronte.
2.Explore the influence of Charlotte Bronte’s biography on the plot of the novel “Jane Eyre”.
3. Explore female characters in the novel “Jane Eyre”, their connections in the novel and their influence on the formation of Jane Eyre and her fate.
Object of study: Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre".
Subject of research: female images in the novel.
Material for research: the work “Jane Eyre” (English “Jane Eyre”), English and Russian version.

Chapter 1. Charlotte Brontë - 19th century writer

Charlotte was born on April 21, 1816 in West Yorkshire and was the third child in the family of Irish Anglican clergyman Patrick Brontë and his wife Mary. In 1820 the family moved to Haworth, where Patrick was appointed vicar. Madame Brontë died of cancer on September 15, 1821.
In August 1824, Charlotte and her sisters Emily, Mary and Elizabeth were sent to the Girls' Theological School at Cowan Bridge (which was vividly described by Charlotte in Jane Eyre). The poor conditions of the school undermined Charlotte's already poor health and hastened the death of her two older sisters, Mary and Elizabeth.
Charlotte continued her education at Row Head, Muirfield (1831-1832), where she met Ellen Nussey and Mary Taylor, with whom she became friends and subsequently corresponded. During this period, she wrote the novella The Green Dwarf (1833) under the pseudonym Wellesley. Having received a teacher's education, Charlotte worked as a governess for many Yorkshire families until 1841. In 1842, Charlotte and Emily travel to Brussels to work at a boarding school. In exchange for food and tuition, Charlotte taught English and Emily taught music. The sisters' time at the boarding house ended in October 1842 when their aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, who had been caring for the girls following the death of their mother, died.
In January 1843, Charlotte returned to Brussels to become a teacher at a boarding school. However, now her time at school was not happy. Finally, in January 1844, she returned to Haworth, and subsequently used her experiences at the boarding school to write the novels The Teacher and Villette.
In May 1846, Charlotte, Emily and Anne published a joint collection of poetry under the pseudonyms Carrer, Ellis and Acton Bell. Despite the fact that only two copies of the collection were sold, the sisters continued to write and publish and began writing their first novels. Charlotte published her first two novels under the pseudonym Currer Bell. Critics considered Charlotte's novels to be low-grade works. They speculated a lot regarding Currer Bell's identity and gender.
Charlotte's brother and only son in the Branwell family died in September 1848 from chronic bronchitis and marasmus. Emily and Anne died of pulmonary tuberculosis in December 1848 and May 1849 respectively.
Now Charlotte and her father are alone. Due to the enormous success of Jane Eyre, Charlotte was accidentally persuaded by her publisher to come to London, where she revealed her true colors and began to move in higher social circles.
In June 1854, Charlotte married Arthur Bell Nicholls, her father's vicar, and soon became pregnant. Then her health deteriorated sharply, and, according to her early biographer E. Gaskell, she felt “constant attacks of nausea and often fainted.” Charlotte died on March 31, 1855, aged 38, along with her unborn son. Her death certificate listed the cause of tuberculosis, however, as many of Charlotte's biographers suggest, she could have died from dehydration and exhaustion. It can also be assumed that Charlotte died of typhus, which could have been infected by her old maid Tabitha Ackroyd, who died shortly after her death Charlotte. Brontë was buried in the family crypt at St. Michael's Church, Haworth, West Yorkshire, England.
E. Gaskell's posthumous biography of Charlotte Brontë, The Life of Charlotte Brontë, was the first to be published among numerous biographies of the writer.
It turned out that Charlotte wrote 20 handwritten pages of her last book, but died without finishing the work. Claire Boylen completed the book in 2007, calling it Emma Brown: A Novel from Charlotte Brontë's Unfinished Manuscript.(1,2)

Chapter 2. The influence of Charlotte Bronte's biography on the plot of the novel.

Based on the biography of Charlotte Bronte presented above and the text of the novel “Jane Eyre,” a very clear parallel can be drawn between the author and the main character of the novel.
First of all, Charlotte Brontë's appearance, if not identical, was very close to that of Jane Eyre. William Thackeray, when meeting Charlotte Bronte, saw: “... a small, trembling creature, a small hand, large honest eyes. She impressed me as a very pure, noble, sublime person.” (7, p. 10) Thackeray saw Charlotte Brontë the same way Edward Rochester saw Jane Eyre in the words of little Adele: “...et si elle n'etait pas une petite personne, assez mince et un peu pale...”[ ...this is such a small person, thin and pale..."] (5,6)
Looking in the mirror, little Jane Eyre saw: “...the strange little figure there gazing at me, with a white face and arms specking the gloom, and glittering eyes of fear moving where everyone else was still, had the effect of a real spirit.” (5); practically, she saw in him Charlotte Bronte, who had been petite, pale and in poor health all her life.
While in Brussels, Charlotte Brontë taught at the boarding house of the Heger couple. The teacher Monsieur Heger was “an intelligent, powerful, hot-tempered and demanding man” (7, p. 8), like Edward Fairfax Rochester. Mr. Heger and Charlotte Brontë, who had not been spoiled by male attention in their lives, much less the attention of such an intelligent and extraordinary man, spent a long time walking and talking; Charlotte Brontë had very warm feelings for him. But Mr. Heger was married, and after Madame Heger found out about his innocent meetings and conversations with Charlotte, she made a scandal for him and demanded the end of their meetings and the departure of her rival. Charlotte Bronte was forced to leave, but “having rethought and developed her experiences, she embodied [S.B.] in the story of the relationship” (7, p. 9) of Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre. Mr. Rochester appeared before the readers “chained forever to an unbalanced and evil creature” (7, p. 9) by Berthe Maison, whose prototype was the scandalous wife of Monsieur Eger, who deprived Charlotte Bronte of such a pleasant interlocutor and man.
In Charlotte Brontë’s life there was a young priest, Henry Nussey, the brother of her close friend, who proposed marriage to her, but, just as the heroine of the novel “Jane Eyre” refused the missionary St. John because she did not love him, the creator of the novel refused the man whom did not love.
Based on all of the above, we can conclude that the personality of the writer, the people around her and the era had a greater influence on the images of the main characters and the plot of the novel; it can act as an autobiographical novel by Charlotte Brontë.

Chapter 3. Female images in Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre”

There are a lot of female characters in the novel and each of them in one way or another influenced the fate of Jane Eyre or the development of her character, but I chose the main female characters: Jane Eyre, Mrs. Reed, Helen Burns, Miss Temple, Blanche Ingram and Bertha Mason . This choice is justified by their greatest significance in the development of the plot of the novel.

3.1. Jane Eyre image

Charlotte Brontë can with full confidence be considered the prototype of Jane Eyre: both have poor health, strong character and will, a heightened sense of justice and a difficult fate.
Jane Eyre has a truly unusual character: despite the fact that from childhood she lived under the yoke of her aunt and her children, this did not break her, did not dull her keen interest in life, did not embitter her or deprive her of her will, but made her stronger. Not because of her character, but because of circumstances, Jane grew up as an introverted and self-sufficient child.
Jane, as the book repeatedly emphasizes, was not beautiful, which gives her a peculiar charm. This is also possible and helped her acquire and maintain spiritual purity and endless patience, because awareness of her external unattractiveness gives rise to becoming spiritually beautiful. Honesty to oneself and others attracts and keeps around Jane much more noble and sincere people than her external beauty would attract; Helen Burns says about this: “... while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.”(5)
It was only because of her kind, compassionate, understanding and selfless heart that Jane attracted such wonderful people as Helen Burns and Miss Temple, because they were exactly the same as Jane, only with different destinies and life experiences. But she was not only kind, caring and submissive, she also had several truly valuable traits - inner strength, thirst for justice and an inquisitive mind that cannot be acquired or educated, they must be there from the beginning.
“Jane Eyre is an ardent and strong person, a bearer of spontaneous protest against all oppression” (1)
Despite all that Jane had to endure at the Reeds and at Lowwood, she carried through it all her pure and kind heart; she retained her angelic humility, gained considerable life experience, and became smarter and more decisive. As time passed and circumstances changed, Jane's original character became stronger and better.
It was only because Jane had something special, bright and pure, that she attracted Mr. Rochester. Jane was in fact very different from those people who always surrounded Mr. Rochester - spoiled by luxury, arrogant and insincere to the depths of their souls, the echoes of which, however, were not heard behind the cry of a vulgar nature.
And again, the fact that Jane was not beautiful is also more a blessing than a nuisance; this distinguishes her even more from the beautiful, but selfish, stupid and heartless ladies from Mr. Rochester's society.
“Having become the bride of a loved one, at the height of happiness, Jane Eyre maintains composure and sobriety. She stands guard over her independence; she is afraid of becoming a slave, her husband’s toy. She continues to give lessons to his daughter, rejects the groom’s luxurious gifts, and persistently reminds him that she is poor and ugly.”(1)
Thanks to the strength of her humble character, Jane did not allow herself to marry the married Mr. Rochester, did not bring shame on herself and did not sin. Although her ardent desire to live to the end with Mr. Rochester ran counter to her sense of honor and duty, she found the strength to silently leave Thornfield and begin a life in which her lover was not.
Her inner core, hardened in previous sufferings and troubles, helped Jane survive without funds and a roof over her head.
Having experienced a lot of mental suffering in Rochester, regretting that she had left the home where she loved and was loved, Jane began to live again, she again had devoted friends, as pure in soul as herself, and a new purpose and joy in life – upbringing and education of little village girls.
Honesty to herself and unquestioning adherence to moral principles saved her from marrying the fanatical missionary St. John; she simply could not marry someone she didn’t love.
Relying on the call of her heart, Jane went in search of Mr. Rochester and, as it turned out, not in vain. After all the trials, suffering and troubles, the love of Edward Rochester and Jane Eyre flared up with renewed vigor, but this time without the bonds of marriage that burdened him (his ex-wife died in a fire in Thornfield). Jane finally received happiness and peace as a reward for being honest with herself, others and God, kind, pure and humble.
The image of Jane Eyre is ideal, nothing about her should be different, and even the suffering that befell her is also part of her image.

3.2. Image of Mrs. Reed

Mrs. Reed is the widow of Uncle Jane Eyre, who always could not stand this girl, but became her guardian at the behest of her husband and with great difficulty fulfilled his last wish.
Powerful and selfish, Mrs. Reed unfairly infringed on Jane, setting her, in fact, unworthy children as an example, thinking that by doing so she was eradicating Jane’s bad inclinations. Even in childhood, she managed to spoil them so much with her love and complete ignorance of bad deeds that they, in the end, completely lost the sense of humanity, permitted and forbidden (most of all this applies to her son, John, whose life, due to bad upbringing, ended very sadly) and love for one’s neighbor, that her beloved children perceived her own funeral as a kind of tedious task that did not evoke any special emotions.
The ruthless Mrs. Reed sent Jane to the room where Mr. Reed died, for an offense that Jane did not commit, knowing that she was very afraid of it.
However, for all her authority, Mrs. Reed was frightened when Jane, in the heat of anger, expressed everything that she had accumulated with early childhood, she was afraid of the words of truth about dishonor, heartlessness and injustice from the lips of a small, but already wisely looking at life, child.
The character of Mrs. Reed is unpleasant from the very beginning, and even before her death, Jane cannot reconcile with her aunt, although, judging by the fact that this novel is Victorian, this would be quite expected.

3.3. Images of Eliza and Georgiana Reed

Both daughters of Mrs. Reed at the beginning of the story appear to the reader as spoiled, headstrong, arrogant and rude favorites of their mother, all the guests and most of the servants.

Since childhood, Eliza had entrepreneurial abilities: “She had a turn for traffic, and a marked propensity for saving…. As to her money, she first secreted it in odd corners, wrapped in a rag or an old curl-paper; but some of these hoards having been discovered by the housemaid, Eliza, fearful of one day losing her valued treasure, consented to intrust it to her mother, at a usurious rate of interest-fifty or sixty per cent.; which interest she exacted every quarter, keeping her accounts in a little book with anxious accuracy. "(6) And did not share the interests of her beautiful sister Georgiana, who was most interested in fashion and beauty; outfits and jewelry. Mrs. Abbott about Georgiana: “Little darling! - with her long curls and her blue eyes, and such a sweet color as she has; just as if she were painted! "(6)

Having matured, Eliza and Georgiana became even more distant in their development and interests. Eliza turned to religion and began to adhere to ascetic principles: “...very tall, almost as tall as Miss Ingram - very thin too, with a sallow face and severe mien. There was something ascetic in her look, which was augmented by the extreme plainness of a straight-skirted, black, stuff dress, a starched linen collar, hair combed away from the temples, and the nun-like ornament of a string of ebony beads and a crucifix. This I felt sure was Eliza, though I could trace a little resemblance to her former self in that elongated and colorless visage. “(6) Georgiana, during the entire time that Jane Eyre was absent from the Reed house, did not grow either culturally, morally, or spiritually; she remained the person most interested in the physical shell of the soul: “This was a full-blown, very plump damsel, fair as waxwork, with handsome and regular features, languishing blue eyes, and ringleted yellow hair. The hue of her dress was black too; but its fashion was so different from her sister’s—so much more flowing and becoming—it looked as stylish as the other’s looked puritanical.”(6)
Jane Eyre spoke as follows about her cousins - insensitive and smart, and stupid and emotional: “Feeling without judgment is a washy draught indeed; but judgment untempered by feeling is too bitter and husky a morsel for human deglutition.”(6)
Due to their bad upbringing, the sisters Eliza and Georgiana did not differ in their moral qualities from each other in the same way as they did from Jane Eyre, but they also took little interest in each other’s lives. Even living together, they lived on their own. When the three of them met, and these were the last days of Mrs. Reed's life, Jane Eyre felt more emotion about this than any of Mrs. Reed's daughters. Neither Eliza nor Georgiana said goodbye to Mrs. Reed as to their own and beloved mother: “Georgiana, who had burst out into loud weeping, said she dared not go…. Eliza surveyed her parent calmly. After a silence of some minutes she observed - “With her constitution she should have lived to a good old age: her life was shortened by trouble.” And then a spasm constricted her mouth for an instant..."(6)

They, like their mother and brother, behaved towards Jane Eyre in such a way that she would not think that anyone in the Reed house loved her, that she was valued here, or that she was even part of their family. This circumstance, again, helped Jane Eyre become a strong and independent person in the future.

3.4. Image of Helen Burns

The prototype for the image of Helen Burns was Charlotte Bronte's older sister, Maria Bronte, who, like Helen, died as a result of the harsh living conditions at the Cowan Bridge theological school, which, in turn, is described in bright colors in the novel and called Lowvod.
Helen Burns is Jane Eyre's spiritual director at Lowwood. This smart and kind young girl amazes Jane with her knowledge, fortitude and Christian humility. She convinces Jane that all their earthly suffering is just a sad moment before the endless heavenly happiness near God. Helen believes that only by humbly enduring all the vicissitudes of life, the human soul deserves endless happiness in heaven, she says to Jane: “Why, then, should we ever sink overwhelmed with distress, when life is so soon over, and death is so certain an entrance to happiness-to glory?”(6)
From the very beginning, having met Helen, the reader notices that all her aspirations are aimed at reunification with God, she does not care about her earthly life, she endures hardships, suffering, hoping only that very soon it will end and the “real” one will begin. life, in paradise. However, Helen was not mistaken in her hopes for a quick transition to another world; God heard her ardent desire and called her into the world of spirits - Helen dies during a typhus epidemic.
Despite the fact that Helen appears in the novel for a short time, she is a complete image and leaves it only after she fulfills her purpose - instilling in Jane Eyre Christian humility and the belief that earthly suffering will be rewarded in the kingdom of spirits.

3.5. Miss Temple image

Miss Temple in Lowwood becomes for Jane Eyre the loving “mother” she so lacked from childhood. Since Miss Temple did not have her own family, she gave her affection and care to her beloved students Helen Burns and Jane Eyre, who were so pure and defenseless.
Miss Temple, as befits a real mother, taught Jane what she could do: draw and speak French, and she was also the standard of teacher that Jane tried to live up to during her time as a governess and teacher.
Miss Temple, the person who Jane, deprived of maternal love, needed, received it to some extent from Miss Temple. Jane needed the friendly shoulder and quiet, humble disposition of Helen Burns, and the wisdom and care of Miss Temple, without which Jane would have had a very hard time in a life full of suffering, deprivation, and illness.
Jane Eyre on the role of Miss Temple in her life after the death of Helen Burns during the typhus epidemic: “...to her instruction I owed the best part of my skills; her friendship and society had been my continual solace; she had stood me in the stead of mother, governess, and, latterly, companion.” (6)
The character of Miss Temple is also complete; by the time she married and left Lowwood, she had fulfilled her purpose in Jane Eyre's life.

3.6. Image of Mrs. Fairfax

From Jane Eyre's first acquaintance with Mrs. Fairfax and everything that surrounded her: “...an arm-chair high-backed and old-fashioned, wherein sat the neatest imaginable little elderly lady, in widow's cap, black silk gown, and snowy muslin apron ; exactly like what I had fancied Mrs. Fairfax, only less stately and milder looking. She was occupied in knitting; a large cat sat demurely at her feet; nothing in short was wanting to complete the beau-ideal of domestic comfort.”(6) nothing has changed; Mrs. Fearfax was the ideal of thoughtfulness, guardianship and good nature to the very end.

Mrs. Fairfax is the type of person that everyone should have in their life, to whom they can come and talk about their sorrows and receive sincere help; who will wrap you in a warm blanket and drink hot tea on a rainy day. She saw in Jane Eyre a delicate nature that needed support.

As a result, Jane Eyre “found” all those people who replaced her loving relatives and became a “shelter” from all life’s troubles.

3.7. Blanche Ingram's image

The image of Blanche Ingram can rightfully be considered the antipode of the image of Jane Eyre. According to Mrs. Fairfax, Blanche Ingram appears before readers in the following form: “Tall, fine bust, sloping shoulders; long, graceful neck: olive complexion, dark and clear; noble features; eyes rather like Mr. Rochester's: large and black, and as brilliant as her jewels. And then she had such a fine head of hair; raven-black and so becomingly arranged: a crown of thick plaits behind, and in front the longest, the glossiest curls I ever saw. She was dressed in pure white; an amber-coloured scarf was passed over her shoulder and across her breast, tied at the side, and descending in long, fringed ends below her knee. She wore an amber-coloured flower, too, in her hair: it contrasted well with the jetty mass of her curls.”(6)
Miss Ingram's appearance is frontal to Jane Eyre's appearance, just as her internal organization is opposite to Jane Eyre's inner world.
Beautiful, tall, stately, with royal manners, an angelic voice and the ability to play the piano well, Blanche Ingram, at the same time mediocre, materialistic, evil, empty and down-to-earth, a priori could not become the lover of Mr. Rochester, whom she herself, however, did not at all did not love. Jane Eyre also understood this: “Surely she cannot truly like him, or not like him with true affection!” If she did, she need not coin her smiles so lavishly, flash her glances so unremittingly, manufacture airs so elaborate, graces so multitudinous. It seems to me that she might, by simply sitting quietly at his side, saying little and looking less, get nigher his heart.” (6)
The image of Blanche Ingram, in my opinion, is presented in the novel in order to show how a beautiful nature on the outside can be disgusting on the inside; this once again emphasizes the bouquet of Jane Eyre’s advantages with her unassuming appearance.
Blanche Ingram, without meaning to, by the totality of her beauty,
talents, stupidity and callousness, pushed Edward Rochester towards Jane Eyre, enveloping her in an aura of beneficence.

3.8. Bertha Mason image

The image of Bertha Mason is of great importance in the development of the plot.
According to Mr. Rochester, who, by the will of his parents, was married to Bertha Mason and was not warned that there were insane people in her family: “Bertha Mason is mad; and she came of a mad family; idiots and maniacs through three generations! Her mother, the Creole, was both a madwoman and a drunkard!”(6)
Seeing Bertha Mason at night, Jane described her as follows: “...a woman, tall and large, with thick and dark hair hanging long down her back... I know not what dress she had on: it was white and straight; but whether gown, sheet, or shroud...I wish I could forget the roll of the red eyes and the fearful blackened inflation of the lineaments!... This, sir, was purple: the lips were swelled and dark; the brow furrowed: the black eyebrows widely raised over the bloodshot eyes.”(6) By tearing the wedding veil, Bertha Mason foreshadowed that the plans of Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre were not destined to come true, at least for that moment.
This “clothed hyena” (6) was the stumbling block on the path to the happiness of the lovers, according to the law of the genre. In those days, Mr. Rochester could not divorce his mentally ill wife, who appeared before readers in the following form: “...it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing, and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face.”(6) It was because of her that this path was so long and thorny for Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester.
The prototype for the creation of this character was the highly hyperbolic Madame Heger, who created a scene for Monsieur Heger and demanded the speedy departure of Charlotte Brontë, having learned how close this young teacher and her husband had become in their constant communication.
Bertha Mason is one more obstacle, among many others, that Jane Eyre must overcome, and she does it with honor, although she is absolutely miserable, remaining true to herself and pure before God (at the same time she avoids the public reproach that would arise, if she marries Rochester, that is the last thing she is interested in).
But suffering must come to an end someday, and in the case of Jane Eyre, it came when the madwoman decided to set fire to the Thornfield estate and died by falling from the roof - Bertha Mason’s “mission” in the novel was completed, the feelings of Edward Rochester and Jane Eyre stood the test of time and circumstances, now they deserve endless happiness with each other.

Conclusion

During the study of female images in the novel “Jane Eyre”, it was found that most of them had prototypes in the life of Charlotte Bronte (5); and, based on this, we can conclude that the female characters in the novel “Jane Eyre” are interconnected as much as their prototypes were interconnected in the real life of this talented English writer. The connection between female characters in the novel is close because they had an exceptional influence on the fate and immediate character of Jane Eyre, they are all firmly woven into the plot and only with the presence of all of them, without exception, does the novel receive its psychologism, realism and scenes that touch to the depths souls by the injustice of Sarah Reed, the love of God by Helen Burns, the good-heartedness of Mrs. Fairfax and the unbreakable steadfastness of character and inner purity of Jane Eyre herself.
Each image is described in sufficient detail, they are all complete images, and also original in their own way.
The characters described in the course of the study play an important role in the life and development of Jane Eyre; not one of them can be excluded, since it is together that they create the environment and the conditions in which such an extraordinary personality as she arose and developed.
Each of the female characters left the narrative only as his “mission” in the development of the novel’s plot was completed.
All female characters are interconnected by the fact that only together they managed to “raise” the Jane Eyre that she appears to readers in the novel.

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The image of Jane Eyre, like most other images, is built on the principle of contrast, which in this case consists in the fact that the writer contrasts the heroine’s appearance with her inner appearance. When creating the image of the heroine, Brontë set herself a goal - in contrast to the generally accepted “beauty”, which was usually depicted in literary works, to show a plain-looking heroine, but attractive due to her inner nobility. In his book about Brontë, Gaskell quotes from the anonymous obituary, “On the Death of Correll Bell,” in which the author writes:

Rivers, she gives the impression of a pale, very ugly girl, devoid of charm (pallid... not at alt handsome... grace and harmony of beauty are quite wanting in those features).

Drawing the image of Jane, Bronte shows her as an extraordinary, thinking girl with a strong will and spiritual purity.

We meet Jane's characteristics, as well as her appearance, in the speech of other characters and in the internal monologue. Already in the first chapters of the novel, where the author describes Jane's life in the Reed house, we can get an idea of the girl's character. From the statements of Mrs. Reed, her children, and mainly the servants. Thus, the servant Besya, who takes pity on the girl, considers her a strange child; When talking about Jane she constantly uses the word “thing”, Little roving solitary thing... a queer frightened shy little thing... you little sharp thing... ). Another maid in the Reed house, Abbott (thing Fa -5), also calls her a “hidden creature”.

When describing the appearance of the heroine, S. Bronte uses vocabulary of various emotional tones. Thus, speaking about the first impression that Jane made on the Rivers, she uses figurative means of expression and vocabulary that emphasizes the heroine’s difficult condition: comparison as white as clay or death (pale as chalk or death), expressions such as a mere spectre (just a ghost ), fleshless and haggard face... very bloodless (haggard, haggard face... completely bloodless). Rochester, in describing Jane's appearance, also often resorts to comparisons: (you look like a nun, a little pale elf, a mustard seed, etc.). On the other hand, in the description of Jane’s appearance, after she finds out that she is loved, the vocabulary of the evaluative order predominates: blooming, smiling, truly pretty, sunny-faced girl, dimpled cheeks, blissful mood, radiant hazel eyes, etc. (blooming, smiling, truly pretty, beaming girl, dimpled cheeks, blissful state, radiant brown eyes). As we see, Bronte constantly connects the description of the heroine’s appearance with her internal state and achieves this by using appropriate vocabulary and figurative expressions.

The spirit of protest and independence also makes itself felt in Jane Eyre’s relationship with her loved one. Exhausted by the strange, bizarre game that her master plays with her, Jane is, in fact, the first to tell him about her love, which was unheard of and unacceptable in a Victorian novel. Jane's very declaration of love takes on the character of a bold declaration of equality. “Or do you think that I’m an automaton, an insensitive machine?.. I also have a soul like you, and the same heart... I’m talking to you now, disdaining customs and conventions and even throwing away everything earthly...”

As already noted, the novel is narrated in the first person. The tradition of such a narrative originates back in the 18th century, at a time when the psychology of the hero began to attract the attention of writers. In the novel under analysis, this form of narration, as well as other features artistic method, contributes to a deeper revelation of the psychology of the heroes.

In the analyzed novel, this form of narration, as well as other features of the artistic method, contribute to a deeper revelation of the heroine’s psychology. In the form of an internal monologue, Jane's thoughts about the morals of the people around her, norms of behavior, and her own aspirations and experiences are given. It should be noted that the internal monologue often expresses the thoughts of Charlotte Bonte herself.

In the novel “Jane Eyre,” inner speech serves as one of the main means of characterizing the heroine. The internal monologue in the novel is very emotional. A certain elation of style in the heroine's internal monologue is achieved by using book vocabulary and complex syntax 1. The most characteristic thing in the novel is the reflection of the heroine in the form of a conversation between two voices. For example, after her failed marriage to Rochester, the author describes in detail Jane’s experiences. Her hesitations and painful thoughts about her future life are given in the form of a dialogue between reason and feeling. The passage below is not only one of the most striking examples of this form of inner speech, but also seems to be characteristic of Bronte’s style of internal monologues in general.

Some time in the afternoon I raised my head and…asked `What am I to do?`

But the answer my mind gave -`Leave Thornfield at once` - was so prompt, so dreaded, that I stopped my ears: I said, I could not bear such world now. `that I am not Edward Rochester bride is the least part of my woe,` I alleged: `that I have wokened out of most glorious dreams, and found them all void and vain, is a horror I could bear and master; but that I must leave him decidedly, instantly, entirely, is intorable. I cannot do it."

But, then, a voice within me averred that I could do it, and foretold that I should do it. I wresfled with my own resolution: I wanted to be weak…but conscience, turned tyrant, held passion by the throat, told her tauntingly, she had yet but dipped her dainty foot in the slough, and swore that with that arm of iron, he would push her down to unsounded depths of agony.

`Let me be torn away, then! `I cried. `Let another help me!`

`No; you shall tear yourself away, none shall help you: you shall, yourself, pluck out your right eye: yourself cut off your right hand: your heart shall be the victim; and you, the priest to transfix it.

The emotionality with which Jane's experiences are conveyed is achieved here through various stylistic means of expression. First of all, this is a form of “polemical dialogue between reason and feeling, actually expressing internal struggle the heroine, and this internal dialogue is commented on by the heroine herself. In the dialogue itself, the voice of “feeling” merges with the voice of the heroine, the voice of “reason,” although it opposes her desires, wins - Jane leaves Thornfield Castle. The entire passage is somewhat elevated in nature: this is facilitated by the use of words of a bookish and literary nature (dread - terrible, terrible, allege - to assert, aver - to prove, slough - swamp).

“A ridge of illuminated heath, alive, glancing, devouring, would have been a meet emblem of my mind when I accused and menaced Mrs. Reed: the same ridge, black and blasted after the flames are dead, would have represented as meetly my subsequent condition."

“Glorious discovery to a lonely wretch!” This was wealth indeed! Wealth to the heart!

2.2 Portrait description of Rochester

Sir Rochester Fairfax is in many ways a romantic, Byronic hero - in any case, he has all the attributes of one, for example, a romantic, mysterious appearance. Even Jane's first meeting with Rochester is depicted by the author in a romantic style. From the first meeting and throughout the novel, Charlotte Bronte, through the mouth of Jane Eyre, characterizes Rochester and describes his external characteristics.

His figure was enveloped in a riding cloak, fur collared, and steel clasped; its details were not apparent…the general points of middle height, and significant breadth of chest. He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow; his eyes and gathered eyebrows looked ireful and thwarted just now; he was past youth, but had not reached middle age; perhaps he might be 35.

It was difficult to see his figure, but he seemed of average height and broad shoulders. The face is dark, the features are stern, the forehead is massive. His eyes, under his fluffy, fused eyebrows, glowed with angry stubbornness - he could have been about 35 years old.

Bronte, showing us Mr. Rochester, draws more of his external facial features.

…his decisive nose, more remarkable for character than beauty; his full nostrils... his grim mouth, clin and yaw - yes, all three were very grim... it was a good figure in the athletic sense of the term - broad chested and thin flanked; though neither tall nor graceful.

“... a sharply defined nose, more characteristic than beautiful, flaring nostrils... hard contours of the lips and chin. Not distinguished by either tallness or grace, he was nevertheless built excellently, for with broad shoulders and chest he had a slender figure.”

The author emphasizes the gloomy gloom of the hero. Rochester is ugly, but his very uglyness is expressive and significant. He is disappointed and shrouded in mystery. He talks a lot and very vaguely about himself and makes it clear to Jane from the very first conversations that his conscience is restless, that his everyday experience is of a nature that society disapproves of.

His form was of the same strong and stalwart contour as ever: his port was still erect, his hair was still raven black; nor were his feature altered or sunk: not in one years space, by any sorrow, could his athletic strength be quelled, or his vigorous prime blighted. But in his countenance...that looked desperate and brooding- that reminded me of some wronged and fettered wild best or bird, dangerous to approach in his sullen woe. The cadet eagle, whose gold-ringer eyes cruelty has extinguished, might look as looked that sightless Samson.

Rochester can be selfish and treacherous. In a word, in Rochester, unlike the other heroes of the novel, there is much of the traditional romantic loner hero. Rochester, with his dark mop of hair, fiery eyes and courageous appearance, evokes the images of the Giaour and the images of other heroes of Byron. But in this situation this is justified, because all the romantic feelings of Jane Eyre are associated with the image of Rochester.

Blind as he was, smiles played over his face, joy dawned on his forehead: his lineaments softened and warmed.

2.3 Charlotte Brontë as a master of landscape

Charlotte Bronte proved herself to be a brilliant master of landscape. She saw the world through the eyes of an artist, and she was not only a writer, but also an artist. The nature of northern England described in her novel is beautiful and infinitely diverse, all these heather valleys and hills, sometimes shrouded in a blue haze, sometimes bathed in moonlight or icy, carved by a cold wind.

Descriptions of nature are subordinated to action. We will not encounter a single “neutral” landscape. Nature serves as one of the means of revealing characters in the novel.

From the very beginning of the novel "Jane Eyre" the landscape is in tune with the experiences of little Jane. She has a hard time living with her aunt, where the children bully her and Mrs. Reed constantly and unfairly punishes her. The nature that the author draws here is in tune with the heroine’s mood - sad, dreary: rain, wind, cloudy sky and cold. It is no coincidence that the events that the author narrates here take place in autumn and winter. It is autumn and winter that best emphasize the darkness and melancholy in Jane’s soul.

The emotionality of the description is enhanced by the following epithets: ceaseless rain (endless rain), black frost (gloomy frost), opaque sky (gloomy sky), howling wind (howling wind), beclouded sky ( cloudy sky), lamentable blast (plaintively moaning wind) and many others.

Not only figurative means of expression, but also the vocabulary literally used by Bronte to describe late autumn contributes to the creation of an atmosphere of gloom and melancholy. Nature is the background for little Jane's gloomy thoughts; it is in complete harmony with her mood. The landscape here is not divorced from a person, but is given through the perception of the heroine, whose mood it illustrates.

In the chapters devoted to Lockwood Shelter, the landscape is also gloomy and harsh: the iron sky of winter, mists as chill as death, that beck a raving sound wild rain or whirling sleet (heavy rain or the howl of a blizzard), the forest showed sleet only ranks of skeletons (instead of a forest there were dead trees). The description here is even more emotional and figurative compared to the first chapters. Nature in these chapters serves as the backdrop for an even darker period in Jane's life.

In some cases, nature in the novel not only serves as a background for the heroine’s experiences, but also becomes, so to speak, an active force.

Thus, an example of the active role of landscape is the description of the storm during the explanation of Jane and Rochester. By proposing to Jane, Rochester, according to Bronte, violates social and moral laws. The writer expresses her attitude to this symbolically, describing the wrath of nature.

But what had to fall the night? The moon was not yet set, and we were all in shadow... and what ailed the chestnut tree? It writ and groaned; while the wind roared in the laurel walk…a liquid, vivid spark leapt out of a cloud at which. I was looking, and there was a crack, a close rattling peal… Before I left my bed in the morning, little Adele came running in to tell me that the great horse chestnut at the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away.

The thunderstorm that broke out while Rochester was proposing to Jane is a symbolic warning, and the chestnut tree that was split by lightning is the embodiment of the impossibility of their marriage. The life together of Jane and Rochester must be sanctioned by marriage, and pure, unspoiled nature opposes Rochester’s act and, as it were, warns Jane. In this case, the landscape is not a passive background of the events described, but a symbolic image of the author’s attitude to what is happening; nature actively intervenes in the fate of the heroine.

The description of the moon on the eve of Jane's wedding plays a similar role.

“The moon appeared momentarily...her disk was blood-red and half overcast; she seemed to throw on me one bewildered? Dreary glance and buried herself again instantly in the deep drift of cloud" (The moon appeared for a moment... its disk was blood red and half covered with clouds; it seemed that she cast a sad, confused look at me and immediately hid in a thick veil of clouds" T 2, p. 84).

The personification of the moon, its confused, sad look - all this seems to be preparing a tragic denouement. With the help of personification, Bronte transforms inanimate nature into an animate being, as if reacting to current events.

The use of landscape as a special artistic medium is characteristic of the Bronte style. The chestnut split on the night of Jane and Rochester's explanation appears later both in Jane's internal monologue and in Rochester's speech. In Jane's thoughts on the eve of the wedding, the author develops this image - the chestnut tree stood black, charred, split in two; the tree did not fall apart only because it had strong roots that held it up. The chestnut was a dead ruin, but invisible to the eye both fragments were connected to each other. And the author’s description of the chestnut and Jane’s thoughts about it - all this serves as a symbolic image of the future of Jane and Rochester, their broken happiness; Even though they break up, they continue to love each other. The deep roots of the chestnut tree connecting the charred rubble symbolize the faithful, deep love of Jane and Rochester, which endures difficult trials but triumphs.

In some cases, Bronte's landscape becomes a metaphorical description of the heroine's experiences. These are Jane's thoughts after the failed marriage:

“A Christmas frost had to come at midsummer; a white December strom had whirled over June; ice glazed the ripe apples, drifts crushed the blowing roses; on hey-field and corn-field lay a frozen shroud: lanes which last night blushed full of flowers, to-day were pathless with untrodden snow...” (In the middle of the summer, the Christmas frost struck; in June, a snowy December blizzard swept through; frost bound the ripe apples ; icy winds crushed the blooming roses; a white shroud lay in the fields and meadows, the lawns, covered with flowers yesterday, today became impassable due to the deep snow ... "

If at the beginning of the novel the cold winter and dreary autumn served as the backdrop for the description of Jane's hard life, here the contrast of the dark cold winter with the blooming fragrant summer is the very description of Jane's experiences in the form of an extended metaphor.

Nature plays the same role in describing the confusion that Jane experiences when she realizes that she has fallen in love with Rochester. Here again the landscape appears as an extended metaphor in Jane's internal monologue.

I regained my couch, but never thought of sleep. Till morning dawned I was tossed on a buoyant but unquiet sea, where bills of trouble rolled under surges of joy. I thought sometimes I saw beyond its wild waters a shore, sweet as the hills of Benlah; and now and then a freshening gale awakened by hope, bore my spirit triumphantly towards the bourne: but I could not reach it, even in fancy, a counteracting breeze blew off the land and continually drove me back.

The stormy waves of life into which fate throws her, the inability to reach a happy shore - all this is a figurative description of what awaits Jane in the future. Various artistic means, one of which is the use of landscape, Brontë prepares the reader for a tragic outcome. The landscape here, as throughout the novel, plays a big role in creating the image.

Thus, the landscapes that the writer so artistically paints not only make it possible to clearly see the scene of action, but also help to more deeply understand the subtle artistic nature of the heroine. Apparently, the fact that the author was also an artist helped her so organically and subtly weave the colors and smells of northern England into the fabric of the story.

Jane Eyre

JEN EYRE (eng. Jane Eyre) - the heroine of the novel by S. Bronte “Jane Eyre” (1847). The novel is often called autobiographical, although the persons and events depicted in it are not directly related to the life of the author. The life story of D.E. is the fruit of fiction, but the world of her inner experiences is certainly close to Charles Bronte. The narration, coming from the heroine’s point of view, has a pronounced lyrical overtones. And although Brontë herself, unlike her heroine, who from early childhood knew all the bitterness of orphanhood and someone else’s bread, grew up in a large family, surrounded by her brother and sisters - artistic, subtle natures, she, like D.E., was destined outlive all your loved ones. S. Brontë passed away at the age of thirty-nine, having buried her brother and sisters, never having known the joys of marriage and motherhood that she so generously endowed with her literary heroine.

“I remember a trembling, fragile creature, a small palm, big black eyes. Perhaps, main feature her character was ardent honesty, her favorite author UM wrote about S. Bronte. Thackeray, to whom she dedicated the second edition of her novel. “She carried out judgment on her contemporaries, with particular sensitivity catching arrogance and falsehood in them. A great sacred respect for truth and justice always lived in her soul.”

In this portrait one can discern the features not only of S. Brontë, but also of the heroine she created. In D.E. we find the same inflexibility, honesty, moral rigorism. The heroine’s words: “Women experience the same things as men; they have the same need to demonstrate their abilities and seek a field of activity for themselves as their male counterparts; forced to live under the harsh yoke of tradition, in an inert environment, they suffer in exactly the same way as men would suffer in their place” - sounds like the author’s credo and the key to reading the novel.

S. Brontë and her sisters overcame the routine of their parsonage through creativity. D.E. - an orphan, warmed up out of mercy in the family of her aunt, then a pupil of the Lowood Orphanage - realizes teaching as her life's work. Emphasizing the outward inconspicuousness of her beloved heroine, Brontë insists on the originality of her spiritual beauty. Directness, sincerity, and fortitude that distinguish D.E. from the aristocrats presented in the novel, they attract the attention of Edward Rochester, into whose rich house she enters the role of governess. In her love for Mr. Rochester, the full depth of her nature is revealed. Forced to flee his house so as not to sin against the moral purity of their love union, D.E. returns to him in the hour of severe trials, becoming his wife, friend, restoring his lost sight and self-confidence.

With all the concreteness of D.E.’s social and everyday depiction, this “romantic heroine in the non-romantic strata of society” (E. Genieva) represents another, so popular in English literature of the 19th century. modification of the image of Cinderella. Along with the positive heroines of D. Austin, C. Dickens, W. M. Thackeray, D. E. represents the idea that spiritual nobility, modesty, hard work and faith will ultimately be rewarded. And although at the end of the novel the heroine does not expect a palace and glass slippers, family peace, peace of mind and happy motherhood are guaranteed to her.

Lit.: Genieva E. Indomitable spirit // Bronte S. Jen Eyre. Poems. M., 1990.

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