How does post-colonialism help in the interpretation and evaluation of Jane Eyre?
How does Post-colonialism help in the interpretation and evaluation of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre?
Approaching Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre from a post-colonial reading, this essay seeks to address the theory of Universalism, observing how it is presented from a Eurocentric perspective in relation to Jane and her English prejudices. It will focus on the concept of ‘Other’ through the representation of Bertha Mason. Further to this it will also argue that ‘Otherness’ can also be reflected in Jane through the ‘analysis of colonizer/colonized relations’. Finally it will discuss the idea and relevance of Hybridity in the novel through Bertha’s creole heritage. The premise of this essay will be supported by the findings of literary critics such as Homi K. Bhabha, Bill Ashcroft, Ania Loomba and Peter Barry. Whilst addressing the theory of Eurocentric Universalism, the essay will begin by applying Edward W. Said’s Orientalism to the text, discussing the idea that ‘the orient helped to define Europe as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience’.
The publication of Edward W. Said’s text Orientalism, developed the connotations and denotations of ‘the scholarly discipline called Orientalism’1 to accurately explain the Western World’s fabricated cultural notions. These perceptions assisted in the falsification of the Orient, and more specifically of the Middle East. These assumptions allowed Orientalism to become generated through a definitive distinction constructed between ‘the Orient’2 and ‘the Occident’ (Said, p.25)
This perception of a definitive divide between the two, can significantly be seen in Bronte’s Jane Eyre. For example, the description of Jane’s appearance as ‘so little, so pale’3, in comparison to Bertha’s ‘discoloured … savage face’ (JE, p.283) immediately creates a difference between the two women. However, the perception of Orientalism is only incorporated into the text once Jane’s English nationality and Bertha’s Creole
Approaching Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre from a post-colonial reading, this essay seeks to address the theory of Universalism, observing how it is presented from a Eurocentric perspective in relation to Jane and her English prejudices. It will focus on the concept of ‘Other’ through the representation of Bertha Mason. Further to this it will also argue that ‘Otherness’ can also be reflected in Jane through the ‘analysis of colonizer/colonized relations’. Finally it will discuss the idea and relevance of Hybridity in the novel through Bertha’s creole heritage. The premise of this essay will be supported by the findings of literary critics such as Homi K. Bhabha, Bill Ashcroft, Ania Loomba and Peter Barry. Whilst addressing the theory of Eurocentric Universalism, the essay will begin by applying Edward W. Said’s Orientalism to the text, discussing the idea that ‘the orient helped to define Europe as its contrasting image, idea, personality, experience’.
The publication of Edward W. Said’s text Orientalism, developed the connotations and denotations of ‘the scholarly discipline called Orientalism’1 to accurately explain the Western World’s fabricated cultural notions. These perceptions assisted in the falsification of the Orient, and more specifically of the Middle East. These assumptions allowed Orientalism to become generated through a definitive distinction constructed between ‘the Orient’2 and ‘the Occident’ (Said, p.25)
This perception of a definitive divide between the two, can significantly be seen in Bronte’s Jane Eyre. For example, the description of Jane’s appearance as ‘so little, so pale’3, in comparison to Bertha’s ‘discoloured … savage face’ (JE, p.283) immediately creates a difference between the two women. However, the perception of Orientalism is only incorporated into the text once Jane’s English nationality and Bertha’s Creole
Bibliography: Ashcroft, Bill, Griffiths Gareth, and Tiffin, Helen, Post-Colonial Studies: The Key Concepts, 2nd edn (New York: Routledge, 2007) Ashcroft, Bill, Griffiths Gareth, and Tiffin, Helen, The Empire Writes Back: Theory and Practice in Post-Colonial Literatures (London: Routledge, 1989) Bhabha, Homi K, The Location of Culture (London: Routledge, 1994) Brontë, Charlotte, Jane Eyre, ed. by Margaret Smith, 4th edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008) Cliff 's Notes, Jane Eyre: Charlotte Bronte (2003) [accessed 5 May 2013] Loomba, Ania, Colonialism/Postcolonialism (London: Routledge, 1998) Said, Edward W, 'Orientalism ', in Orientalism (New York: Random House, 1978) Wittemore, Sarah, 'The Importance of Being English: Anixety of Englishness in Charlotte Bronte 's Jane Eyre and Jean Rhys 's Wide Saragasso Sea ', (2008), in [accessed 6 May 2013]