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摘 要

作为举世闻名的批判现实小说家，夏洛蒂·勃朗特对世界文学产生了极大影响。 《简·爱》被公认是其最受欢迎的一部小说，是一部带有强烈浪漫主义色彩的现实主义小说。学者们对简·爱的人物塑造展示了很大兴趣，主要从女权主义角度进行了相关研究。本文则从个人主义、浪漫的爱情及回归自然这三个方面分析《简·爱》所表现出的浪漫主义特征。个人主义通过简·爱的自由独立精神、自尊和叛逆精神得以阐释。简·爱与罗切斯特先生的浪漫爱情体现在简的奉献精神，这也使得小说具有强烈的浪漫色彩。此外，回归自然展示了简·爱内心真挚的情感，并且帮助她找到了真正自我。因此，本文作者希望此次研究不仅能够帮助读者对英国浪漫主义以及浪漫主义精神有一个更加全面的理解，而且能够为学者从新的视角研究《简·爱》给予一些启示。

关键词：《简·爱》 浪漫主义特征 个人主义 回归自然 浪漫爱情

1.Introduction

1.1 Research background

Charlotte Bronte (1816—1855) is a 19^th-century representative novelist, whose works centering on the female have exerted profound influence on establishing a new female image and have become classics of English literature. Bronte has published four novels: Jane Eyre (1847), Shirley (1849), Villette (1853), The Professor (1857), in which women’s pursuing independence is an important topic. Therefore, she is the forerunner of feminism and the feministic literary tradition.

As a novelist of critical realism, Charlotte is greatly affected by the romantic movement of the 19^th century when the bourgeois revolution in Europe led to a confrontation between the rich and the poor, which caused a general frustration in broad segments of society. Romanticism is a reflection of this disappointment in literature. What’s more, women in the mid-19^th -century Britain have low status. Then Jane Eyre is just an idealized character in Charlotte’s heart. This is why Jane Eyre, widely recognized as Charlotte’s most popular novel, is a realistic novel with strong romantic touch. People think Jane Eyre shows Charlotte Bronte’s own experiences; therefore, autobiographical elements pervade the very novel that tells the story of Jane Eyre, an orphan girl, who falls in love with the noble Mr. Rochester. She struggles for true love, independence and equality in the era women are discriminated against by men. Jane Eyre encourages modern women to strive for spiritual freedom and equality as well as to show their own voices.

As readers may have a vague knowledge of romantic features in Jane Eyre, this paper will conduct a detailed study of romantic features fully displayed in the novel.

1.2 Need for the study

Scholars have paid too much attention to Jane Eyre’s character, such as independence, rebellious spirit, pursuing equality, freedom and dignity; however, there are few making a study on the romantic features of Jane Eyre, which is the focus of this paper.

As a realistic novelist, Charlotte Bronte is deeply affected by the 19^th-century British romanticism. The author of this thesis believes that on the one hand, readers can have a comprehensive understanding of British romanticism, particularly romantic features in Jane Eyre, and on the other hand, this study can give scholars some hints at studying the novel from new research perspectives.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Previous studies on Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre has attracted many readers all over the world since its publication in 1847. Critics have analyzed the novel in different approaches, especially characterization of Jane Eyre (usually from the perspective of feminism) and the romantic style of the novel.

As to Jane Eyre’s character, Hu Yingchun (2002) points out that she has two weaknesses: Although she appreciates individual struggle, Jane Eyre cannot find the final way to rid social problems; Jane realizes the cause of laboring people with no economic independence, but she can’t offer a thorough way to solve their poverty. Ye Xiaofang (2007) analyzes the independent character of Jane Eyre, pointing out that her independence is displayed in three aspects: independent dignity, independent finance, and independent love. Sun Yingying (2010) also discusses the rebellious character of Jane Eyre but in terms of her view on love. Shi Xiaoping (2012) discusses the rebellious character of Jane Eyre, which reflects her struggle for freedom, respect, independence and equality, and her character development reflects women’s dream of obtaining freedom and equality in Victorian age.

The perspective of feminism is a hot topic. Xuan Hanjing and Ding Ling (2011) discuss the themes and Jane Eyre’s female awareness through the analysis of her character, thinking that Jane Eyre has provided such an important subject that the women should enjoy the equal position both in the family and social life. Gao Haiyan (2013) analyzes Jane Eyre as a feminist in four aspects, i.e. her pursuit of esteem, independence, equality and true love. Zhu Chunmei (2013) interprets Jane Eyre from the perspective of female initiation. Li Ruonan (2012) makes an analysis of different periods of Jane Eyre’s life, thinking that her female consciousness awakens during that period of time. Some conduct studies on how Jane Eyre influences modern women. Zhang Ting (2015) discusses Charlotte Bronte’s celebration of Englishness in Jane Eyre. Liu Jia and Ju Jing (2015) explain how Jane Eyre has an important influence on modern females. They also state that modern females need to build up excellent qualities, such as independence, desire for knowledge, exploration of true love and emphasis on spirit world, etc. to deal with a lot of barriers in their future.

In Jane Eyre, many plots indicate its romantic features like the descriptions of Jane Eyre’s ideological activities and nature, thus making this novel more attractive to the readers. Shi Jingbi (2006) analyzes two styles successfully applied to the novel, including romantic and realistic writing styles, and points out that the characteristics of romanticism are subjectivity, laying particular stress on expressing strong personal feelings. Guo Libo (2008) analyzes the artistic characteristics of Jane Eyre from the perspective of romanticism and points out that Charlotte Bronte shows romantic characteristics underneath the mask of realism. Guo discusses three aspects: the gray background which makes the novel full of lonesome, secretive and sentimental romance; the atmosphere of mystery and terror that makes a strong suspense; an odd story that has an intricate plot. Hao Caihua (2012) discusses Jane Eyre’s romantic style in three aspects: characterization, Gothic theme, and the use of ultra-natural forces.

In conclusion, previous studies on Jane Eyre concentrate on Jane Eyre’s character; however, there are few on romantic features of Jane Eyre, which will be the focus of this thesis.

2.2 British Romanticism

2.2.1 Social historical background

The development of romanticism in Britain has several reasons. On the one hand, French revolution is the main source of inspiration for the rise of British romantic literature. On the other hand, the Romantic Movement strengthened as public sympathy aligned with French Revolutionaries. During the same period, the development of the Industrial Revolution made many people disappointed with the reality of society. Therefore, it is responsible for the rise of British romanticism.

2.2.2 Development

The Romanticism as an important literary movement began to emerge during the 17th century and lasted through the mid-1800s. The pioneers of British romantic literature are Robert Burns and William Blake. With the development of romanticism, it is divided into two categories: Active Romanticism and Passive Romanticism. Active romanticism dares to face reality and criticize the social darkness and leads people to look ahead. Byron, Shelly and Keats are the representatives of active romanticism. However, passive romanticism tends to escape the reality of the society and dwell on the past, so it often leads people to look back. William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey are known as “the Lake Poet” who traversed the same path and ended up with pessimism.

2.2.3 Romantic features

Romanticism focuses on the emotional side of human nature, especially appreciating the beauty of the natural world and individualism and so on.

Romantic writers explore the intense beauty of nature and protest against the ugliness of the growing industrialization, believing that nature should be regarded as a living force. This is why Wordsworth is often called worshipper of nature and he composed so many excellent nature poems such as I Wander Lonely as a Cloud.

Of course, they also emphasize independent thinking, creativity and self-reliance. It is a kind of creative method and a style of literature and art. They think that people’s subjectivity and conveyance of personal feelings are very important and their works are not aimed to explore scientific truth. Therefore, individualism often appeals to romantic authors.

In this thesis, the author will focus on three romantic features: Individualism, Romantic love and Return to nature, which are displayed to the full in Jane Eyre, though a realistic work by nature.

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3.Romantic Features in Jane Eyre

This chapter will conduct a detailed study of romantic features fully displayed in the novel.

3.1 Individualism

Individualism makes the individual as its focus and the fundamental premise is that it is of primary importance to struggle for liberation. Therefore, individualism involves the right of the individual’s pursuit of freedom and self-realization.

Romantic authors think that people’s subjectivity and conveyance of personal feelings are very important, and they emphasize independent thinking, creativity and self-reliance. Therefore, individualism often appeals to romantic authors.

In the novel, Jane Eyre is imbued with the spirit of romanticism which insists on freedom and independence, self-esteem, and emphasizes the rebellious spirit. There is no doubt that the most attractive characteristics of Jane Eyre is that she has a high degree of personal independence and self-esteem under her ordinary appearance.

3.1.1 The spirit of freedom and independence

Jane Eyre’s spirit of freedom and independence is mainly shown in two aspects. Firstly, she possesses an independent sense of economy. As we know, women in the mid-19^th -century Britain have low status. In that time, women are usually regarded as the accessory of men; however, Jane Eyre, as a new woman, shows her pursuit of financial independence in order to master her life. As Simone de Beauvoir, one of the most influential feminists in France, puts it, “Only when women have their own jobs in social life can they take control of their own destiny” (603). In the novel, Jane Eyre desires for freedom and independence, and she realizes the importance of financial independence. Therefore, she advertises in a newspaper for a job as a governess to make a living after eight years’ harsh experiences at Lowood school. Later, when deciding to marry Mr. Rochester, she tells him that she hopes to be a governess again, for she wants to be independent in economy instead of just being an obedient housewife. After her departure from Thornfield, she still earns a livelihood by getting a new job. In Jane Eyre’s heart, only after she is free and independent can she master her own fate and life, which indicates that she is imbued with a strong sense of freedom and independence.

Jane Eyre’s attitude towards love is the other sign of freedom and independence. Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester belong to two different classes. In that society, well-matched marriage is only accepted by the public. However, Jane Eyre holds the idea that their love should be equal. Jane Eyre’s spirit of freedom and independence about love manifests itself when she knows that Rochester's insane wife is still alive. She chooses to give up and leave him. She tells Mr. Rochester that she is a free human being with an independent will rather than a bird. Jane Eyre is unwilling to be his mistress. She hopes to be her own master rather than someone’s attachment. The pursuit of freedom and independence is Jane Eyre’s romantic spirit. Her refusal to St. John's proposal of marriage is another case in point. Jane Eyre holds the view that she doesn’t love St. John and she doesn’t want to put her marriage on the religious basis. St. John tries to sacrifice his love and takes control of Jane Eyre in order to make her accompany him to do missionary work in India but Jane knows that St. John doesn’t love her, either. Nor is she willing to live that kind of boring life without freedom in India.

Romantic features emphasize individualism and attach importance to the conveyance of subjective feelings. In the novel, Jane Eyre has a declaration of independence: “Do you think I am an automaton?--a machine without feelings?...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 full as much heart! ...I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh;--it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal,--as we are”（Bronte 388）!

These words fully reflect that Jane upholds the spirit of freedom and independence of romanticism.

3.1.2 Self-esteem

Jane Eyre is extremely self-esteemed. She often says that she is her own master. Because of her self-esteem, Jane Eyre is very calm to face Mr. Rochester and ladies of the upper class in Thornfield. She doesn’t think that she has a low position. Although she is a governess, she should be respected by others because everybody is equal. Of course, it’s her self-esteem that attracts Mr. Rochester.

Jane Eyre’s self-esteem is mainly shown in her idea about marriage. When Jane Eyre knows Mr. Rochester has already married and she can only be Rochester’s lover, she decides to leave Thornfield because she realizes that she is cheated and her self-esteem is teased. She doesn’t allow others to deceive her. If she continues to be Rochester’s lover at Thornfield, it means a loss of her self-esteem. Therefore, no matter how Mr. Rochester explains, no matter how she struggles, she cannot defeat self-esteem hidden in her heart. In Jane Eyre’s eyes, if love has no self-esteem, leaving Rochester is a wise solution. Faced with love, the most important thing that Jane Eyre considers is her self-esteem. Whatever material things Mr. Rochester gives her, which means to discard her self-esteem. Jane Eyre sticks to protecting her self-esteem as an individual. Another example is that Jane Eyre decides to marry Mr. Rochester resolutely when she knows Mr. Rochester is stone-blinded and has nothing, because at that time she feels that she possesses her self-esteem, and she doesn’t need to make a contradiction between her self-esteem and love.

Self-esteem can be an individual's subjective sense of self-image. Jane Eyre respects herself and protects her own dignity all the time so that she is never obsequious to others. Therefore, she also wins Mr. Rochester’s respect. Romanticism emphasizes self-expression and self-satisfaction of the individual soul. Jane Eyre insists on herself and dares to express herself, which is just a reflection of romantic features.

3.1.3 The Rebellious Spirit

The rebellious spirit is a remarkable characteristic of Jane Eye, which strongly reflects her individualism in the novel. It’s because of her rebelliousness that she begins to rebel for equality, independence, true love and so on.

Jane Eyre’s rebellious spirits run through the whole novel. Firstly, she tries to fight against inequality. When little Jane Eyre lives at Gateshead, faced with her cruel aunt and cousin’s mistreatment, she never gives in and dares to struggle with them in her own way. Jane Eyre says to her friend, Helen Burns at Lowood school, “...when we are struck at without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should---so hard as to teach the person who struck us never to do it again” (Bronte 82). The quotation demonstrates her rebellion of fighting against the unfair fate, for she thinks that if others treat her badly, she will struggle back.

Jane Eyre rebels against the traditional morality, according to which the females have no right to master their marriage. She also rebels against the absolute authority at that time---religion, which demonstrates the romantic features: pursuit of the liberation of personality. St. John pursues asceticism, which represses the human normal love by suffocating religious fanaticism. In his conception, love is just for martyrdom. Therefore, when he proposes achieving the so-called moral responsibility, Jane Eyre makes a strong rebellion: one is to rebel against false love; the other is to rebel against the hypocrisy of religion. Although St. John seems to be a flawless saint on the surface; in essence, he is an extremely selfish and indifferent hypocrite. He calls Jane Eyre to live a completely repressed life and promises a marriage without worldly love. He is just like another oppressor of Jane Eyre who insists that we should pursue the liberation of personality rather than repress ourselves.

3.2 Romantic love

In Jane Eyre, romantic love is a central topic and also a romantic feature fully displayed in the novel. Romanticism puts emphasis on sensibility and highly praises strong emotions. Therefore, some people called romanticism “lyricism”.

In Jane Eyre, the characters, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester have experienced deep, emotional and passionate love. Romantic love is intensely wistful and amorous. The novel teems with Jane Eyre’s passionate love to Mr. Rochester. Especially in the end, Jane Eyre chooses to get married to Mr. Rochester who has become a stone-blinded man, a sublimation of her passionate emotion, which demonstrates itself in their dialogue:

Mr. Rochester asks Jane Eyre: “A poor blind man, whom you will have to lead about by the hand?”

“Yes, sir.”

“A crippled man, twenty years older than you, whom you will have to wait on?”

“Yes, sir.” (Bronte 690-691).

From Jane’s affirmative “Yes, sir.”, we can sense her intense love to Mr. Rochester. Although Mr. Rochester has become a poor blind and crippled man, Jane still shows her determination to accompany and take care of him.

Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester’s romantic love often has unexpected changes so that the development of the story changes constantly and unpredictably. However, it just satisfies the reader’s fantasy of romantic love and can build a kind of romantic atmosphere. Therefore, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester’s romantic love can be shown in their tortuous love story. At first, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester come from two different classes. They have different social status so that their love cannot be accepted and blessed by the public. However, they fall in love with each other because they pursue spiritual communication and treat each other equally.

When Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester decide to get married, the readers think that they will have a happy ending. But the development of the plot has a big change. A secret is revealed in their wedding, that is, Mr. Rochester is married and he has an insane wife, Bertha. The development of the plot makes the readers feel the atmosphere of the novel is charged with tension, which strongly attracts the readers. The author makes the novel shrouded in the romantic atmosphere. With the departure of Jane Eyre, their passionate romantic love begins to cool down. Why does Jane Eyre leave Mr. Rochester? Because she thinks that Mr. Rochester has deceived her and because she values her dignity more important than her love.

Besides, Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester’s romantic love can be shown in Jane’s devotion to love. Faced with St John’s proposal, Jane Eyre refuses because she finds she still loves Mr. Rochester and she thinks that marriage should be based on true love. Therefore, Jane Eyre finally goes back to Mr. Rochester. At that time, Thornfield Hall has become a ruin, and Mr. Rochester is hurt badly and becomes a poor blind man in a big fire set by his insane wife. The author designs an odd plot, and the big fire renders Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester’s romantic love. Although the big fire makes Mr. Rochester become a poor blind and crippled man, Jane Eyre still shows her intense love to him, which makes the novel have a strong romantic touch.

Of course, Jane Eyre ultimately decides to marry and takes care of Mr. Rochester, which he deserves out of her devotion to love.

3.3 Return to nature

Romanticism emphasizes the performance of nature, and attaches great importance to the description of the natural scenes, and focuses on the unity of man and nature. Romantic writers often explore the intense beauty of nature to protest against the ugliness of the growing industrialization. At that time, due to the industrial revolution, the society becomes gradually chaotic. Therefore, on the one hand, the Romantics appreciate nature’s visual beauty; on the other hand, they think that returning to nature will help people find their true identity.

We know that advocating pristine nature and sincere emotion are the basic features of romanticism. In the novel, the changes in scenes show Jane Eyre’s sincere emotion.

When Jane Eyre leaves Gateshead for Lowood, there is a description about nature. The author uses the word “dark”, “wet steps”, “sodden”, “gloom”, which shows the little Jane feels helpless at that time, and the desolate landscape is connected with her loneliness and sadness.

However, when Jane Eyre arrives at Thornfield, the style of description changes. The author describes the beauty of the countryside in the autumn sun, “The bright and velvet lawn closely girdling the grey base of the mansion; the field, wide as a park, dotted with its ancient timber; the wood, dun and sere, divided by a path visibly overgrown, greener with moss than the trees were with foliage; the church at the gates, the road, the tranquil hills all reposing in the autumn day’s sun; the horizon bounded by a propitious sky, azure, marbled with pearly white” (Bronte 158), which reflects Jane’s pleasure because she has kept away from her previous boring life.

Jane Eyre’s bizarre and tortuous experiences after she leaves Thornfield also show strong romantic features. In the 18th century, romantic poets show their interest in exploring the relationship between nature and life. They view nature as a spiritual force. For example, in the novel, when Jane Eyre arrives at Whitcross, she doesn’t know what to do and where to go, but she thinks that nature seems benign and loves her. Therefore, she tells herself that she must struggle on. Because she firmly believes the power that nature gives her, she can walk away from the wilderness.

True beauty comes from nature, and nature can inspire sincere feelings in people's hearts and moral conscience. William Wordsworth, the representative of British romantic poet, puts it: “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings” (263). Wordsworth advocates “return to nature” because the beauty of nature can inspire goodness in human nature, and humanity blending in nature can make people really happy. In the novel, returning to nature helps Jane Eyre find her true identity. After leaving Thornfield, Jane Eyre completely loses her way and is even desperate about valueless life. Finding true identity means Jane Eyre has found her direction again and love of life. Although feeling extremely sorrowful, she still has the vitality to like nature, which reflects Jane’s struggle against life with her free will and her rebellious spirit. This is a reflection of romantic feature that regards oneself and nature as the same, and show people’s feelings and mental activities through the description of nature. Therefore, nature is an incarnation of Jane’s thought as well as a symbol of her inner strength, which reflects that return to nature can make mankind and nature integrated as a whole.

4.Conclusion

As Charlotte’s most popular novel, Jane Eyre is a realistic novel with a strong romantic trend. In this paper, the author makes a detailed study of romantic features fully displayed in the novel in three aspects: individualism, romantic love and return to nature. In terms of individualism Jane Eyre shows her spirit of freedom and independence, self-esteem and rebellious spirit. Besides, Jane shows devotion to love. Last, the description of the natural scenes demonstrates that nature helps Jane find her true identity and gives her inner strength to go forward.

This study can enlighten us in at least three aspects. For one thing, romanticism attaches great importance to humanity and freedom by awakening humans to deeply reflect on the value of life. The individual freedom of romanticism gives a good expression of a person’s subjective desire to pursue the spirit of rebellion, which can promote the social changes and the unity of sense and sensibility. For another, with the development of technology and economy in the modern society, human beings have become gradually cold and numb; however, romanticism can make them have a new understanding about “beauty and ugliness”, and also create something wonderful for them through its artistic expressions, which of course exerts the influence of beauty on us and stimulates our desire and pursuit of beauty. Lastly, the study of romantic features in Jane Eyre can help readers have a comprehensive understanding of British romanticism and give scholars some hints at interpreting Jane Eyre from new research perspectives.

Works Cited

Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex. Zheng Kelu. Trans. Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2011.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2006. “Characteristics of Romanticism.” n. d. 18 January 2016. lt;http://www.buzzle.com/articles/romanticism-characteristics-of-romanticism.htmlgt;.

“Characteristics of Romanticism in English Literature.” January 8, 2014. January 18, 2016. http://hubpages.com/education/Characteristics-of-Romanticism-in-English-Literaturegt;.

Gao, Haiyan. “Reflection on Feminism in Jane Eyre.” Theory and Practice in Language Studies 6 (2013): 926-931.

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