The representation of love and marriage in Charlotte Brontë’s "Jane Eyre" and Elizabeth Gaskell’s "North and South" does not seem to be fundamentally different when looking at the story level, the content level of what is narrated (cf. Fabian 172), alone. The female and male characters of both novels struggle in achieving a marriage bond at first due to the class relation between the both of them, but after the heroines inherited a sum of money they return to the heroes’ aids. Of course this is just a brief summary of the novels’ plots to show the similarities both share in their plot structure. This paper, however, will look at the discourse level of both novels thus looking at the presentation level of how the story is narrated (cf. Fabian 172) in order to measure whether or not the novels by Brontë and Gaskell are as similar as a plain summary suggests.
For this purpose this paper will perspectivise love and marriage in Gaskell’s North and South and Brontë’s Jane Eyre, meaning it will analyse the narration, the focalization, the representation of speech, and the representation of thought presented in both novels. The analyses of these categories will, of course, focus on the relevant love couples of both narratives, Margaret Hale and John Thornton in "North and South" and Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester in "Jane Eyre". The first chapters will present the tools and techniques that will be used later for the analyses of both novels, presenting first the tools for the analysis of narration and focalization and after that the techniques for the representation of speech and thought. The following chapters will use these tools for the analysis of Charlotte Brontë’s "Jane Eyre", focussing initially on the narration and focalization in the novel before turning to the representation of speech and thought. The chapters after that will be concerned with Elizabeth Gaskell’s "North and South" similarly; it will at first analyse the narration and focalization prior to the analysis of the representation of speech and thought. The last chapter will recapitulate the findings of the analyses of both novels in order to evaluate if both can be said to shape the same type of love and marriage, like a brief look on the story level suggests, or if there are differences that can be observed on the discourse level.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Tools and Techniques for the Analyses
2.1. Tools for the Analysis of Narration and Focalization
2.2. Techniques for the Representation of Speech and Thought
3. Perspectivising Love and Marriage in Jane Eyre
3.1. Narration and Focalization in Jane Eyre
3.2. Speech and Thought in Jane Eyre
4. Perspectivising Love and Marriage in North and South
4.1. Narration and Focalization in North and South
4.2. Speech and Thought in North and South
5. Conclusion
6. Works Cited
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis examines the representation of love and marriage in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, focusing specifically on whether discourse-level differences undermine the similarities observed at the story level. The primary research question investigates how narration, focalization, and the representation of speech and thought shape the power dynamics between the central couples, Margaret Hale and John Thornton, and Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester.
- Narrative analysis using Genette’s terminology (narrator and focalizer)
- Examination of discourse-level power dynamics in Victorian literature
- Representation of speech and thought acts as indicators of character agency
- Comparative analysis of autodiegetic vs. figural narrative situations
- Androgyny and gender performance in protagonist development
Excerpt from the Book
3.1. Narration and Focalization in Jane Eyre
This chapter will look at the narrator and focalizer of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and will put the findings on that into connection with the love and marriage depicted in the novel.
Jane Eyre is governed by an autodiegetic narrator, who is as it was stated before extradiegetic, homodiegetic, overt and narrates his or her own life story. That the narrator is extradiegetic and overt can be exemplified by the many comments the autodiegetic narrator, who will also be called narrator Jane throughout the analysis of Brontë’s novel, gives:
I could not answer the ceaseless inward question – why I thus suffered; now, at the distance of – I will not say how many years, I see it clearly (Brontë 29)
[...] (oh, romantic reader, forgive me for telling the plain truth!) [...] (Brontë 118)
These quotes exemplify how the narrator addresses the fictive reader of his narrative and also the temporal distance the narrator has towards the actions in the story. The moral distance of the narrator towards the narrated world can also be seen in comments of narrator Jane concerning the behaviour of character Jane as a child like it is exemplified in the following quotation:
A child cannot quarrel with its elders, as I had done; cannot give its furious feelings uncontrolled play, as I had given mine; without experiencing afterwards the pang of remorse and the chill of reaction. (Brontë 50)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the scope of the study, comparing the discourse level of the two novels to determine if their romantic outcomes are as similar as the plot summaries suggest.
2. Tools and Techniques for the Analyses: Establishes the theoretical framework, specifically Gerard Genette’s distinction between narrator and focalizer, and techniques for presenting speech and thought.
3. Perspectivising Love and Marriage in Jane Eyre: Analyzes how the autodiegetic narrator in Jane Eyre exerts control over the narrative and the character of Rochester, shaping the reader's perception of their unequal power balance.
4. Perspectivising Love and Marriage in North and South: Explores the figural narrative situation in North and South, arguing that the variable focalization creates a truly equal partnership between Margaret and Thornton.
5. Conclusion: Recapitulates that while both novels feature similar marriage plots, the discourse-level techniques reveal profound differences in the power structures of the respective couples.
6. Works Cited: Lists all primary and secondary sources utilized for the research.
Key Terms
Narratology, Focalization, Autodiegetic Narrator, Figural Narrator, Discourse Level, Story Level, Androgyny, Victorian Literature, Power Dynamics, Speech Representation, Thought Representation, Gender Roles, Romantic Marriage, Genette, Charlotte Brontë.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The work examines how the discourse level—specifically narration, focalization, and speech/thought presentation—shapes the portrayal of love and marriage in the two selected Victorian novels.
What are the primary thematic fields covered?
The thesis explores narrative theory, power imbalances in gender relations, the role of androgyny in romantic equality, and the social constraints on Victorian heroines.
What is the central research question?
The study asks whether the similarities between the novels observed at the story level hold true when analyzing the narrative discourse, specifically regarding the power distribution between the main characters.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The analysis utilizes Gerard Genette’s narratological framework to distinguish between types of narrators and focalizers, alongside standard literary analysis of speech and thought presentation techniques.
What is addressed in the main part of the work?
The main part is divided into detailed narratological case studies of Jane Eyre and North and South, focusing on how each specific narrative situation influences the depicted equality of the romantic couples.
What are the most significant keywords for this research?
Key terms include Narratology, Focalization, Autodiegetic Narrator, Figural Narrator, Power Dynamics, and Androgyny.
How does the narrator’s role differ between Brontë and Gaskell?
In Jane Eyre, the narrator is autodiegetic and retains power over the story, whereas in North and South, a figural, heterodiegetic narrator distributes focalization more equally between the male and female protagonists.
What is the author's conclusion regarding the marriage of Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester?
The author concludes that their marriage remains inherently unequal, as Rochester is ultimately dependent on Jane, and Jane’s position as narrator reinforces her dominance over his narrative.
- Quote paper
- Anonym (Author), 2019, Perspectivising Love and Marriage in Charlotte Brontë’s "Jane Eyre" and Elisabeth Gaskell's "North and South", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/920314
