In the twenty-first century, when a person is told something is romantic they almost always visualize one individual expressing their love to another by means of sweet and simple (or sometimes not so simple) acts of affection. Receiving flowers, writing hyperbolized letters of amorous sentiment, eating dinner by candlelight or sailing on a gondola down a Venetian lagoon while sipping Chianti are a few examples of what contemporaries might define as romantic. However, though this current view of romanticism is not incorrect, it does not provide the most complete explanation of the concept. For in truth romanticism is a profoundly multifarious concept, though not to the point of inconceivability. To best illustrate the fullness of the word’s meaning, one can look to a piece of literature written from the professed “Romantic” period; one such piece is Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. This novel is romantic for it truly represents the complexity, the depth and the richness found in the minds of men during this period of literary history. By reflecting upon the time in which Brontë wrote and then comparing her piece with other author’s from this period such as William Blake, William Wordsworth and Lord Byron, one can see what it historically meant to be a romantic and that indeed Jane Eyre justly falls under that category. Through her stress upon the simple man, nature and feelings, Bronte helps paint a new picture in the minds of readers as to what it means to be romantic and thus that the two ideas of romanticism, both the old and the new, can be harmonious and work together to create a beautiful masterpiece of literary art.
The first romantic aspect of this piece is its emphasis upon the simple man. Jane Eyre is a piece set in the early nineteenth century, a time of great industrial change. Most romantics were known to be anti-industrial since they saw the injury industry caused to the common folk and thus they emphasized the importance of the simple man in their works. Jane Eyre portrays this. Jane Eyre herself is a commoner. She is not wealthy. She is plain and is, in fact, an orphan, yet she is the protagonist of the story. She is the focal point of this portrait we study. The fact that Brontë chose her to write about is proof of her sympathy for and her glorification of the simple or common man/woman. This emphasis upon the simple folk predominated many minds . This theme can also be seen in such works as “Chimney Sweeper” and “We Are Seven” by the free thinking William Blake. Both his poems and Jane Eyre regarded the people of England such as they were. They exposed the abuse, the neglect and the sufferings endured by the innocent people due to the conditions which they were forced to embrace. People died and suffered the loss of those they loved: Jane’s parents both died in her early infancy, her best friend, Helen Burn, died of tuberculosis at a young age and Jane herself nearly lost her life after leaving Thornfield in her attempt to start over. Times were merciless for the poor and little pity was given to them, however the writers from this period were not blind their miseries and thus they wished to highlight the importance and the power of the simple and stressed that these people were worthy of recognition by society.
The second romantic aspect in the novel is the importance of nature. Nature for the romantic was what wine was for the drunk. Nature was where all things came to life; it was where the soul could breathe and find itself. Brontë likes to use great desciptive imagery when telling the tale of Jane Eyre. This importance of the country and of nature is pivital to the romantic since it was meant to encourage people not to destroy the beauty of creation but to preserve it. With industialization claiming the land, many individuals wanted England to stop pushing for progress and to stay in the natual setting for it was here that man was truly “enlightened”. Bronte it appears was one who sided more in favor with this reform than not. Jane, though a very precocious young lady and loved to study, nevertheless wanted an escape from all she knew. She wanted to experience life, she wanted to be in nature and see the world for the majestic splendor it possessed. One of her favorite spots at Thornfield was on the roof of the house, overlooking the courtyard and the green valleys. And by no coincidence did Jane both meet and consent to marry Edward Rochester in a “natural’ setting. This impression of nature and its power upon the soul was seen in other works of romantics during this time. One such poet, William Wordsworth, was notorious for his belief in and infatuation with nature. Nature for him was everything. It was where the spirit of creation conceived itself in the minds of people. As with Brontë, his works emphasized the simple man, but simple man in nature. His famous poem “Tables Turned” epitomizes Bronte’s idea of finding oneself in nature and that books are not where true wisdom is gained. It is in nature that one is touched and learns who one really is. For Jane the importance of nature was not as overtly intimate as was the case in Wordsworth, yet nevertheless she allowed nature to play a vital role in her development as a woman. Nature was her mother, it taught her how to love and to say yes to love through its powerful influence upon her.
A third concept frequently noted by romantics is the power of feelings (or passion) over reason. This idea is one of the more predominant themes of this time and is one continually recurring in Jane Eyre. When Jane was a girl she voiced her opinion to her Aunt, Mrs. Reed, and in a paroxism of emotion told her what she truly felt though she knew she could easily be scolded for doing so. This free expression of emotion was clearly encouraged by Brontë. Now as Jane matured, though she no longer yelled her opinions at others, she however believe in making herself understood, especially in regard to Mr. Rochester. In point of fact, it may have been her frankness with him that made her win his love. Additionally Mr. Rochester, the man of complete emotional expression could be rightly called passion incarnate. He was not a man to be restrained by reason; he did what he wanted regardless of the consequences. He knew that he was married, but would have married Jane adulterously. He detested formalities, he played games with life, he was a true example of what writers called the Byronic hero. This dark, chauvanistic character originated from yet another romantic poet, Lord Byron. Another work from this period which used this classic romantic figure was Byron’s famous comic epic, Don Juan. The type of man who seduces women by ego and force is one image of what was attractive to the romantic writer. Brontë uses both passion and the Byronic hero, two powerful tools to mold her story and chisel into the minds of her readers the significance of emotion and of doing what one feels is right over what one thinks is right. That Jane decides to marry Edward after all that happened, knowing him to be blind and deformed yet still choosing to give herself to him regardless of her reputation is representative of this kind of mentality that love or emotion conquers all. The power of the heart is greater than gold and nothing should discourage a person from seeking or from doing what in their heart they feel is right.
Therefore in looking at Jane Eyre one will see that it is a novel that fulfills both definitions of what it means to be romantic. It touches subjects such as the power of the simple man, the importance of nature and the power of feelings while also telling a moving story of two people who are madly in love with each other. This story can then be poetically called the marriage of the old with the new since it unites the two understandings of romanticism so seamlessly that it would seem as if all stories were meant to be written this way. Jane Eyre is romantic and hence it is an artistic masterpiece in literary form.
