On The Image Of Madwoman In Jane Eyre

Under the impetus of the feminist movement and criticism, the image of madwoman in Jane Eyre has come to arouse some interest and attention from people, but not seemingly enough. In respect of the novel's artistic structure, it is generally held that the image, far from being indispensable to the plot of the story, serves only as accessories. And some even regard it as a flaw in an otherwise very good plot. Stemming from this opinion, some critics judge that it is an inevitable result of a melodrama and bound to weaken the authenticity of the story to a large extent. While, as a matter of fact, the character of madwoman serves as the pivot of plot by propelling it forward and therefore is an essential component which attributes greatly to the completeness of the novel's artistic structure. The image also plays an active and important role in the portrayal of characters in the novel. Not only does it make the image of Jane more enriched and more complete, it also constitutes a sharp contrast with Jane. Although considered as a proof of Jane Eyre's split in personality, the character of madwoman opens up to us the other side of the heroin's personality, namely, the insane, passion and lust. Somewhat reasonable as this criticism is, we are inclined to believe that the author is trying to present us a completely different female image through Mrs. Rochester, and it is some of the characteristics of hers that becomes the author's target of criticism and negation. What the author wants to convey through these female images is that against the background of feminist movement, women are supposed to pursue personality perfection, independence and unique value of existence. At the same time, numerous questions and arguments over the image of Rochester have swarmed out along with the portrayal of madwoman and the character of the hero is hence greatly complicated. When we study the work's artistic style, we may easily notice its evident marks of realism and psychoanalysis, and the presence of madwoman makes this peculiar artistic style even more glaring. In the harmonious atmosphere delicately created by the author, it continually pushesthe novel into displaying its internal off-balance. Besides, inspired by the writer's biography, we can easily find logic reasons for appearance of the image of madwoman.