Summary Of The Not Plain Jane's Progress By Sandra M. Gilbert
1607 Words7 Pages
A Critique of a Critique: The Not Plain Jane Sandra M. Gilbert’s article “A Dialogue of Self and Soul: Plain Jane’s Progress,” provides a deeper view of female oppression through the novel Jane Eyre, with supported examples on the repression of the main character, Jane. Gilbert exposes Jane as being degraded from Mr. Rochester throughout her experience at Thornfield. In reality, Jane is not an oppressed female who has to be at a man’s service; Jane is strong self-determining woman who manages to still obtains her goals, even during the difficult time of Victorian Era, when women were given little to no freedom. Gilbert does not see Jane’s fight to maintain her self-worth and independence, Jane is far from oppressed and she strives to maintain…show more content… Rochester and Bertha’s marriage. Unfortunately, this was a devastating ending to their relationship and is what pushed Jane to leave Thornfield and pursue a different life. Gilbert believes that this secret was not a secret of superiority; however, it was a secret of inferiority. Mr. Rochester married Bertha for all the wrong reasons, Gilbert stated that “… [Mr. Rochester] had married Bertha Mason for status, for sex, for money, for everything but love and equality” (486). I have to agree with Gilbert on this statement because it is all true. Mr. Rochester lied about this secret because he was ashamed of it, he literally locked his secret on the third floor away from civilization. He got tricked into the marriage and found out he married a psycho, sex crazed woman who could not control herself, and therefore she had to be kept from everyone else as a safety…show more content… Rochester was trying to save her. Mr. Rochester was horribly injured, he lost his sight and his right hand. Gilbert stated that when they were reunited “For at that moment she had been irrevocably freed from the burden of her past, freed both from the raging specter of Bertha and from the self-pitying specter of the orphan child…” (489). Mr. Rochester was also freed from the confines of Thornfield and Bertha. At this moment Jane and Mr. Rochester do not have anything or anyone stopping them from being together. With Mr. Rochester’s physical disabilities, Jane finally gained some control of the relationship, they finally understood each other. Jane grew up with having to take care of people and she finally was given the opportunity of her to be able to help Mr. Rochester instead of him helping her. She did not have to rely on him for money, food, or and house, Jane could afford all that on her own now. Jane did not have anything that forced her to be tied down to Mr. Rochester like it was at Thornfield. At Thornfield, Jane could not be fully independent because she still relied on Mr. Rochester. This was not the case anymore. They were fully equals and were fully invested in the relationship for all the right reasons, that being