THE AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL RELIABILITY OF JANE EYRE: The Narrating Self’s Function in the Novel

Abstract

The fact that Charlotte Brontë intended Jane Eyre as an autobiography is easily overlooked. Therefore, one tends to not take into account that the stated author Jane Rochester is technically both the main character and narrator of the story. That is why in this essay I separate the younger and older Jane, and focus solely on Jane Rochester’s, the narrating self’s, voice. More specifically, my aim is to determine where the narrating self is reliable or unreliable, and through that prove how the narrating self is trying to protect her pride and justify her decisions. By analysing the narrating self with the use of narratological and psychoanalytical concepts I have determined a possible reason for unreliability in the novel. This focus is interesting because not a great deal of research has been done regarding the narrating self, especially her unreliability and how she uses it to her advantage. These findings will hopefully highlight another way of looking at both the main narrator and the novel, and give a fresh perspective on a highly important book.