In the books Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte and Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys, secondary characters such as Helen Burns and Tia serve to establish a feeling of loneliness surrounding the respective main characters.
Your thesis made me realize that Jane and Antoinette both have this childhood friend that has great psychological influence over their perspectives in the future. I think Helen's belief in human goodness contributed greatly to Jane's strong sense of morality later in Jane Eyre. Tia, on the other hand, is more of a "frenemie", and her bad friendship (and the incident when she throws a stone at Antoinette's head) contributes to Antoinette's distrust of people in general later in Wide Sargasso Sea.
Are you going to say that she established a sense of loneliness in Jane? She was moralistic and a good Christian and I think helped Jane through school in a big way by sharing qualities, while highlighting Jane's headstrong personality. I would definitely talk about that symbolism of the accepting friend dying... ooo (drop my arm on the table.)
How did Helen Burns, one of Jane's dearest friends, create a feeling of loneliness?
ReplyDeleteBy dying.
ReplyDeleteWell, she served a cheerful purpose, didn't she?!
ReplyDelete<sarcasm> Of course! Death is extremely cheerful, didn't you know that? </sarcasm>
ReplyDeleteYour thesis made me realize that Jane and Antoinette both have this childhood friend that has great psychological influence over their perspectives in the future. I think Helen's belief in human goodness contributed greatly to Jane's strong sense of morality later in Jane Eyre. Tia, on the other hand, is more of a "frenemie", and her bad friendship (and the incident when she throws a stone at Antoinette's head) contributes to Antoinette's distrust of people in general later in Wide Sargasso Sea.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Tia is deffinetly not on Antoinette's speed dial anymore.
ReplyDeleteAre you going to say that she established a sense of loneliness in Jane? She was moralistic and a good Christian and I think helped Jane through school in a big way by sharing qualities, while highlighting Jane's headstrong personality. I would definitely talk about that symbolism of the accepting friend dying... ooo (drop my arm on the table.)
ReplyDeleteYou need to differentiate the two: although Helen Burns established ... Tia establishes X in this 'other way'
ReplyDelete