简爱心理分析

2021年1月25日发(作者：forum)
彭睿哲
20091307


































































2011
/12
/13
Psychological Analysis on Jane Eyre
’
s Childhood
Personality Development
Introduction
Jane Eyre
is the heroine of Charlotte Bronte’s novel of the same name, but unlike
to heroine of other novels, she doesn’t have attractive appearance as well as wealthy
fam
ily. She describes herself as “poor, obscure,

plain and little”
[1]
, but she also sees
herself as “I have as much soul as you and full as much heart.”
[2]
True, Jane Eyre is
not
a
perfect
woman,
with
character
of
obstinacy,
but
all the
readers,
from
1847
to
now, are all impressed by her pursuit of love and freedom.
Most people just regard Jane Eyre as a fictitious character, and take it for granted
that Jane Eyre
’s disposition is fixed by the author. However, after I finished the book,
I
found
that
Jane
Eyre
’
s
personality
had
undergone
a
long
process
of
developing,
especially during her childhood in Gateshead and in Lowood School.
According
to
the
theory
of
Modern
Deve
lopmental
Psychology,
a
person’s
personality
is
a
psycho-physiological
process.
At
different
stage
people
go
through
different experience and therefore caused “psychological changes, emotional changed,
and
perception changes”, all these changes would have long
-term impact on personal
characteristic development.
In my essay, I will apply Jean Piage
t’s
Theory of Cognitive Development, which
placed
great
importance
on
Modern
Developmental
Psychology,
to
analyze
Jane
Eyre
’s personality development

through analyzing two main characters
—
Mrs. Reed
and Helen Burns, who, from my point of view, exert profound effect on Jane Eyre
’s
personality developing during her childhood.
I. Mrs. Reed
Before Jane Eyre turns ten, she was brought up as an orphan with little care by
her aunt
—
Mrs. Reed in Gateshead. Naturally, Mrs. Reed becomes the guardian to her.
According to
Je
an Piaget’s theory, 5 to
10
year
-old
children are
going through
“Heteronomous
phase”
in
moral
development.
In
this
moral
understanding,
“rules
1

彭睿哲
20091307


































































2011
/12
/13
handed down by authority figures (such as parents, teachers, and government leaders)
are see
n as absolute and unbreakable”. From this reason, children of this age regard
punishments
are
acceptable
if
they
break
these
rules,
this
is
called
Expiatory
Punishment by Piaget. Furthermore, in children’s mind, naughty behavior will always
be punished, that is to say, if a boy does something bad and later hurt himself then that
is his punishment. Piaget called this Immanent Justice.
[3]

Jane Eyre,
as a 10-year-
old
child, who does want
to
win her authority figure’s
favor,
but
she
cannot.
Mrs.
Reed,
who
is
the
authority
figure
from
Jane
Eyre
’s
perspective, resents her presence: she had promised her dying husband to take care of
Jane, but she does so begrudgingly. She does not like Jane Eyre from her bottom of
heart. As the hostess of Gateshead, Mrs. Reed even encourages her three own children
and
servants
of
Gateshead
to
look
down
upon
Jane
Eyre
as
being
social
inferior
to
them.
At the beginning, Jane Eyre tries her best to satisfy Mrs. Reed criterion of being
a good child, she “was
was endeavoring in good earnest to acquire a more sociable
and childlike disposition, a more attractive and sprightly manner
—
something lighter,
franker,
more
natural…”
[4]

because
she
is
afraid
of
being
excluded
from
privileges
from privileges intended only for contented, happy, lit
tle children”
[5]
by Mrs. Reed.

However,
Jane
Eyre
is
still
deprived
of
the
right
for
being
loved
even
being
treated
just.
In
the
fight
with
her
cousin
John
Reed,
who
often
bullies
her,
she
is
sentenced
to
be
placed
confinement
in
the
Red-room.
This
unusual
and undeserved
punishment
makes
Jane
confused.
According
to
the
psychology
theory,
as
a
child,
Jane Eyre
thinks that obeying the authority figure is considered as “good” and should
not be punished. But the reality disappoints her. She cannot resolve this paradoxical
reality at such young age. When she is locked in the Red- room, she first realizes her
position of exile and imprisonment; she indignantly denounces the injustice of her life
in
Gateshead,
“Why
was
I
always
suffering,
always
browbeaten,
always
accused,
forever condemned? Why could I never please? Why was it useless to try to win any
one’s favor? …I dared commit no fault: I strove to fulfill every duty; and I was termed
naughty and tiresome, sullen and sneaking, from morning to noon and from noon to
2