How is the human consciousness explored through Jane Eyre?
I hope you didn’t mean to write conscience instead of consciousness. That would made the question simpler.
I regard consciousness as a constellation of attributes of mind such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, and the ability to perceive a relationship between oneself and one’s environment. In this light Jane is usually a self-conscious woman trying to analyze her relationship with the others, her differences and similarities between them and herself, she pauses to think what was wrong with her conduct or why others act as they did and tries hard to be objective (she even warns us when she is not like when she falls in love with Rochester and deems herself unable to see his flaws anymore). In that way Jane seems considerate for the other people’s feelings contrasting with Mrs Reed or Brocklehurst or St John. Rochester too despite his faults seems quite self-conscious, he knows well enough both himself and Jane but at times he chooses to disregard that knowledge because it doesn’t suit him.
Note also that the procedure of building a character is an essential part of the book, as well as the road to self-knowledge and the formation of a philosophical theory about the world. Heroes come against obstacles that force them to make decisions, reconsider their values, thoughts and feelings and this way they mature and learn better who they are.
Republished by Blog Post Promoter