영미문화를 통해 본 여성문제: 교양과목으로서 『제인 에어』접근하기

Abstract

This study analyzes Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre as part of the general elective course, ‘Women’s Issues through British and American Culture.’ The course is designed to analyze British and American culture and history which influences our contemporary life to gain understanding of our own gender issues in the various facets of our life. The course aims to examine the issues of women by surveying historical influences and diverse aspects of contemporary culture to gain a more objective and mature understanding of women’s issues and achieve a more integrated society. Jane Eyre is a key cultural and historical text to understand women’s issues of not only Bronte’s time but also contemporary times; thus, it will become a central part of the course. This study examines the context of the period when Jane Eyre was produced and discusses the themes in relation to the image of the ‘proper lady’ and ‘angel of the house’ that dominated the 18th and 19th century. Then it surveys how the women novelists used different kinds of strategies to express their critical view of patriarchal social structures that inhibited women. Some took a very direct stance, some a more hidden, conservative stance, while others turned to the Gothic genre to disguise their voice and desires. The study then analyzes Jane Eyre through the various strategies that Bronte had to utilize, following the tradition of her predecessors. The narrator of Jane Eyre had to work through various strategies such as using direct criticism, various female characters, and Gothic mechanisms such as Bertha as her double under the disguise as the angel of the house. Such multiple strategies and layers have produced many diverse interpretations. Thus, through the course, students will also study how different periods have interpreted Jane Eyre according to the gender ideology of their times through surveying three film adaptations of Jane Eyre. By looking at the influence of the ‘angel in the house’ image of women and separated spheres for men and women, students will have the opportunity to consider and discuss their influence on contemporary ideas of gender roles and positions.