This work provides a new feminist reading of Charlotte Bronte's classic text, "Jane Eyre". While acknowledging the force of earlier "heroic" readings which saw the novel as an epic of female self-discovery, Nestor draws on recent developments in critical theory to uncover more disturbing elements which undermine the notion of a novel of progress and reveal ways in which the text can be seen as profoundly regressive; a fantasy of completeness and power which may be understood in terms of a retreat to the psychoanalytic imaginary. This study examines three major concerns of feminist analysis - motherhood, sexuality and identity - and explores the novel's deep ambivalence in each area. Throughout, Pauline Nestor sets up a dialogue between "first" and "second" wave feminist readings as a way of offering a more inclusive reading; one strengthened by its engagement with the more disconcerting aspects of the text. Nestor demonstrates clearly how new critical theories can offer illuminating perspectives on canonical texts.
- ISBN10 0745008984
- ISBN13 9780745008981
- Publish Date 31 October 1992 (first published 1 September 1992)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 10 February 1994
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Prentice Hall Europe (a Pearson Education company)
- Imprint Prentice Hall / Harvester Wheatsheaf
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 144
- Language English