Compare and Contrast: Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and James Joyce’s Araby Essay Example

part of the plot, which helps show how Jane Eyre develops as a woman throughout the novel.

There is a passionate love between Jane and Rochester. This is seen as she admonishes herself for imagining a future with Rochester and her immediate reactions to aid him. Both Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and James Joyce’s Araby define the passage from innocence to experience through a coming of age story that includes the main characters loss of innocence through developing affections for other characters and enduring many hardships. The basis of the story Araby is the boy’s reactions and feeling towards his crush. The boys desire for this girl is very extreme. Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance…Her name sprang to my lips at moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand.

My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought little of the future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires. In this quote one can see his infatuation with this girl, but also see his innocence and immaturity on how he cannot control his painful feeling of desire for her. In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre you get a similar feel of abundant desire and the lack of experience with love. “You never

felt jealousy, did you, Miss Eyre? Of course not: I need not ask you; because you never felt love. You have both sentiments yet to experience: your soul sleeps; the shock is yet to be given which shall waken it,” Rochester says this to Jane when he is explaining Adele’s affair with Celine.

Rochester is convinced that Jane has never felt love, which in her eyes is not necessarily true. In Jane’s life she has not experienced much love with her family, which is has caused her to be not as experienced with other romances. Yet, Rochester is quite the opposite and has experienced much love, but Jane seems to be wiser about love with Rochester and is able to resist from temptation. In both Araby and Jane Eyre, you see the main character struggles in fighting their desires. In Araby, the boy seems eager and inpatient about his crush. Unlike in Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre seems cautious and reserved.

The ease of his manner freed me from painful restraint; the friendly frankness, as correct as cordial, with which he treated me, drew me to him. " This quote supports the argument that Jane is infatuated with Rochester but has self-control, which could be seen as having more experience with her coming of age. Unlike, in Araby where he seems to have a hard time holding back from his desire. This quote in Araby, Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger,” you see how the boy is disgusted with the lack of restraint of anguishing desire.