Movie Review of "Jane Erye (2011)"
Summary of the Main Character's Life
Jane Eyre‘s transition into becoming a governess is one full of challenges as well as good results. To start with, Jane went through a tough childhood having been an orphan and had to take in the cruelty of her aunt after her uncle dies. The school she was taken to was no different as it had its full share of challenges being a charity school and the pupils were depending on charity for survival. Despite conforming to the situation and learning to live the tough school life, and getting a sound education, Jane's adolescent life was a time of character inquisition. She was lucky to have finished schooling and immediately after landing a job as a pupil-teacher and this had a great impact on modeling her character as she developed an artistic talent. It is after discovering her identity that Jane lands a job as a governess in Thornfield ward. It is in this young adult stage where she gets to fall in love for the first time with Mr. Rochester.
How Did the Client Conform to Each Theoretical Model
In regard to Erikson's 8 theoretical stages of development Jane's childhood stage which quantifies to the first 3 stages of development that is; infancy, toddler and preschooler stages were full of mistrust and insecurity having been left in the hands of an uncaring, cruel aunt who mistreated her to the point of sending her to another ill-treating school life. Her childhood life led her to develop worthlessness and insecurity later on in life as shown when she falls in love with Mr. Rochester but refutes the fact that he would fall in love with her since there were other beautiful she felt she was not as beautiful as the other women around. This feeling of unworthiness is because of the tough childhood she went through.
The next stage of development is the schooling age stage. In this stage, Jane conforms to a new life. We learn that she is able to make new friends and do well in her education, as she is able to become a pupil-teacher immediately after clearing her six years of schooling. Despite the tough times, like the typhoid plague and lack of adequate basic amenities, Jane is able to develop artistic talent and this helps build her character as well as her direction in life as she is able to get a job as a governess later on.
In the next stage which is the adolescence stage, we learn of Jane's new artistic talent. She is developing well on her own as she discovers a new talent and is ready to live it. Jane, however, continues to harbor negative thoughts about herself since she still thinks herself plain and poor in her mind being the result of the harsh and cruel childhood she had.
The next stage the young adult stage is well lived by Jane as she shows her hard-working nature. She advertises for a governess post and gets the job. She also falls in love for the first time with Mr. Rochester and this is a transition stage for her. She, however, continues to think small of herself by thinking that in no chance can Mr. Rochester fall in love with a plain lady like her yet there were other beautiful ladies around who would catch his eye.
The Status of a Person in Each Stage
Ego identity- The creation of an ego identity marks the end of the childhood stage and the beginning of the adulthood stage (Erickson, 1950). Jane realizes her love for art and is ready to expound on it this is realized by making it her talent. In her case on the psychosocial crisis; mistrust vs. trust, Jane Is faced with mistrust when she feels not qualified to be loved by Mr. Rochester. Yet she had fallen in love with him and was enjoying each other’s company. She is also faced with doubt since despite being working-class and in love; she feels she is plain and not beautiful enough to be loved back. In the case of inferiority vs. industry, in this stage, a child should learn to deal with the demand to learn new skills as well as how to deal with the sense of failure and incompetence. As the case of Jane, she comes out as a very industrious person having landed two jobs. She portrays a competent and go-getter personality since she was able to get the governess job after advertising herself for the position. She is more aware of herself at this stage. In identity confusion vs. identity, Jane is shown as one with an identity. She is quick to discover her artistic love while in school and soon after is able to get a job out of it. In isolation vs. intimacy, Jane is an intimate person. She spends quality time with Mr. Rochester, teasing each other and occasionally supporting each other in serious and critical times. This leads her to fall in love with him. Despite Mr. Rochester having been married he goes ahead to propose marriage to Jane. Meaning they were ready to get to the highest point of intimacy.
