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Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science

ISSN Print: 2576-0556 Downloads: 477482 Total View: 3655372
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Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.12.025

Analyzing Jane Eyre’s Personality in Jane Eyre from the Perspective of Lacan’s Mirror Stage Theory

Yichi Yang

Department of English Language and Literature, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, China.

*Corresponding author: Yichi Yang

Published: January 13,2025

Abstract

As the first to focus on its moral and spiritual development through an intimate first-person narrative, the novel Jane Eyre revolutionized prose fiction and thus holds a significant and enduring position in the history of British literature. The actions and events in Jane Eyre are colored by the psychological intensity and the female protagonist Jane Eyre’s mental state could be analyzed through Lacan’s Mirror Stage theory. Due to the childhood experiences and encounters that have had an indelible impact on Jane’s psychological state and life circumstances, Jane never fully escapes the “mirror stage” but is stuck in it and unable to transcend it. The conflict between her ideal self and the reality she faces has resulted in fragmentation and alienation of her personality. This inherent contradiction in Jane Eyre’s self-construction becomes a profound psychological root of her life choices and decisions in love. Throughout the entire novel, Jane attempts to constantly identify herself through various experiences and the validation of other characters. Ultimately, she succeeded in shaping a conventional socially acceptable female image.

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How to cite this paper

Analyzing Jane Eyre's Personality in Jane Eyre from the Perspective of Lacan's Mirror Stage Theory

How to cite this paper: Yichi Yang. (2024) Analyzing Jane Eyre's Personality in Jane Eyre from the Perspective of Lacan's Mirror Stage Theory. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science8(12), 2805-2808.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2024.12.025