Literature, Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood, Kissing the War Goodbye, Victor Jorgensen, feminism, World War II, coming of age, totalitarian theocracy, dystopia, love, US Navy, British artist, American artist
We will study this through three documents. The first document is the novel "Jane Eyre", written by Charlotte Brontë and published in 1847 in London. It is a coming-of-age novel: indeed, we follow the story of Jane, a young orphan girl who lives with her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her cousins, John, Eliza and Georgina. She grows up and falls in love with Mr. Rochester, but I will give more details later. The second document is an extract from "The Handmaid's Tale", a book published in 1985 by Margaret Atwood. It is a speculative fiction, set in a near-future New England, in a totalitarian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government. This dystopian novel explores themes among others of love and feminism. In this passage, Offred, the main character, remembers her mother before the Republic of Gilead. The last document is a picture entitled "Kissing the War Goodbye". It was taken on August 14, in 1945, at the end of World War II. The photographer is Victor Jorgensen, a US Navy reporter during the war. It was published in the New York Time magazine a few days after.
[...] Yet, they are together and love each other, and that is why their relationship is exceptional for the time and wanted by readers. Their love is pure and deep: in chapter 22, Jane says to Mr. Rochester, am strangely glad to get back again to you and wherever you are is my home, my only home." Their love is pure and ideal: they break the social boundaries, and finally get back together at the end and the final sentence "Reader, I married him." The Handmaid's Tale as we said is a speculative fiction, which takes place in a near future. [...]
[...] Besides, he is constantly saved by Jane; indeed, first when he falls down his horse, then when she rescues him from the fire, then at the end when he is disabled. Their love is actually not as pure as we might think, and even more if they lived in the 21st century. This would be considered as a toxic love, because he makes her feel guilty about her feelings while he is the one who is playing with her**. Besides, Jane has spent her entire life trying to be independent and now she met him, she is not anymore. [...]
[...] ] Then suddenly, in a flash, I saw that he was capturing something white. I turned around and took a picture just as the sailor was kissing the nurse." So we can draw two things from this: first, that the couple in the picture . do not even know each other. Indeed, they are actually completely strangers. This is kind of debunking the myth we could have made, because the love who embodies the American victory is actually a fake one. [...]
[...] She is using the same narrative as sexists, repeating all the prejudices against women and turning them against men: she is changing the patriarchal vision into a matriarchal vision, which is the complete opposite of being a feminist. These three documents are therefore contradictory to the principles they are trying to put forward, the moral values they promote. It is important to see beyond what the artists expose, and analyze the hidden side. Conclusion To put in a nutshell, artists depict love in many ways according to the era they belong to. [...]
[...] Their description of love and equity can be interpreted differently at different times, and it is important to analyze and look further than what the artists just want to show us. Astérix * 1. When he admits to leading Ms. Ingram on and disparages Jane at the same time, "Am I a liar in your eyes?' He asked, passionately. 'Little skeptic, you shall be convinced. What love have I for Miss Ingram? None, and that you know. What love has she for me? [...]
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