The role of Postcolonial criticism

The role of Postcolonial criticism is to question and 'undermine universalist claims that great literature has a timeless and universal significance which disregards political, social, cultural and national differences thus judging literature by a single universal standard'. (Beginning Theory: Peter Barry). It is interested in European narration of non-Europeans and of the relation of Europe to non-Europeans. '...

t should not be possible, in principle, to read nineteenth-century British literature without remembering that imperialism, understood as England's social mission, was a crucial part of the cultural representation of England to the English.The role of literature in the production of cultural representation should not be ignored'. (Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Critique of post-colonial reason; toward a history of the vanishing present, 1999, p113). A post-colonial analysis of the text of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte will show how the text encodes the politics of race, which contribute to the plot as well as to the imagery of the novel.Bertha Mason, Rochester's wife is a White Jamaican Creole, a representation of imperialism.

Despite being European she is not looked upon as such but more as one of the indigenous Caribbean population, a 'mixed race'. At this time, slavery was prominent in Jamaica and supported Europe's wealth. Bertha being described as 'White' instantly brings to mind racial distinction inferring, that this should make her more acceptable as Rochester's wife. Rochester had to marry Bertha because the customary system of inheritance could not support both brothers.Her madness is depicted as hereditary and alludes to being linked with mixed racial origins. To prove his point, Rochester tells Jane that Bertha's mother 'was only mad, and shut up in a lunatic asylum', her younger brother 'a complete dumb idiot' and that the elder brother 'will probably be in the same state one day'.

Rochester's remarks reflect a prejudice towards non-European culture as uneducated and uncivilized. It is as if he is saying that one cannot expect anything else from mixed racial backgrounds.Jane describes her first encounter with Bertha: 'In the deep shade, ... a figure ran backwards and forwards.

What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: ... covered with clothing .

.. dark, grizzled hair... '.

Bertha's bearing is left rather vague, neither human nor animal, there is a total lack of recognition of her as a person, she does not have an identity. '... it grovelled .

.. it snatched and growled ..

. , imparts feelings of being captured and forced to live in a certain way and condition against ones will, being held hostage helplessly by a stronger force which, in this case is Rochester.Bertha is described by Jane as having a '..

. savage face. ...

red eyes and the fearful blackened inflation of the lineaments! ' Both quotations reinforce a lack of identity and promote images of slavery, which was strong in the Caribbean during this time. Bertha's madness makes life intolerable for Rochester in Jamaica. He sees it as an evil place describing it as 'Hell'.He describes one particular night as 'it was a fiery West Indian night', expressing his tormented feelings and displayng his anxiousness to get away from what he sees as an uncivilized, debased and corrupt place, '...

bottomless pit! ' '... let me break away, and go home to God! '. A fresh wind from Europe blew over the ocean .

.. the storm broke, ...

the air grew pure. ' Europe, to Rochester is seen as heaven, a clean, wholesome civilized society where he is able to be in control of his life. '..

. you have done all that God and humanity require of you.He has accomplished his goal by marrying Bertha for her wealth thus enabling him to live in the style he was accustomed to, and sees no need prolong his stay by returning to England. Bertha, whom he describes as a 'maniac' and 'monster' is of no use to him now and we are left with an impression of the exploitation of the colonizer towards the colonized, acting just as he pleases and justifying his actions to suit his purpose. Bertha is uprooted from her homeland and 'conveyed' to England and as she does not conform to British culture she is lodged in a 'secret inner cabinet' at Thornfield, a 'wild beast's den - a goblin's cell'.

This re-enforces the shame Rochester feels towards her background and of her status as his wife, a non-European from a savage and uncivilized colony. As Bertha is kept isolated in her rooms, Thornfield becomes her 'colony' and she is only able to prowl through its rooms at night. She sees her herself as mistress of the house and her appearance in Jane's bedroom can be construed as a warning of the fate that can befall the colonized victim once they are no longer of use. India too, is also central to the narrative of Jane Eyre.

St John Rivers, a clergyman, is an embodiment of Britain's social mission representing justness and holiness. He sees his mission to India as his 'vocation' and 'great work', which displays a superior attitude, although well meaning, to non-European beliefs and culture. He looks to 'bettering their race', which portrays a presumption of the colonizer's arrogance and prejudice and shows his indifference to the people as individuals. His mission 'of substituting peace for war - freedom for bondage - religion for superstition' likens India to a corrupt, sacrilegious and sinful place.He sees himself as a liberator.

His journey to India proves fatal to his health and his death is seen as a sort of martyrdom. In European Encounters with the New World : Anthony Pagden, p161, Diderot defined Europeans who traveled to countries of the New World as "barbarians", 'those who have been cursed by 'that somber disposition which, makes man inaccessible to the delights of nature or art and the sweetness of society. "Savages" exist only in a particular cultural milieu, but "barbarians" are with us always, no matter how civilized we become'.Jane Eyre, the central figure, compares herself to other women who are established by the processes of imperialism. She takes exception to Rochester who says that he would not exchange her for 'the Grand Turk's whole seraglio, gazelle-eyes, houri's form, and all! ' She feels demeaned and objects at the 'Eastern illusion' and with women bought at such bazaars.

Jane sees herself in the role of educator and separates herself from the 'harem inmates' by saying 'I'll be preparing myself to go out as a missionary to preach liberty to them that are enslaved - your harem inmates amongst the rest'.She feels humiliated at being compared with non-European women who are seen as inferior within their culture and whose aim she sees is solely to please the opposite sex. Jane speaks of her 'annoyance and degradation' when Rochester buys her clothes. She describes his manner in the carriage 'He smiled; and I thought his smile was such as a sultan might, in a blissful and fond moment, bestow on a slave his gold and gems had enriched: I crushed his hand,'.

Jane objects to her feelings of being beholden to Rochester and compares his manner to that of a master and slave.Connotations of imperialism are implied together with Jane's assertiveness and subjectivity when she tells Rochester that she will not be his 'English Celine Varens' showing her disdain for the French woman's lifestyle and objection to being seen or thought of as a kept woman. Jane shows her superiority and contempt for non-European culture and beliefs when she tells Rochester that she has a right to die in her own time and not with her husband in 'suttee', which she describes as a 'pagan idea'. This refers to a Hindu ritual whereby the woman is burnt alive with her dead husband.

It would seem that Rochester is denying 'paternity' because Adele's mother Celine Varens was French and an opera singer. A comparison can be made with his behavior towards his wife Bertha, a Creole. There is secrecy in the way he hides Bertha at Thornfield and there is a reluctance to claim Adele as his daughter as he conveniently sees 'no proofs' that this is the case. Both these females are treated with prejudice.

As he tells Jane a 'mistress' and a 'slave' are both by 'nature' and 'position' inferior reinforcing his superiority and disdain towards different cultures.His description of Paris as with Jamaica is derogatory, implying lose morals while England is viewed as 'wholesome' i. e. upright and decent. Rochester ensures that Adele is indoctrinated into British culture by employing an English governess, Jane, which further enforces England's social mission and shows a disregard towards Adele's French background. The text of Jane Eyre was chosen for post-colonial criticism because its is set in a period when the English began traveling widely across the world to non-European countries and indoctrinating them with their culture and beliefs through colonization.

The text contains many hidden allusions to imperialism, which encodes the politics of the race. On first reading the text such a critical approach was not at first obvious. Closer observation of the text, together with an understanding of the theory of post-colonial criticism has created depth and insight of the way language and imagery is used to reflect European attitudes towards non-Europeans.