Dependence Vs. Independence

Bronte: Dependence Vs Independence

Ever since I read JE when I was about 9 or 10 years old, I’ve always looked to Jane as a character who was so independent. Since I’ve felt so alone for most of my life, I’ve always been able to relate to Jane. When I’d get waves of loneliness and despair that everyone was leaving me and if I felt so friendless, I’d think of Jane and some of her dialogues, where she talked about how she needed to feel independent and be comfortable with that first. I think she said once that the “more friendless and alone” she was, the stronger she felt. When she runs away from Rochester, she says that she cares about herself more than anyone else. If Jane can survive, I believe I can too. So I am going to think of Jane and her life and I really think I should read JE now instead since I need to be inspired and comforted at this time of intense loneliness that I am facing over here. On the other hand, there is Wuthering Heights that I thought I loved a while ago because I thought I could relate to it more then. I was comforted by the fact that BOTH Cathy and Heathcliff were torment. So if Cathy was MEANT for Heathcliff, then even if she was dead, she would haunt him and He would not be happy without her even if he was alive. This story is one of DEPENDENCE whereas JE is one of INDEPENDENCE. Hence, I believe that Charlotte Bronte intended to write about Independent whereas EB wrote one of Dependence. These two themse are in opposition to each other but I think it could mirror events or personal experiences in the lives of the aurthors themselves. I need to read up on the biographies of these two authors, but it is my theory that perhaps Charlotte was struggling to find meaning in her own Independence after a broken heart. Maybe she wanted her own inpiration for life after love and that promted her to create Jane Eyre. Maybe Charlotte, like me, would turn to Jane whenever she sought meaning or strength during times of loneliness or friendlessness. Jane is a symbol of Independence. However, in contrast, Emily sought for Dependence. I am not sure if Emily was attached to a man at any time in her life, but she could also have intended dependence on not just a spouse (i.e. man), but could also have meant family members (Emily was very attached to her family members I believe). Maybe Emily realized that one just COULD NOT be happy being ALONE all their lives (like she was) , and so she spins this tales of not just wild and passionate love of such intensity, but also one that her psyche sought in order to satisfy her own feelings of loneliness and neediness. Both of them were lonely. However, they took opposite routes to solving their problems. Emily found comfort in the fact that being so dependent on another, as Heathcliff was on Cathy and vice versa, would be a solution to loneliness. The fact that Cathy haunts Heathcliff to her meant that even though H was ALONE in the world, he HAD Cathy in someway, and so he could go on living. With Charlotte, Independence was the key to survival. As long as Jane found means within herself to be independent and free, she could survive.

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