JANE EYRE by CHARLOTTE BRONTE (1847)

PLOT
Jane is an orphan who grew up at Gateshead by her cold aunt, Mrs Reed.
Jane is then sent to Lowood Institution, a very strict school where she is not given enough food
and clothing.
When she grows up, she becomes a teacher there but later decides to accept a job as a governess
at Thornfield Hall, where she soon falls in love with its owner, Mr Rochester. Her stay at the Hall is
disturbed by strange noises and frightening events.
After spending some time at her aunt’s deathbed, Jane returns to Thornfield and Rochester
proposes to her. She agrees to marry him, but two nights before the wedding she wakes up and
sees a figure standing by her bed and her wedding vail torn into two pieces.
Before the wedding, Jane finds out that Rochester is already married to Bertha Mason, a
madwoman he married in the West Indies and who lives on the upper floor of the house.
Rochester asks Jane to stay with him, but she leaves Thornfield and goes to live with her cousins
at Moor House. There she meets St John Rivers, a religious man who plans to become a
missionary and proposes to her. Jane refuses him and one night she hears Rochester’s voice
calling her.
She returns to Thornfield Hall only to find that the house has been destroyed by fire a caused by
Bertha, who then died. Mr Rochester lost his sight and a hand. He now lives in Ferndean, where
Jane visits him and agrees to marry him. He finally recovers his sight when their first child is born.

JANE
 Is a very assertive heroine who tries to find her own identity.
 She is often against dominant male figure.
 She is imaginative, passionate, rebellious and independent but always looking for warmth
and affection.
STYLE
The story is told in the first person --> everything is seen from Jane’s point of view
Bronte uses Gothic elements.
THEMES
The main themes are childhood and education, the role of the women (Bronte criticises the strict
Victorian social classes system) and the passionate love.

“Punishment” (Analysis of the passage)

The main theme is education --> Jane is in a boarding school for girls --> Submission, Humiliation,
Rejection, Isolation and Punishment.
She is punished because she broke a slate (lavagnetta) --> she is forced to stand on a stool
(sgabello) in front of the class --> in this way she is embarrassed, humiliated and ashamed.
Mr. Brocklehurst --> he is the supervisor and a strict teacher --> he represents the institution.
He is a clerical man --> he identifies morality with the Christian faith.
Miss Temple helps her find courage to go towards Mr. Brocklehurst
While Jane stands on the stool, Mr. Brocklehurst describes her as a liar and evil and because of
that she must be excluded.
Jane’s emotions:
 At the beginning --> she is ashamed, paralyzed and afraid
 At the end --> she learns how to control his emotions thanks to her best friend Helen Burns.

Miss Temple and Helen Burns represent “the Good”, Mr. Brocklehurst represent “the Evil”

This passage is linked with “Hard Times” --> education based on submission, repressed kind of
education based on corporal punishment, humiliation. Jane Eyre is an orphan like Oliver Twist.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS by EMILY BRONTE (1847)

PLOT
The novel revolves around two houses on the Yorkshire moors, Wuthering Heights and
Thrushcross Grange. At the beginning of the story in 1801, Mr. Lockwood, the new tenant of
Thrushcross Grange, calls on his landlord, Mr. Heathcliff, at Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff is cold
and unfriendly, his house is gloomy and his dogs threaten Mr. Lockwood, who is forced to stay the
night because of a snowstorm; during the night he has a strange dream about a girl who is tapping
on the window asking to be let in after 20 years of wandering on moors.
The next day, he returns home and his housekeeper, Nelly Dean, tells him the whole story.
One day, Mr. Earnshaw, the father of Hindley and Catherine, came back from Liverpool with a
foundling, that he decided to call Heathcliff because of his black hair and eyes, symbol of mystery.
Hindley ill-treated him, Catherine instead got on very well with him. They wandered the moors
together and they promised each other that they would stay together forever.
When Mr. Earnshaw died, Hindley became master of Wuthering Heights and treated Heathcliff like
a slave.
One day, because of an accident, Catherine had to stay at Thrushcross Grange for five weeks and
she had the opportunity of known Edgar and his sister Isabella, who belong to the Linton family,
who own Thrushcross Grange.
After a few years, Hindley’s wife died giving birth to their son, Hareton.
When a few years later Edgar proposed to her, she accepted. She told to Nelly that she wouldn’t
marry Heathcliff because he was socially inferior. Heathcliff overheard the conversation and
disappear; he returned three years later handsome, rich and determinate to take his revenge. He
obtained the possession of Wuthering Heights gambling with Hindley and he married Isabella and
treated her like a servant. Catherine felt ill and died giving birth to Cathy; after some years,
Heathcliff forced her to marry his horrible son, Linton, becoming the owner of Thrushcross Grange,
completing his revenge. Nelly’s narrative ends here.
Mr. Lockwood leaves Yorkshire and came back after a year to find that both Heathcliff and Linton
are dead, Cathy and Hareton are going to get married and to live in peace and happiness. Nelly
tells him that someone had seen a man and a woman wandering together on the moors.

DUALITY
Two main narrators:
 Mr. Lockwood --> male, outside the story
 Nelly Dean --> female, inside the story
Two different perspectives from the two narrators.
Two houses:
 Wuthering Heights --> gloomy and severe, represent the primitive passion --> Heathcliff -->
the Earnshaws
 Thrushcross Grange --> reflection of politeness, stability and respectability —> the Lintons
Two families (and two lovers):
 The Earnshaws
 The Lintons
Two forces:
 Calm
 Energy (love + hate)

GOTHIC
The atmosphere is stormy and gloomy
Gothic elements in the novel used to describe the struggle between love and hate, order and
chaos.
Ghosts --> Catherine and Heathcliff —> in the beginning and in the end —> are together,
wondering in the moors

VICTORIAN
Social conventions/manners --> relationship between Catherine and Edgar because she desires
to be socially height.
Struggle between good and evil.

ROMANTIC
Passionate love
Nature --> landscapes, moors
The concept of sublime --> both beautiful and brutal
THE THEME OF THE DEATH
The death is not an end or the moment when all the conflicts are settled, but a liberation of the
spirit.

THE TIME
The narration doesn’t follow the chronological order. It starts almost at the end of the story and
develops a narrative within the narrative, including the use of flashbacks.

CATHERINE
She is beautiful and has a wild romantic nature.
She is a free spirit struggling between her love for Heathcliff and her social ambitions, which
finally lead her to marry Edgar Linton.
She continues to haunt Heathcliff after her death.

“The eternal rocks beneath” (Analysis of the passage)

The passage is about Chatherine’s revelation of her love to Heathcliff.
The events take place in the past but the narration is in the present.
She is torn between marrying Edgar Linton or Heathcliff --> she chooses Edgar for his good social
status
Contrast between Edgar Linton and Heathcliff:
 Edgar:
- Her affection for Edgar is changeable, it will end.
- “Moonbeam”, “Frost”
- Cold, gentility.
-
 Heathcliff:
- Her love for Heathcliff is eternal and unchangeable
- “Lightning”, “Fire”
- Warmth, passion, strength
- Eternal rocks beneath.

THE STRANGE CASE OF DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE by ROBERT LOUIS

STEVENSON (1886)
PLOT
Mr Utterson is a respectable London lawyer and friend to a well-known scientist, Dr Henry Jekyll.
He is out for a walk with a distant relative called Mr Enfield when they pass a strange-looking
door. Enfield recalls a disturbing story involving the door. A man, identified as Mr Hyde, trampled
over a little girl and paid off her family with a cheque from Henry Jekyll.
The situation is made even stranger when Utterson, who is the executor of Jekyll’s will, explains
that this has recently been changed. In the event of Jekyll’s death or disappearance, all his
possessions are to go to a Mr Hyde.
A year later, Mr Hyde attacks someone else and as Utterson knows the victim, he is involved in the
police investigation. One night Jekyll’s butler goes to see Utterson because he is afraid that Hyde
has murdered Jekyll. Utterson finds Hyde in his laboratory lying dead in Jekyll’s clothing. He then
finds a letter where Jekyll explains the mystery of his double identity. He had created a potion
able to release his evil side, Mr Hyde, but Hyde had gradually achieved domination over Jekyll.
Eventually Jekyll began turning into Hyde in his sleep and his ability to change back into Jekyll
slowly vanished, so he killed himself.

SETTING IN TIME AND PLACE

London of the late Victorian Age --> symbol of society’s hypocrisy.
The double of the house --> Lab, House, yard
Mostly at night.

CRIME STORY
Mystery
Detective --> Mr Utterson
The title --> “Strange case”

GOTHIC ELEMENTS
Gloomy atmosphere, at night.

NARRATIVE TECNIQUE
Multiple narrative structure with a complex series of point of view --> they belong to Mr.
Utterson, Mr. Enfield, Dr Lanyon, Dr Jekyll
Both Utterson and Enfield represent the respectable Victorian world, which Jekyll rejects.

THE DOUBLE
 Dr Jekyll --> the good, is a respectable and well-known scientist
 Mr Hyde --> the evil, is the hidden and dark side of his personality. The “ugly idol”.
Analogy with the Yin and Yang

“The scientist and the diabolical monster” (Analysis of the passage)

Dr Jekyll finds out that the human has two natures --> the duality of life (good and evil).
First experiment —> he tries to separate the two parts (good and evil)
He makes a potion —> made up by a particular salt —> boil all the ingredients.
He drinks this potion:
 At the beginning --> he is suffering
 Later --> Freedom, sweetness, he feels younger, happier, lighter. Free from the strict rules of
morality.
He goes from the lab to the house (passing by the yard) to look at himself in the mirror.
He describes himself as an “ugly idol” and pure evil
Second experiment --> he drinks a second potion and the evil part prevails to the good part
The solution --> Kills himself.

AESTHETICISM
It was a literary movement which was not limited to England but widespread thoughtout Europe
by the middle of the 19th century.
Born in France.
In England --> against the Victorian society and the utilitarianism.
Absence of a didactic aim in any work of art --> the content of any work of art is the persuit of
beauty
The famous motto --> “Art for Art’s Sake” --> admiration of the sensual qualities of art
Artist task --> to feel sensation, to express detachment from contemporary society --> use of the
language of the senses
Walter Pater --> the main theorist of the Aesthetic Movement

The Dandy --> Someone who belongs to the upper middle class, so doesn’t need to earn money
and lives his life aiming at pleasure.

THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY by Oscar Wilde

1890 --> first edition
1891 --> Second edition with the preface by Oscar Wilde that is considered the Manifesto of the
Aestheticism.

PLOT
The novel is set in London at the end of the 19th century. The protagonist is Dorian Gray, a young
man whose beauty fascinates a painter, Basil Hallward, who decides to paint his portrait.
Under the influence of the brilliant but corrupt Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian throws himself into a
life of pleasure. While the young man’s desires are satisfied, including that of eternal youth, the
signs of age, experience and vice do not appear on Dorian but on the portrait.
Dorian uses everybody, even letting people die because of his insensitivity. When the painter Basil
sees the corrupted image of his portrait, Dorian kills him. Later Dorian wants to free himself of the
portrait, witness to his spiritual corruption, and stabs it, but, in doing so, he kills himself. In the
very moment of Dorian’s death, the picture returns to its original purity, and Dorian’s face
becomes ‘withered, wrinkled, and loathsome’.

THEMES
Beauty and Youth —> symbolized by Dorian Gray
Appearance as the ultimate values in life --> “Art for Art’s Sake
The Double --> usually is the mirror, in this novel is the portrait.
 good side and evil side
 the horrible, corrupted picture represents the dark side of Dorian’s personality --> It could
also be seen as a symbol of the immorality of the Victorian middle class, while Dorian’s pure,
innocent appearance stands for bourgeois hypocrisy.
The contrast between reality and appearance
Portrait —> symbol of all the sins

DORIAN GRAY
He is the most important character of the novel, stands for the ideal of youth beauty and
innocence
He is immortalised in Basil Hallward’s portrait --> Dorian stays forever young, while his painting
reflects the signs of time and of his immoral acts.
He decides to lead a life of pleasure and sensations, but in the end, his vanity and selfishness ruin
him.
The portrait provides a visual representation of the degradation of his soul.

LORD HENRY WOTTON

He is a brilliant talker and an amoral aesthete.
He believes youth is the most important value
He is a powerful influence on young Dorian --> Dorian’s mentor.

BASIL HALLWARD
He is an artist fascinated by Dorian’s beauty and youth.

STYLE
Third person narrator
SETTING IN TIME AND PLACE
London at the end of the 19th century

“I would give my soul” (Analysis of the passage)

There are the 3 character --> Dorian Gray, Henry Wotton and Basil Hallward
Henry Wotton --> aesthete --> Dorian’s mentor --> he is charmed by Dorian but sees his
unconsciousness of what it really is --> He thinks that Dorian should not waste his youth (it quickly
fades), so he should live passionately to have no regrets.
First part --> about beauty and the kind of life that Dorian should have --> Lord Henry Wotton’s
talk
Beauty --> “is a form of genius, is higher than genius, as it needs no explanation”, “is the wonder
of wonders”
At the beginning Dorian is not aware of his beauty.
Second part --> revelation about beauty
Hedonism - the belief according to which life is aimed at pleasure.

THE WASTE LAND by THOMAS STEARNS ELIOT (1922)

The Waste Land is the masterpiece of T.S. Eliot --> It’s an example of modernist poetry.
The poem is about the condition of the western society after the WW1 --> it’s a condition of
desolation and disillusionment of modern age

STRUCTURE AND THEMES

It’s divided in 5 sections
He uses free association of ideas and thoughts (is like the Stream of Consciousness used in the
novels applied to poetry) --> fragmentation
The main themes are the fertility of a mythical past and the spiritual sterility of the present
world, peopled by alienated characters.
The mythical past appears in the allusions to and quotations from many literary works.

INNOVATIVE STYLE
The style is a mixture of different poetic styles (blank verse, the quatrain and the free verse)
The poet uses the technique of the correlative objective and that of juxtaposition.
Repetition of words and images, which increases the musicality of the poem

TITLE
Waste --> desolation and lack of emotion
Land --> metaphor for people of modern age
“The Burial of the Dead” (Analysis of the passage)

G. Chaucer T.S. Eliot

“The Canterbury Tales” “The Waste Land”
Spring/April --> Rebirth of the nature and of Spring/April --> Spiritual death, dryness and
the soul (spiritual rebirth) emptiness
Fertility Sterility

LINES 1-7
April is the cruellest month --> because it’s painful, mix of memory (of the past) and
desire (to go back to the past)
Winter instead is described as warm (kept us warm) --> the snow is forgetful (we can forget the
past and our condition).

LINES 8-24
Setting in time and place --> London at nine in the morning; the weather is foggy
People are going to work --> They are alienated, they don’t talk to each other and they walk
looking at their feet; they seem sad
The poet meets a friend --> Stetson --> he was probably a soldier
The reference of Punic war indicated that history is a repetition of the past
The poet uses quotations of work of ancient tradition to ask Stetson his condition --> He ask if the
corpse that he planted has it begun to sprout and bloom
Last line --> “You! hypocrite lecteur! – mon semblable – mon frère!”—> is a quotation of
Baudelaire --> and it symbolizes the hypocrisies of the society and the modern age.

THE DYSTOPIAN NOVEL

The aim is to criticize the society
It describes an imaginary society based on oppression and control (negative world in the future)
Individuals are powerless --> controlled by an oppressive government
It talks about totalitarian system where people are controlled and oppressed by technology
The hero --> is someone who tries to oppose to the totalitarian system --> but he usually fails

Utopian Dystopian
It describes a positive world - an imaginary It depicts a negative world - an imaginary
society, a perfect society from the moral point society, a dreadful society based on
of view oppression, repression and control
NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR by GEORGE ORWELL (1949)
PLOT
The novel describes a future world divided into three blocks: Oceania, an empire of which
England, 'Airstrip One’, is no longer the head but just an outpost; Eurasia, including Russia and
Europe; and Eastasia, which is Asia and the Far East. The regimented, oppressive world of Oceania
is ruled by 'the Party’, which is led by a figure called Big Brother. The Party uses telescreens,
helicopters and the Thought Police to control people's lives and is implementing Newspeak, an
inverted language with a limited number of words. Any free expression or individuality is
forbidden. The protagonist, Winston Smith, a former journalist employed by the Ministry of Truth
to rewrite historical records to support state policy, illegally buys a diary in which he writes his
thoughts and memories, addressing them to future generations. Winston's rebellion gains
impetus from his association with Julia, another dissident, who wants to fight against the
repression of sexuality required by the Party. Julia and Winston begin a secret affair which is
discovered by the Thought Police. They are subjected to torture and brainwashing in Room 101 at
the hands of the merciless O'Brien, a member of the powerful Inner Party. This is the final
destination for those who oppose the Party. Here Winston is forced to confront his worst fear:
rats on his head, ready to eat his face. His will and his resistance are broken and he is released to
the outside world. He meets Julia, but no longer loves her. He has completely given up his
identity and has learned to love Big Brother.

SETTING
The novel opens in a squalid and menacing London which is under the constant control of Big
Brother
There’s no privacy because there are monitors called ‘telescreens’ watching everything people do
The Party controls the press, the communication and propaganda. Language, history and thought
are manipulated in the interests of the state
Any form of rebellion against the rules is punished with prison, torture and ‘liquidation’, that is,
elimination

WINSTON SMITH
He’s the last man to believe in humane values in a totalitarian age
Winston --> it’s for Winston Churchill --> symbol of democracy
Smith --> it’s a common surname --> represent common people
He has a desire for spiritual and moral integrity and experiences alienation from society.
He represents the rebellion that fails against oppression.

STYLE
The novel is told in third person narrator
Orwell’s language is clear and concise
THEMES
It’s a dystopian novel that describes an oppressive society
George Orwell criticizes totalitarianism and tyranny in all its forms
The main themes are the threat of the totalitarian state, censorship and the denial of objective
truth, the importance of language.
The theme of the preservation of memory becomes crucial to maintaining individuality and
freedom.

“Big Brother is watching you” (Analysis of the passage)

The passage is about life in London that is controlled by the Big Brother.
Winston Smith is in a room where he has no privacy --> there’s a telescreen by which Thought
Police control him
Outside there’s posters of the Party that say “Big Brother is watching you”
Furthermore, there are helicopters that control what people do.
He tries to remember his childhood but he can’t --> he only remembers a series of tableaux.
At the and there’s the description of the structure of The Ministry of Truth (Minitrue) -->
enormous pyramidal structure of white concrete that’s 300 meters high.
The 3 slogans are written on the structure --> “War is peace, Freedom is slavery, Ignorance is
strength”.