Symbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë

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dc.contributor.advisorBoxall, Ruthen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorGillman, Kathrineen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2016-09-14T12:58:50Z
dc.date.available2016-09-14T12:58:50Z
dc.date.issued1994en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: pages 189-194.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis thesis comprises an in-depth study of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Villette, and Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wild fell Hall, examining each sister's individual use of nature, and its related symbols and images. This thesis will show how the natural world provides the structural principle on which each of these novels is based, and how the Brontes' use of it reflects and enhances the thematic concerns of their novels. The individuality as writers of each of the sisters is upheld in the thesis, as it examines the novels as separate entities. This is done in order to show that whilst the Bronte sisters all placed an important emphasis on the natural world in their novels, they did so with varying emphasis and intentions. In Wuthering Heights nature is given a place of prime importance, both as provider of symbols and images, and as a tangible realm. Physically, nature is perceived as the moors that surround Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; symbolically, it is a realm of freedom from the human world of classification and differences. The thesis employs a Lacanian interpretation of the separation of Catherine and Heathcliff, and this illustrates how the natural world, for them, becomes a realm in which they can regain their childhood unity. It is eventually in the spiritual world, the supernatural realm, that they are united, and this realm is seen as an extension of nature. In Jane Eyre and Villette, the landscape over which the protagonists move is read as a reflection of their inner emotional states. It is this Romantic 'emotional reciprocity' that is emphasised in Charlotte's novel, and the thesis illustrates how the symbols and images drawn from the natural world enhance the novels' thematic concerns.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationGillman, K. (1994). <i>Symbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21769en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationGillman, Kathrine. <i>"Symbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature, 1994. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21769en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationGillman, K. 1994. Symbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Gillman, Kathrine AB - This thesis comprises an in-depth study of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Villette, and Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wild fell Hall, examining each sister's individual use of nature, and its related symbols and images. This thesis will show how the natural world provides the structural principle on which each of these novels is based, and how the Brontes' use of it reflects and enhances the thematic concerns of their novels. The individuality as writers of each of the sisters is upheld in the thesis, as it examines the novels as separate entities. This is done in order to show that whilst the Bronte sisters all placed an important emphasis on the natural world in their novels, they did so with varying emphasis and intentions. In Wuthering Heights nature is given a place of prime importance, both as provider of symbols and images, and as a tangible realm. Physically, nature is perceived as the moors that surround Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange; symbolically, it is a realm of freedom from the human world of classification and differences. The thesis employs a Lacanian interpretation of the separation of Catherine and Heathcliff, and this illustrates how the natural world, for them, becomes a realm in which they can regain their childhood unity. It is eventually in the spiritual world, the supernatural realm, that they are united, and this realm is seen as an extension of nature. In Jane Eyre and Villette, the landscape over which the protagonists move is read as a reflection of their inner emotional states. It is this Romantic 'emotional reciprocity' that is emphasised in Charlotte's novel, and the thesis illustrates how the symbols and images drawn from the natural world enhance the novels' thematic concerns. DA - 1994 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1994 T1 - Symbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë TI - Symbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21769 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/21769
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationGillman K. Symbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontë. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of English Language and Literature, 1994 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/21769en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of English Language and Literatureen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherEnglish Language and Literatureen_ZA
dc.titleSymbol and theme : a study of natural imagery in selected novels of Emily, Charlotte and Anne Brontëen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMAen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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