2. Class

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we look at how some of Jane’s early conflicts in the novel (such as her argument with John) are expressed in terms of class warfare. The language is all the more interesting given the almost contemporary publication of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto in 1848.

Course

In this course, we explore several aspects of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. The course is divided into two equal halves: in the first six modules, we think about some of the major themes of the novel, looking in particular at gender, race, and class; in the second, we think more about narrative structure and concept of autobiography, focusing in particular on the extent to which Jane is a reliable narrator.

Lecturer

Alfie Bown is Lecturer in Digital Media Culture and Technology at Royal Holloway, University of London. His principle research interests are in psychoanalysis, digital media, critical theory and videogames, though he has also published in nineteenth-century studies, film studies and medieval studies. He is author of The Playstation Dreamworld (2017) and In the Event of Laughter (2018) among other things. His most recent book is an edited collection of essays entitled Post-Memes: Seizing the Memes of Production (2019).