How would you compare and contrast Jane Eyre to other mistreated heroines from children's stories (Cinderella, Snow White)?
1 Answer
Jun 17, 2018
see below
Explanation:
Cinderella:
both
- were mistreated by family members, specifically mother and 'siblings' (stepsisters, cousins)
- found true love in the end
- were contacted first by higher members of society to get to their position(Jane by Mrs Fairfax after advertising, and Cinderella when being invited to the ball)
but
- Jane met her lover while she was a governess, while Cinderella met her lover in the guise of a princess
- Jane was mistreated by her lover (who tried to marry her while he was still married to another woman), while the Prince cares for Cinderella
- Jane's lover did not immediately see her as equal to him (tried to lift her out of her 'governessing slavery'), while Cinderella's prince loves her as she is
Snow White:
both
- found true love
- came close to death
- were helped by minor characters along their journey
- were mistreated by one or more family members
but
- Snow White was nearly killed by a poisoned apple, while Jane nearly died of starvation
- Jane is shown with a lover for a much larger part of her story than Snow White is
- Jane was mistreated by her lover (who tried to marry her while he was still married to another woman), while the Prince cares for Snow White
- Snow White was mistreated by her evil mother, while Jane was an orphan, meaning that she had no parents
- Bertha, a character portrayed as a villain in Jane Eyre, may be similar to Jane, while the evil witch, one of the villains in Snow White, is not shown to be at all similar to Snow White
