There are many things I loved about this podcast. I really liked how the people in the podcast gave their background so the listener knows that the people on the podcast know what they are talking about. It also gives a good summary of what happened in the novel as well as a break down of many of the characters. They talk about Rochester: his rough past and how he is an archetype, not an unconventional hero. Bertha Mason is also talked about a lot, which I found to be the most interesting. Bertha is a huge part of why this book could be considered Gothic. From Jane's point of view, she is described as a vampire, an "it", a creature, a dog, and many other things. Jane Eyre's character is broken down as well. She is a plain heroin and around the age of 30 looking back on her life. Jane's decision to leave Rochester is also broken down and found to be mainly about Jane's care for herself. Another thing I really liked is how they talked about the elements found within the story. There are Gothic elements but also fantastical elements. This story mixes realism with Gothic romance, which gives it a fantastical element. I also liked how they broke down Bronte's life and the impact her life had on this novel and the characters within it.
There were a few things I did not like about this podcast. The person leading the discussion or feeding the topics cuts off the women talking a lot to move to a different topic. The listener doesn't get the full idea on some of the topics talked about because they are interrupted. The voices also overlap a few times, making it hard to catch some of the words said. Their accents are not difficult to understand, but when the voices overlap it is really hard to distinguish what is being said.
One thing I found extremely interesting was their take on Bertha Mason's character. Bertha Mason is used as one of the main Gothic elements, but they also said that since this book is told from Jane's point of view, Jane could have exaggerated Bertha Mason's character. They brought this up because it could be seen as a way for Jane to justify her relationship with Rochester as morally okay and rid her of guilt for taking someone else's husband. I found this interesting because it was something I never thought of, but find it easy to understand and relate to the story.
I agree that it was helpful that the broadcasters gave their background because everything they said became more credible. I also liked how they talked about Bertha Mason because she was still a mystery to me even after I finished the book. The broadcasters gave me a new perspective on the character of Bertha and how she might not be as horrible as Jane makes her out to be.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this podcast breaks down Bronte's past and how it impacted her writing for Jane Eyre. They go deeper into the meaning of each character and we learn more about most of them. I also agree that the host interrupted the women many times and cut off some of their thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it was interesting how they thought that Jane might have been exaggerating Bertha Mason's character. While it is a probable reason, I never would've thought of it myself, making it an interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteI agree that they did a good job of breaking down Jane Eyre as a character. I also feel it is interesting when talking about Bertha Mason. I can totally see that Jane Eyre could exaggerate her to make her feel better about her going with Rochester. It never occurred to me that she might not be so bad, since it is told in Jane's perspective
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