Riqueza de morfoespecies a nivel de orden

Jane Eyre (1847)

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre published in October of 1847, under the pseudonym Currer Bell, narrates the experience of the eponymous character. Opening at Gateshead, a young Jane lives with her abusive Aunt Reed and her three cousins, John, Georgiana, and Eliza. She is an outcast within her family, only allowed to live there because Mrs. Reed swore on her husband’s deathbed to care for Jane who had been orphaned when very young. After Jane has an

altercation with her cousin John Reed and a hysterical fit caused by her incarceration in the Red Room (where her uncle died), Mrs. Reed can no longer stand Jane’s presence and sends her to Lowood School, a charity institution run by the hypocritical Mr. Brocklehurst who lives a lavish life himself but forces the children at the school to survive at a subsistence level. Mrs. Reed warned Mr. Brocklehurst that Jane was a vindictive and false child, and shortly after her arrival at Lowood, he makes her stand before the class while her errors are outlined and the other students warned to avoid her. The fellow students, however, do not hold Mr. Brocklehurst in high regard, and his threats do not ruin Jane’s chances. She quickly becomes friends with Helen Burns, a fellow student, and Mrs. Temple, a kind teacher. However, Helen and many other children die in an epidemic of consumption. Jane stays at Lowood into her early adulthood, moving from pupil to teacher but longs to do more.

She advertises for a position as governess and leaves shortly thereafter for Thornfield Hall where she has been hired by Mrs. Fairfax, the housekeeper. At Thornfield, Jane tutors a single student, Adèle, a young girl who is the ward of Mr. Rochester. Rochester, the owner of Thornfield Hall, spends little time at home, but this changes when he meets Jane Eyre. At

fire set in Mr. Rochester’s room, from which Jane saves him. These strange occurrences are attributed to Mrs. Poole, a servant in the house. Jane and Rochester have an uneasy awkward friendship throughout her time at Thornfield, though it is clear that Jane cares for Rochester.

Rochester invites local gentry to stay at his home, including the Ingram family. During this party an incident occurs where a Mr. Mason of Jamaica arrives and ends up injured. Jane helps

Rochester tend to Mr. Mason who leaves early in the morning. Blanche Ingram, the daughter of Lady and Lord Ingram, is a great beauty and much is made of her relationship with Rochester. In fact, Rochester leads Blanche on, going so far as to suggest they may marry, to make Jane jealous. After Rochester pretends to lose his fortune, the Ingram family breaks of its connection to Rochester.

Jane leaves Thornfield for a short time after learning that Mrs. Reed is dying. When she reaches Gateshead, Mrs. Reed reveals that Jane has an uncle alive who wanted her to be with him, though she told him Jane was dead out of bitterness. Mrs. Reed dies and Jane returns to Thornfield where after a confrontation with Rochester about finding new employment due to his imminent marriage and her belief that they are “equal as we are,” Rochester proposes, and they become engaged. However, just as the wedding is about to happen, a lawyer and Mr. Mason arrive to reveal that Mr. Rochester is already married to Bertha Mason Rochester, a mad woman whom he keeps locked in the attic, the source of all the mysterious noises and occurrences in the house. Jane is heartbroken and flees in order to maintain her honor. After wandering for a considerable time, Jane stumbles upon the home of St. John Rivers, a minister, and his family.

They save Jane, who is gravely ill from starvation and exposure. Jane stays with the Riverses, learning from them and then becoming a teacher at their local school. During her stay with this family, St. John reveals that they are all cousins and that their uncle left his entire fortune to

Jane. Jane refuses to accept it in its entirety, instead splitting the inheritance equally between herself, St. John, and his two sisters, Diane and Mary. St. John dreams of going to India as a missionary and wishes to take Jane with him as his wife. Jane is willing to go as his sister but refuses to marry him, as there is no love between them. After Jane refuses to go with St. John, she hears a voice cry out for her in the night and believes it is Rochester. She immediately sets off to find him. When she reaches Thornfield, it has been burned down and she learns that Bertha, who started the blaze, died in the fire. Rochester was injured, losing his hand and his sight, and retired to his hunting lodge Ferndean Manor. Jane travels there. After a bit of verbal parrying, they agree to marry and be happy. The epilogue shows them together with their son, and Rochester has regained some of his sight.

Mary Barton (1848)

Elizabeth Gaskell’s 1848 Mary Barton, describes the hardships faced by factory workers in Manchester. The main plot revolves around the Barton family, consisting of Mary and her father John. Mary’s mother dies early in the novel after her sister Esther disappears, and Mary and John are left to fend for themselves. Mary is extremely pretty and wishes to move above her station, while John Barton is proud of his labor and wishes to keep Mary away from the

influence of wealth. Left with just herself and her father, Mary goes to work as a seamstress. It is during this time that she becomes acquainted with Harry Carson, the son of the local mill owner who begins to court her. However, Jem Wilson, a laborer and family friend, also wishes to court Mary. When he proposes marriage to her, she refuses him, still thinking to marry Carson.

Shortly thereafter, though, she realizes she has made a mistake and decides to break off her relations with Carson. Carson, unwilling to concede, continues to follow Mary, eventually admitting that he had no intention of marrying her. In the mean time, Mary’s aunt Esther has

returned as a prostitute and seeks to warn Jem Wilson that Mary’s connection to Henry Carson is dangerous. Jem confronts Henry, asking after his intentions and a small fight ensues where Jem strikes Henry.

At the same time, John Barton has joined the Chartist movement. Many have lost their jobs at the factory (owned by Mr. Carson) and those who do work feel they are paid too little.

They attend a meeting with Mr. Carson, his son, and various other factory owners, attempting to improve the workers’ conditions, but instead John Barton discovers that Harry Carson has drawn a picture mocking the poor men. This incites the group to action, and they draw straws to see who will act to take revenge on the factory owners. Shortly thereafter, Henry Carson is shot in the street, and Jem Wilson is blamed.

Mary is distraught, torn between believing that Jem has killed Henry over her and refusing to believe he could do such a thing, but evidence piles up against him. He has an uncertain alibi, claiming to have walked with his cousin Will part of the way on the road to Liverpool, and his gun was used in the shooting. Esther arrives at Mary’s home, carrying yet more evidence, the wadding from the gun found near the site of the murder that has Mary’s name in Jem’s handwriting. Mary realizes that this was from a paper given to her by Jem and begins to suspect that her father may have killed Harry. She sets out to clear Jem by travelling to Liverpool to retrieve Will. The trial continues with no sign of Will, but he arrives at the last moment, resulting in an acquittal. John Barton calls for Mary, Jem, and Mr. Carson, revealing that he murdered Henry and asking forgiveness. Mr. Carson refuses to forgive him and leaves but soon returns having changed his mind. John Barton dies in his arms. Jem and Mary, along with his mother, travel to Canada because his name has been tainted by the trial and he will be unable to find work. The novel concludes with them living happily together in Canada.

Lady Audley’s Secret (1862)

Mary Elizabeth Braddon’s Lady Audley’s Secret (1862) follows the eponymous heroine.

Opening at Audley Court where the attractive Lucy Graham, previously a governess for the local doctor, married the elderly Sir Michael Audley. At the same time, Robert Audley, Sir Michael’s heir, though not his son, lives in London, working as a lawyer. While at his apartment, his old friend George Talboys, who he has not seen in many years, appears. George relates his history to Robert, telling him that he married the daughter of a dissolute officer, lost favor with his father for doing so, and soon became impoverished. Although the couple was initially happy, their poverty made life difficult and after a fight, he decides to leave his wife to go abroad to make his fortune. Having achieved this, he came home to find his wife. However, as they talk, he sees a notice in the paper that reports the death of Helen Talboys, his wife. The news breaks George, and Robert tries to coax him out of his melancholy state, insisting he accompany him to Audley Court where he will go to meet the new Lady Audley.

When they arrive at Audley Court, the relationship between Lady Audley and Alicia, Sir Michael’s daughter from his previous marriage, is strained. Alicia clearly dislikes Lady Audley and sees Robert’s interest in Lady Audley as a threat to her own desire to marry him. Lady Audley, a doll-like woman smiles and attempts to befriend Robert while avoiding meeting George. However, when George sees a painting of Lady Audley, he becomes distraught. He acts strangely thereafter and abandons Robert while fishing on Audley Court to go speak with Lady Audley, who a servant informs him is walking in the lime-tree walk. After this, George disappears and Robert Audley begins his search for him, vowing to discover what happened to his friend.

Throughout the investigation, Clara Talboys, George’s sister, spurs him on, and he eventually uncovers evidence that seems to implicate Lady Audley in Talboys’s disappearance, including letters and a label on luggage that proves she is in fact Talboys’s wife. Robert warns Lady Audley that it would be in her best interest to leave before all is revealed. She, however, refuses to cave, laughing away his concerns. However, Luke Marks, the husband of Lady Audley’s servant Phoebe, saw what occurred between Lady Audley and Talboys and blackmails her. With these two threats looming over her, Lady Audley continues to endeavor to protect herself, paying Luke’s debts after having purchased an inn for him and Phoebe. In order to remove Robert from Audley Court, she insinuates to Sir Michael that he has been paying too much attention to her, and Robert is asked to leave, though he only goes to Luke’s inn in nearby Mt. Stanning.

Called to the inn to pay yet another of Luke’s debts, Lady Audley sees a chance to free herself of the two men who threaten her life, and she sets fire to the inn, taking her servant Phoebe away with her. Robert survives and pulls Luke, who has been badly injured, from the flames. He confronts Lady Audley concerning her misdeeds including murdering George Talboys by knocking him down a well, and she confesses to Sir Michael, claiming inherited madness. A doctor is brought in to consider her mental state and concludes that she suffers from latent insanity. Robert sends Lady Audley to a foreign insane asylum under an assumed name.

After the confrontation with Lady Audley, Robert visits Luke Marks, who has asked to speak with him as he nears death. Luke reveals that George survived Lady Audley’s attack but that he left for Australia. George informs Clara and spends much time with her on her father’s lands, eventually falling in love with her. They agree to marry and plan to go to Australia to search for George. However, when Robert returns to London, he finds George waiting for him in his

apartments where he once again recounts the events of his life for Robert. The novel closes with a description of Robert Audley’s life two years later, including his success as a lawyer and his life with his family, and finally a short aside that reveals Lady Audley’s death in the asylum.

VITA

Doris Frye grew up in Bradenton, Florida, a small town on the west coast of the state.

Always interested in literature and reading, she pursued a bachelor’s of arts in literary studies at Saint Leo University and graduated in 2007. Degree in hand, she moved on to graduate school in the Department of English at Louisiana State University in 2007, studying Victorian Literature and theater.

She earned her masters degree in 2009 and chose to continue her academic pursuits at LSU. During this time, she co-published an annotated bibliography of 150 sources for Oxford Bibliographies Online with Sharon Weltman and later provided a programme article for the Baton Rouge Little Theatre’s production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Along the way, she became intrigued by adaptation and joined this new interest with her abiding love of the Broadway musical, culminating in article concerning gender in the musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked, which was published in Studies in Musical Theatre.

Doris currently lives in Mobile, Alabama with her husband Mitch Frye, Chihuahua Oscar, and Siamese cat Simone.