Write a comparison of these two proposal scenes, considering the authors' differing attitudes to love and marriage and the ways in which these are conveyed in these two passages.

This essay hasn't yet been marked by one of our teachers

You can view 1 essay on Other Criticism & Comparison that have been Marked by Teachers

The first 200 words of this essay...

Write a comparison of these two proposal scenes, considering the authors' differing attitudes to love and marriage and the ways in which these are conveyed in these two passages.

Passage a - Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

Passage b - Emma, by Jane Austen

The major theme within both passages is based upon love and marriage; however, the passage from Jane Eyre is far more passionate and spontaneous ('he asked passionately'), as opposed to Emma, which tackles the subject of love in a more orderly fashion ('plain, unaffected, gentleman-like').

The introductions of the two passages represent different styles of writing: whereas the introduction of the passage from Emma is straight to the point and starts with dialogue, the passage from Jane Eyre begins with a short paragraph of description about the 'wind' and the 'nightingale'. Moreover, the language used ('a waft of wind') creates an atmospheric sense of passion, further emphasised by the alliteration. More profoundly, nightingales are symbolic of sadness and love, whilst the wind is symbolic of passionate love ('he ejaculated', 'added wildly'), both of which are themes explored within the novel, and in the passage itself, (through the language given in the