Intertextual

The character of Jane Eyre somewhat resembles the character of Jo from Little Women. Both are very strange for the women of their time; smart girls with an attitude uncontrolled by the restraints of society. Like Jo, Jane seems to be falling for an older man, and the attraction has become mutual. They are alike in the way that they both have a close, familial affection for a younger girl. Jo loved her younger sister Beth, a sickly young woman. Jane loves Adéle, a girl who is not family. Jane decides to, "cling closer to her than ever before" (Bronte 137) because of her pitiable family background and current situation. Jane and Jo both took a long time to fall in love. Jo was the objection of affection for Laurie, her next door neighbor. He was her brother figure, which kept her from ever reciprocating his feelings. Jane grew up for eight years surrounded by other girls. Love has never touched her heart, and she does not quite recognize it as it begins to enter. Thinking Mr. Rochester could be gone from Thornfield, she thinks, "how joyless sunshine and fine days will seem!" (139). This love has bloomed in her, but she sees it as an admiration, confused by its presence and unsure how to deal with it. Jo was also unsure how to deal with love, and she had to change her ways to feel comfortable with accepting it.

Intertexual annalysis

Christopher McCandless believes that happiness can only be real if one can share it with another person. Frankenstein came to a similar conclusion. After spending two years in solitude, he realizes the mistake he made: "I was lifeless, and did not recover my senses for a long, long time" (38). He had no one to share his secret with, and when Justine was accused and convicted of murder, Frankenstein, "felt the never-dying worm alive in my bosom, which allowed of no hope or consolation" (59). Frankenstein has not spoken about the monster up until this point because he is afraid of being called a madman: "I well knew that if any other had communicated such a relation to me, I should have looked upon it as the ravings of insanity" (51). It is not just happiness that must be shared, but all of life. Undergoing Frankenstein's experiment alone has left him helpless. McCandless also says that people need to think they are strong. Frankenstein's experiment made him feel strong, only to come to realize how that strength was the cause of his downfall and the deaths of William and Justine, two innocent people.