| Primary texts for this thesis investigation are Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Bronte and Stowe brilliantly incorporate typology to demonstrate a correspondence between their social ideas and the Bible. Typology is a literary device drawn from the earliest texts of western scriptural history. Over time it becomes a way to connect past, current, and future events. The Gospel writers record that Jesus Christ embodied typology to establish himself as the fulfillment of ancient prefigurations. The use of typology in Jane Eyre and Uncle Tom's Cabin creates a safe passage into controversial social areas without subverting religious beliefs. In chapter one I analyze Jane Eyre typologically; Bronte's use of typology promotes feminist ideas that suggest women and men are equals in the sight of God, and therefore in society. In chapter two I analyze Uncle Tom's Cabin typologically; Stowe uses typology to argue boldly against slavery, suggesting that nineteenth-century America must reform or be judged by God. |
