In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, she uses the foils of male characters and characters of higher classes to present a unique perspective to her audience. People in Bronte’s time did not have access to books unless they were very educated and wealthy, and Jane Eyre is neither of these things. Jane’s story is one of a girl who traverses between the classes, and challenges gender roles, at the time this was a completely new-fangled idea. In the beginning of the book young Jane is faced with a choice: to abandon the abusive Reed family and live on the street, or go to school. Jane, who recognizes just how horrible impoverished life in the 18th century was, says about her decision, “[insert quote about how as much as she wanted to escape, she knew Rochester, it is clear that in the beginnings he uses his gender and money against her. He has the power over her and he is her employer, but he can turn his friendly attitude whenever it benefits him. This is a key example of how Bronte displays class inequality in Jane Eyre. When Mr. Rochester has Blanche and company over, the way they treat Jane is indicative of the way they would treat anyone of a lower class. When Blanche talks about Jane as if she weren't in the room saying, [insert quote about her being a GOVERNESS and maybe connect to governesses being nasty] She asserts her power over Jane. This tactic of using wealth to make another person feel small or unwelcome is seen in the moment when Mr. Rochester argues that Jane cannot leave him to go see Mrs Reed at her death. This is one of the moments in the book where the class power imbalance is evident, but Jane’s character rejects this and continues to go her own way. This is a reaction that would have been unique to Jane in this time, because it was the British tradition to maintain a “stiff upper lip” and never show your emotions, or become emotional in standing up for yourself. The last example of class inequality is when Mrs. Fairfax considers herself above all of the other staff at Thornfield. Although Mrs. Fairfax is a member of the household staff also, she considers herself above the others, and even says “[insert quote from mrs fairfax about not associating with those other
Jane Eyre is about a girl named Jane who struggles to find who she really is and with it what she really wants. “As a model for women readers in the Victorian period and throughout the twentieth century to follow, Jane Eyre encouraged them to make their own choices in living their lives, to develop respect for themselves, and to become individuals” (Markley). One of the reasons why this book gained merit was because of its striking presence within its time period. During the “Victorian Age” woman did not have much say in society, so this novel broke boundaries to societal norms that restricted woman from things they have today. “Brontë is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her nature.
In the novel, Jane Eyre starts as a young girl of ten years old; she lives with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her cousins John, Georgiana, and Eliza. At Gateshead, Jane has undergone betrayal in the acts that the Reed family does not treat her as a part of their family. Mrs. Reed treats Jane unkindly and as if she was a victim to put it, in other words, Mrs. Reed says “ take her away to the red-room and lock her in there” (Brontë, Ch. 1). Mrs. Reed
Jane makes her journey from Gateshead to Lowood at the age of ten, finally freeing her from her restrictive life with her aunt, who hates her. Jane resented her harsh treatment by her aunt. Mrs. Reed’s attitude towards Jane highlights on of the main themes of the novel, the social class. Jane’s aunt sees Jane as inferior, who is less than a servant. Jane is glad to be leaving her cruel aunt and of having the chance of going to school.
Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, was published in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Company, in London. This year is exactly ten years into Queen Victoria’s sixty-four year reign of the British Empire. The Victorian Era was renowned for its patriarchal Society and definition by class. These two things provide vital background to the novel, as Jane suffers from both. Jane Eyre relates in some ways to Brontë’s own life, as its original title suggest, “Jane Eyre: An Autobiography”. Charlotte Brontë would have suffered from too, as a relatively poor woman. She would have been treated lowly within the community. In fact, the book itself was published under a pseudonym of Currer Bell, the initials taken from Brontë’s own name, due to the fact that a book published by a woman was seen as inferior, as they were deemed intellectually substandard to men. Emily Brontë, Charlotte’s sister, was also forced to publish her most famous novel, Wuthering Heights, under the nom de plume of Ellis Bell, again taking the initials of her name to form her own alias. The novel is a political touchstone to illustrate the period in which it was written, and also acts as a critique of the Victorian patriarchal society.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre chronicles the growth of her titular character from girlhood to maturity, focusing on her journey from dependence on negative authority figures to both monetary and psychological independence, from confusion to a clear understanding of self, and from inequality to equality with those to whom she was formerly subject. Originally dependent on her Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester, she gains independence through her inheritance and teaching positions. Over the course of the novel, she awakens towards self-understanding, resulting in contentment and eventual happiness. She also achieves equality with the important masculine figures in her life, such as St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester, gaining self-fulfillment as an independent, fully developed equal.
Jane and Blanche Ingram have one major thing in common; they wanted Ms. Rochester to be their husband, for different reasons of course. Miss Blanche wanted Mr. Rochester as an accessory to her because it was convenient. “I am resolved my husband shall not be a rival, but a foil to me (128).” Blanche uses her beauty, education and nobility to demean others and got get whatever she wanted she is very superficial. Blanche was even uncaring to Adele because she was the illegitimate child of Mr. Rochester. Blanche disregards everyone who is not in her social sta...
Bronte wrote Jane Eyre to emphasize her beliefs behind the purpose of women, and how society lacked to understand them as who they were created to be. The issue of lack of opportunity for women to engage in intellectual preparation and continuation is prevalent within the character of Jane. Expectation of women’s role was a social norm, with a lack of diversity or individuality. Bronte challenges this issue through the character of Jane, whom experiences a tug-of-war sensation between being herself, who she wants to be and should be, and what society wants her to be, and pushes her to be. Bronte was trying to explain that women have the same capability as men to be productive individuals of society, but they are held back from establishing their potential. The most unique understanding of Bronte’s challenge to society is the understanding that the characteristics and personality of Jane as a female is shamed and criticized, however these features are identical to those of a successful and representable man in
This brought into question Jane’s grand need for independence. Jane’s equality in a relationship is derived from her desire for independence. Jane reveals her need for independence in her relationship with Mr. Rochester when she told him she would always call him master but she would not be inferior to him. Haiyan Gao asserts in her article “Reflection On feminism in Jane Eyre,” “Jane loves Rochester with all her heart and Rochester’s status and wealth make him so high above for Jane to approach, yet she never feels herself inferior to Rochester though she is a humble family teacher.” It is also notable that Jane does not pursue a relationship with Mr. Rochester with the intention of gaining money.
When reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, I find myself cheering for Rochester. After finishing the book, I ask myself why Jane chooses Rochester over St. John. After all, Rochester has a "mad" wife, Bertha Mason, locked in the attic of Thornfield Hall at the same time that he is proposing marriage to Jane. He has a ward living with him, possibly the offspring of an illicit affair with a French dancer. He is arrogant, pushy, and basically ill-tempered. St. John, on the other hand, is well mannered, respected, and has a promising future. To answer my own question, then, it is essential to look at how each man fits the idea of masculinity in Victorian society, at how each man relates to Jane, and at why Bronte creates her two leading men to be such extreme opposites.
Bronte is known as one of the first revolutionary and challenging authoress’ with her text Jane Eyre. The society of her time was male dominated, women were marginally cast aside and treated as trophies for their male counterparts. Their main role in life was to be a mother and a wife, “ Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life……the more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure she will have for it.” A quote from a letter Robert Southey wrote to Bronte. A clear sign of the mentality and opposition Bronte was up against. A woman’s “proper duties” of course being to tend and wait on her “master’s” every whim and need. Women during Bronte’s time had no clear voice, none that was of any merit, they were a silent category of society, silenced by their male oppressors. Bronte’s book was in fact written before the first women’s rights movement had happened, yet it puts forward an image of an independent strong character, of a passionate and almost rebellious nature. A character “refusing subservience, disagreeing with her superiors, standing up for her right’s, and venturing creative thoughts.” I put forward that Bronte throughout her text not only revises the themes of male power and oppression, but reconstructs them also. The text is a female bildungsroman of it’s time, sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly tackling the patriarchal view of women.
Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, is set in a Victorian England, where social class is a huge factor in life. Brontë is very critical of Victorian England’s strict hierarchy. the main character, Jane, is a governess. Her social position is very complicated in which she has to be sophisticated, educated, intelligent, and soft spoken but she is then talked down to as she is of a lower class. The job of a governess is to teach children, whether it be art, writing or reading english literature. Victorian society is very corrupt and in the novel Brontë truly captures and illustrates the challenges that Jane has to face as a governess. The novel also emphasizes the social gap between individuals and how big it really is. In Victorian society, the rich get the most out of life and life for the poor gets harder. No individual should judge or belittle another due to the very minor factor of social status, but it seems to be very important in Jane’s society. The message that Brontë expresses in the novel is that social class is a meaningless catalyst in the progression of relationships, creating giant gaps between individuals.
Bronte’s Jane Eyre is brimming with feminist ideology rebuking Victorian-Era gender-roll ethics and ideals. As a creative, independent woman with a strong personality and will growing up during this period of female repression, Bronte wrote Jane Eyre as a feminist message to society. She criticizes the average, servile, ignorant Victorian woman, and praises a more assertive, independent, and strong one. She does this through her protagonist Jane, who embodies all of Bronte’s ideal feminine characteristics. She is a strong woman, both mentally and physically, who seeks independence and is in search of individuality, honesty, and above all equality both in marriage and in society in a world that does not acknowledge women as individuals.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre represents the role of women in the Victorian era by giving the reader an insight into the lives of women from all social classes. Jane Eyre therefore represents figures of the Victorian time yet the character of Jane Eyre, herself, can be seen as very unconventional for the Victorian society.
The development of Charlotte Bronte's character, Jane Eyre, becomes vital to her novel Jane Eyre, and the other characters in which she is involved. She is an intelligent, plain featured, honest young girl whose reaction to her situations brings more depth to her personality. She is forced to deal with oppression, discrimination, and at times poverty, which disrupt her strong will, dignity, and desire for freedom. At the beginning, Jane possesses a passion for pride and the idea of freedom and these characteristics, along with her integrity, are tested continuously throughout the novel by the many personalities with whom she encounters. Living in a male dominant world Jane is expected to remain obedient and docile and her passion sometimes keeps her from being able to do this. She is a rarity among obeying female characters and we see this throughout the book.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is set in the mid nineteenth century, during the Victorian era where class and gender roles are clearly defined in the patriarchal society. The general ideology of the era expresses the idea that if gender categories were not maintained as binary oppositions, catastrophic chaos would likely ensue (Gill, 109). Throughout the novel, Jane is faced with the issue of oppression. The typical characteristics of an ideal female in Victorian society would include submissiveness, simple dress, low ambition, longing for a male love interest and passiveness. Bronte clearly shows her stance on this Victorian ideology as Jane often challenges those social institutions and changes her place in society, although she often settles for the status quo for certain periods of time. Jane plays the typical role of a Victorian woman through much of her life, but through subtle shifts in power Bronte challenges these Victorian norms by way of Jane’s education, unlikely rise in social status from teacher to governess and her relationship with a seemingly unattainable man.