Where is a woman’s place in society? The novel Jane Eyr, by Charlotte Brontë is a phenomenal coming-of-age, romance novel that can relate to women across time. With the attempt to answer this question of a woman’s place, the meets the definition of a classic. Italo Calvino describes classics as books that “exert a peculiar influence … when they refuse to be eradicated from the mind and … [camouflage] themselves as the collective or individual unconscious.” Jane Eyre is unforgettable and applicable to modern society with its ideas of gender that transcend time. Jane Eyre meets Calvino’s definition of a classic with its degrees of influential individuality and its universal themes of women’s equality and place in society. Jane Eyre is …show more content…
In other words, women did not marry for love; they married for wealth. An example of one’s love for money in Jane Eyre is Mrs. Ingram, who becomes uninterested in Mr. Rochester after he “caused a rumour … that [his] fortune was not a third of what was supposed” (254). On the other hand, Jane is very humble and otherwise avoids all floral items when it comes time to her marriage to the man. “ Don’t address me as if I were a …show more content…
Rochester, meaning that she wants nothing more that bare necessities. (259). Additionally, Jane is not at all submissive as she is expected to be and speaks her mind: “I declare, I do not love you!” (36). Furthermore, her “prince charming” is not the typical definition of “charming” at all! Mr. Rochester lies to Jane about his already existing wife and treats her cruelly even to the point of tears when they first live together. Jane returns by calling Mr. Rochester “hideous” in the end, with his missing limbs and all, yet they still marry (36). Mr. Rochester is not handsome, but looks do not matter to Jane for he “made [Jane] love him without looking at him” (174). Jane Eyre is not an idolized princess, and her life is not made to be beautiful. Brontë does not choose to write her this way. Her story is honest and full of all the horrors and embarrassments of Jane’s life. Jane Eyre is a novel to be remembered because of its uniqueness.Matter of fact, Jane leaves Lowood school, following the “charm of adventure;” love and companionship is not something that drives her life (176). Jane Eyre is a reminder that romance books do not have to follow stereotypes about a woman’s search for love. Different books
In Charlotte Bronte’s, Jane Eyre, Jane goes through numerous self-discoveries, herself-realization and discipline leads her to a life she chooses to make her happy. Jane Eyre has a rough life from the start. Forced to stay with people who despise her, Jane can only help herself. Jane must overcome the odds against her, which add to many. Jane is a woman with no voice, until she changes her destiny. The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte consists of continuous journeys through Jane’s life towards her final happiness and freedom.
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. A novel creates its own internal world through the language that it uses, and this fictional world may be quite independent from the real physical world in which we live” (Johnson). Bronte creates another world through her enlightening form of writing that has the reader connected to the novel as much as Riordan has on the readers in The Lightning Thief. “Reader, I married him” (Bronte 457). This line from the novel is one of the most iconic lines in literature because after all the terrible things she had to endure, Jane finally
Jane Eyre’s continuous search for love, a sense of belonging, and family are all thoroughly displayed by Charlotte Brontë. Jane starts off as a despised orphan who is captivated by the thought of love, believing that it will help her achieve happiness. Throughout the novel, Jane attempts to find different substitutes to fill the void in her life.
Readers, for example, feel great sympathy when Jane is left begging for bread on the street after running away from Thornfield when her wedding is canceled due to Mr. Rochester already being married. However, while Jane Eyre is not an unreliable narrator, as she is not telling the story from a compromised point-of-view and exhibits credibility through her detailed recollections of various important events which have occurred throughout her life, the reader is only exposed to the scenarios which unravel from Jane’s point-of-view. While Charlotte Bronte attempts to allow the reader to examine the feelings and thought processes of characters other than Jane, she does this through allowing the characters to “explain themselves”. A prominent example of this is when Mr. Rochester exclaims that “I keep telling her I am not married, and do not explain to her why” after his and Jane’s wedding is called off when Briggs and Mr. Mason reveal that Mr. Rochester is already married (309). Mr. Rochester proceeds to explain the nature of his relationship with Bertha Mason; however, since the novel is not told from his point-of-view, the reader is not exposed to his raw emotions and thoughts.
Jane Eyre has been acclaimed as one of the best gothic novels in the Victorian Era. With Bronte’s ability to make the pages come alive with mystery, tension, excitement, and a variety of other emotions. Readers are left with rich insight into the life of a strong female lead, Jane, who is obedient, impatient, and passionate as a child, but because of the emotional and physical abuse she endures, becomes brave, patient, and forgiving as an adult. She is a complex character overall but it is only because of the emotional and physical abuse she went through as a child that allowed her to become a dynamic character.
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.
Clergyman, St. John admires Jane in such a way is it very clear as to what makes her so alluring to not only himself but the prince charming, Mr Rochester. “Jane you are docile, diligent disinterested, faithful, constant and courageous: very gentle very heroic: cease to mistrust yourself- I can trust you reservedly” (Bronte, 1966:607). But to Jane this is not true, much like Cinderella she longs for a sense of excitement and to be beautiful like all others around her. Cinderella is greatly desired by the Prince and as a result her stepmother decides to hide her away. Meaning the Prince had been blocked from finding the illusive foot to fit his slipper.
Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.
Although written during both the Victorian and Gothic time period, Jane Eyre draws upon many revolutionary influences that ultimately enabled it to become one of the most successful books of all time. Jane Eyre is merely a hybrid of a Victorian and Gothic novel, infusing a share of dark allusions with overzealous romanticism. The primitive cultures of the Victorian period reflect high ethical standards, an extreme respect for family life, and devotional qualities to God, all in which the novel portrays. Yet, to merely label Jane Eyre as a Victorian novel would be misleading. While the characteristics of a Gothic no...
Women, in all classes, were still living in a world which was misogynistic and male-dominated. Their purpose in life was to produce male heirs and maintain the home by hiring and overseeing servants. It was also taboo for one to marry significantly below one’s social class. This is one reason that Jane is not a conventional heroine for the society of her time. Although, as a governess, she is not considered to be as low as a housemaid, she is still part of the hired help in the house. This is why it is unconventional for her and Mr Rochester to be in a relationship. Yet this is not as peculiar as how Jane Eyre ends their relationship due to her sense of betrayal. It would have been considered extremely foolish for a working-woman’s sense of betrayal to end and turn down a man of great wealth.
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.
Jane’s low financial status caused her many hardships, and shaped her views on love. Jane held the notion that Rochester could not possibly love her due to her lesser economic status. In the beginning stages of Jane’s love for Rochester, she even told herself to “keep to her caste” and that if she were to advance on Rochester, her love would be “despised.” (Jane Eyre, 189) This notion of class would have caused Jane to sympathize with the poor of society.
Love is an important theme in the famous novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Jane's love for Rochester is clearly noticible throughout the novel. But Jane's true love for Rochster becomes appearent in only a few of her actions and emotions. Although it may seem Rochester manipulated her heart's desire, this can be disproven in her actions towards him. Jane followed her heart in the end, by returning to Rochester.
The novel mostly focuses on Jane’s thoughts, emotions , and growth (Mayer). It is almost impossible not to be dragged into her thoughts. One of the first moments where Jane’s attitude can be seen was when she confronts Mrs. Reed. Women were not seen to have such complex thoughts and emotions, better yet say them out loud. Bronte again challenges women 's role when Jane decides who she is going to marry. Women in the victorian era did not usually have a choice in who they should marry. Many believed that women should consider themselves “lucky and privileged” when a man asked to marry them (Mayer). However, Jane acts completely different. She does not fall into a trap of simply being “lucky” that one should propose to her. This act can be seen in her refusal to marry St. John: “I have a woman 's heart, but not where you are concerned ; for you I have only comrade’s constancy ; a fellow-soldier’s frankness, fidelity, fraternity, if you like; a neophyte’s respect and submission to his hierophant, nothing more-don 't fear” (Bronte 472). Jane simply knows what she feels and does not want to make decisions because she should feel lucky. When she finally decides to marry Rochester it is not because someone decided for her. “Reader, I married him” shows how she, herself made the choice to finally marry him (Bronte 520). No one forces her or decides for her, she makes the choice
Ultimately, concepts such as happiness cannot be guaranteed to skeptics like Jane Eyre and “hideous” men like Rochester -- only the divine union of passion can be guaranteed. Yet, for Bronte’s characters, this is sufficient reward and an appropriate closure for a love story about such atypical characters. Below, I will use characterizations of the Romantic literary school, as well as criticism of Jane Eyre, to explain how the ending of the novel fits perfectly with the rest of the landmark novel.