Jane Eyre Social Classes

526 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character Analysis of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

This quote raises the prevalent theme of social classes that is seen throughout Jane Eyre. From the very beginning, Jane is required to refer to her cousin, John, as "master" in an act of servitude signifying his higher status. It is also this idea of social status that serves as an obstacle in the true love that Jane and Mr. Rochester share, as demonstrated by this passage. Jane is plagued by the fear that Mr. Rochester will marry Ms. Blanche because of her higher social status, even if that means he truly doesn't love her.

Through Jane Eyre's life story, Bronte reveals the theme of independence and love. Initially, Jane refuses to marry Mr. Rochester even though she may love him because her integrity will not allow her to do such …show more content…

She is alone in a haunted red-room where she is troubled by perturbing thoughts that seem supernatural. The darkness and mysteriousness presented by this passage exemplify Gothic imagery that is used throughout the book.

This passage reveals the atmospheric beauty that Jane observes that denotes the seasonal peak. This passage also reflects the happiness Jane experiences within her inner self as she proposes to Mr. Rochester. She feels like she can finally be accepted by someone for who she really is.

Jane, ever since she was a little girl, could never accept unjust punishment and is baffled by Helen's reaction to such. Helen is a stoic and regards punishments as necessary mending for her faults. She tells Jane that forgiveness is key and to return bad with good. However, Jane's sense of passivity is defeated by passion in her struggle within, as shown by the passage.

This passage depicts an evident external conflict between Jane Eyre and her obnoxious cousin, John Reed. John is able to get away with physically abusing Jane as his sisters bolster his actions and his mother completely disregards their

Show More
Related

  • Cruelty In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    614 Words  | 2 Pages

    At Lowood, she is thought of by many as a well behaved child, but she still occasionally resistances authority. This is the case when the nurse tells Jane that she may not visit Helen, even though Helen is very ill. Jane, believing that she needs to see Helen regardless of if she is allowed to or not sneaks off: “I dreaded being discovered and sent back; for I must see Helen- I must embrace her before she died- I must give her one last kiss, exchange with her one last word” (82). Jane’s behavior demonstrates her growth in independence. When she lived at Gateshead, she yielded to authority even when she believed it cruel; at Lowood, she defies the nurse’s authority because she knows her desire to see Helen again is greater than her fear of

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre

    608 Words  | 2 Pages

    Regretting many things in her life, Jane is put into a situation in which the answer lies in deterring to redress the wrong or to keep the past where it belongs and do what Jane believes is ethical and morally right.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Betrayal In Jane Eyre

    1046 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is an early 19th-century English literature; a literary work that is evocative and riveting. It depicts acts of betrayal between family members, loved ones and self-inflicted betrayal. The acts of betrayals are done by Mrs. Reed, Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre herself.

    Read More

  • The Search for Happiness in Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Helen is Jane's best friend at Lowood. Helen is a religious role (angelic, and talks about God), in shaping her character. Helen believes everyone should love their enemies. Although Jane does not take to Helens good heart and good nature, with her wie word, Jane respects her for them and listens very passionately to what Helen has to say.

    Read More

  • The Battle between Heart and Head

    547 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jane Eyre, written in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte, relates a tale of tragedy, mystery, and gothic romance. Covering the multiple issues of England in that time, Bronte writes of orphan treatment, social class, and Britain’s controversial law of prohibiting divorce in all circumstances. Orphaned at a young age and unwanted by her guardian Mrs. Reed, Jane searches for higher prospects in education at Lowood, eventually earning a position as a governess at Thornfield. Complications disrupt her life, when she becomes engaged to her employer, Mr. Rochester, and soon after discovers that he is already married to a lunatic. Leaving Thornfield, Jane finds a home with St. John and his two sisters. Eventually, she returns to her former employer, discovering Thornfield in ashes, Mrs. Rochester dead, and Mr. Rochester blind and free from wedlock. Flooded with motifs, Jane’s continual struggles between her passions and responsibility prevail as the main theme of Bronte’s entrancing narrative.

    Read More

  • Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

    1754 Words  | 4 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Independence and Love in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    1336 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout Jane Eyre, Jane searches for a way to express herself as an independent person who needs help from no one, yet she also wishes to have the love and companionship of others. Often times, Jane finds that she can have independence but no one to share her life with, or she can have the love of another at the loss of her independence. Jane's entire journey is based on the goal of achieving a seamless blend between independence and love, a mixture that rarely seems to go hand in hand.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Independence In Jane Eyre

    962 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the outstanding novel of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, the story is told of a romantic heroine named Jane Eyre who pursued independence during an era in which women were inferior to men. Jane proved her independence by demanding self-respect, becoming socially independent, and pursuing true love based on equality.

    Read More

  • Reason and Passion in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    806 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses various characters to represent aspects of reason and passion, thereby establishing a tension between the two. In fact, it could be argued that these various characters are really aspects of her central character, Jane. From this it could be argued that the tension between these two aspects really takes place only within her mind. Bronte is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her character. As a prerequisite for marriage, Jane uses this determination in her relationships with Mr. Rochester and St. John.

    Read More

  • The Challenges Faced In Jane E

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, has a plot that is filled with an extraordinary amount of problems. Or so it seems as you are reading it. However, it comes to your attention after you have finished it, that there is a common thread running throughout the book. There are many little difficulties that the main character, the indomitable Jane Eyre, must deal with, but once you reach the end of the book you begin to realize that all of Jane's problems are based around one thing. Jane searches throughout the book for love and acceptance, and is forced to endure many hardships before finding them. First, she must cope with the betrayal of the people who are supposed to be her family - her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her children, Eliza, Georgiana, and John. Then there is the issue of Jane's time at Lowood School, and how Jane goes out on her own after her best friend leaves. She takes a position at Thornfield Hall as a tutor, and makes some new friendships and even a romance. Yet her newfound happiness is taken away from her and she once again must start over. Then finally, after enduring so much, during the course of the book, Jane finally finds a true family and love, in rather unexpected places.

    Read More

  • Jane as an Unconventional Female Character in Jane Eyre

    3066 Words  | 7 Pages

    coincidentally one night she hears Mr Rochester calling out to her. This is a very important scene with gothic elements included in it. Jane has some sort of psychic message from Thornfield. When she runs outside. It is very dark with a low sighing wind which gives the scene in an eerie setting.

    Read More

  • Passion vs Reason

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to her rough childhood, Jane's passion is uncontrollable. Rather than being passionate about love, she is passionate about justice. While at Lowood, she eventually learned the meaning of forgiveness and strength. Her good friend, Helen Burns, teaches her to accept others opinions of her, to be humble and recognize one's own faults. Helen counsels Jane, saying "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs" (58).

    Read More

  • Finding the Balance of Love and Freedom in Jane Eyre

    1343 Words  | 3 Pages

    Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the book, Jane was living with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her children. Although Jane is treated cruelly and is abused constantly, she still displays passion and spirit by fighting back at John and finally standing up to Mrs Reed. Even Bessie ‘knew it was always in her’. Mrs. Reed accuses Jane of lying and being a troublesome person when Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood School visited Gateshead. Jane is hurt, as she knows she was not deceitful so she defends herself as she defended herself to John Reed when he abused her, as she said “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer – you are like a slave driver – you are like the Roman emperors!” to John Reed instead of staying silent and taking in the abuse, which would damage her self-confidence and self-worth. With the anger she had gotten from being treated cruelly, she was able to gain ...

    Read More

  • Class Distinction in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

    996 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jane Austen is very clear in her writing about class distinction and she uses the novel to look beyond the widely stratified community divided by social classes experienced in the 18th century in England. This distinction shows that class snootiness is simply but an illusion rather than a real obstruction to marriage, given that Elizabeth, though socially inferior to Darcy, she is not in any way academically inferior to him. In this sense, Darcy realizes that his class pretentiousness is mislaid toward Elizabeth, since she also finds out that her prejudice towards Darcy’s snobbish and superior manner is misplaced when he rescues Elizabeth’s family from a scandal and disgrace. In this context, the writer uses Darcy and Elizabeth to show that class distinction does not guarantee one’s happiness in life, neither does it allow him or her to own every good thing desired. For instance, Darcy is brought out as a haughty character, who initially fails to think that Elizabeth is worth him for she originates from an unrecognized family; a middle class girl not so beautiful enough to suit him. However, as the...

    Read More

More about Jane Eyre Social Classes

Open Document