Influential female characters in literature reflect the struggle for equality women have with men. Much like reality, these characters seek individualism and liberty from, or equality with, men in a society dominated by men. These seekers are called feminists and many feminists see Charlotte Bronte’s titular character Jane Eyre as a proto-feminist icon of the Victorian era. Not only does Jane Eyre show the struggle of one woman under one man it represents the struggle of women in a male-dominated society. Reading Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre through a feminist perspective reveals Jane’s fight for independence, individuality, and equality in a society controlled and dominated by men.
Before Jane’s situation can be dissected thoroughly, however, one has to put the Victorian era into perspective. In Victorian England the woman’s main purpose was to “serve others…please her husband and society,” (Barrera, “Etiquette of a Victorian Lady”). As well women were for years the managers of the household and, therefore, confined to it and all of its duties. Even the clothing that women wore served only to emphasize the womanly parts and the “separation from the world of work” (Abrams, “Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain”). Since women were controlled by society and men controlled society, women were forced into obedience. However, feminism was also on the rise as many women grew tired of domestic life and their place in society which caused them to seek equality with men. This theme, i.e. “the patriarchal forces that have impeded women’s efforts to achieve full equality with men,” is present in Victorian society as well as in Jane Eyre.
Early in Jane’s life women are put in a position in which exert their standards of what women s...
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...ated society. Jane also shows how independent she is by seeking work even after marriage and refusing to conform to the typical Victorian woman: dependent and obedient to men. In the end Jane wins, in a sense, over a man; she defies the natural order of society when Rochester must become dependent on Jane. In closing Jane Eyre is a story of how a strong woman overcomes the unfair and unequal societal norms of the Victorian era and is rewarded with the equality and independence she fought so hard for.
Works Cited
Barrera, Mari. “Etiquette of a Victorian Lady.” 11 Dec. 2011.
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Abrams, Lynn. "BBC - History - Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain." BBC - Homepage. 9 Aug. 2001. 10 Dec. 2011.
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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
Throughout Jane Eyre, Jane manages to achieve success over the male power, which seems to be her largest accomplishment. Jane overcame those who caused her much bane. Jane had to overcome many obstacles of male power; one was of when she lived at Gateshead and was tormented by Jon Reed. John constantly wreaked so much havoc and turmoil on Jane. He constantly told her she was destined to fail in life, which in the end it ended up being the other way around. In due time John Reed dies, leaving Jane exceeding him in life which no one thought would t...
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 worked as a teacher and Jane did as well. Those and other similarities found in the novel, point to how writing acts as a mirror used by the audience. Jane Eyre captured Charlotte’s life. The author did not just symbolize her character in Jane Eyre, but she also used this novel to express her needs. Kevin Roozen mentioned this concept " Through the writing, we do, we claim, challenge, perhaps even contest and resist our alignment with the beliefs, interests, and values of the communities with which we engage”.51 She portrayed an issue that was aggressive in that era. In the novel, Charlotte demonstrated the feminism (a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic, personal, and social rights for women that are equal to those of men. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment.). During Victorian age in which Charlotte lived, men never treated women anything but a machine. Women should stay at home and take care of her husband and
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.
How is he my master? Am I a servant?’” (Brontë 1847). Onset in the second chapter, Jane’s ungovernable spirit remains constant throughout the novel. Even towards the end of the novel Jane is a strong and passionate character. However, despite all evidence of her feminine will, the patriarchy is still an oppressing factor. “…the woman is unquestionably represented as a subject with a rich interior life: she has desires, she speaks, she creates art. At the same time, however, in both texts—even in Jane Eyre—in the end, her subjectivity is one which can only thrive within the confines of the private realm: in particular, it is only granted if confined within his castle, in his home” (Gill, 2007). Even after all her triumphs and bouts of strength, Eyre’s social status is still determined by a man. The defining of Jane’s independence is still undermined by the oppressive nature of the Victorian patriarchy. In Jane Eyre, Jane is written as strong woman who is constantly the victim of the injustices that women face in the hierarchy of the Victorian patriarchy. However, through her distinct identity, Jane’s character does not become a victim of the patriarchy like so many women at the
“Jane Eyre”, written by Charlotte Bronte, is a Victorian novel in which Bronte writes about the development of Jane Eyre’s character as the book progresses. The book was published in the year 1847 and Bronte deals with Jane’s search for both individuality and love as she is starved of compassion and care from the people around her throughout her childhood and she has nothing but her passionate nature and her strong determination. In 19th century society era, prejudice was very common, especially against women; a governess was in a lonely position in the society because she was fairly superior in her social class and education than other servants in a household. However, the governess was treated as a servant and was not only required to teach
Throughout history women have struggled to become equal with men. Even though women are not exactly equal with men today because of things like unequal pay, they are closer to being equal than in other periods of history. Particularly, women now are much closer to being equal with men than in the Victorian Era of Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. In the Victorian Era, women were largely expected to obey men, while in modern times, women are expected to be independent. Furthermore, now that women have more rights than in the Victorian Era, they rely less on men and therefore spend their lives very differently from the Victorian Era. If Jane Eyre took place today, many of the characters would have made different choices based on the way gender roles have changed and affect society. Women Jane Eyre are forced by society to act certain ways while relying on men to support them much unlike modern women.
A pivotal characteristic that defined the Victorian era was its exultion of formality in appearance and behavior. Citizens were heinously scrutinized based on their social ranks and execution of public events. In addition, the era was a time where citizens were exhorted to act on behalf of the interest of the community. Individuals were urged to behave accordingly to fulfill the betterment of society; however, the attempt came with degrading self-sacrifices to satisfy society’s demands. Independence and morality were often neglected to oblige to society’s rigorous expectations. Likewise, in the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the main protagonist, Jane Eyre, resides within a society dominated by patriarchy. Characters are restricted to
The story of Jane Eyre is very much about the status of women in the
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.
The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, depicts the coming of age of a woman who encounters great hardships, obstacles, and heartbreak. During the Victorian era women were subordinate to men and often times lacked the same opportunities and privileges that society and the family structure gave to men. Although society and the family structure of the Victorian era treated men and women differently, men were also oppressed, experienced suffering, and had to overcome poverty, but due to the masculinity that men were forced to portray during the era often times the hardships of men have been overlooked when analyzing the men in Jane Eyre. The characters John Reed, St. John Rivers, and Edward Rochester suffer various forms of lack and poverty that contributes to their oppressive and suffering nature precipitated by societal and family structure as well as being impoverished by their circumstances throughout the story even though they come across as having wealth and power.
Moseley goes on to say, “Liberty and love are in some way at war in the lives of all of us.” It is not until Jane reaches personal liberation, that she is capable of loving someone else to a full extent. Throughout Jane Eyre Jane must learn how to gain love without sacrificing herself in the process. Orphaned at an early age, Jane becomes used to a lackluster lifestyle without any true value. It is not until she finds love and comfort in her friends at Lowood that her life begins to turn around. Upon meeting Rochester, Jane’s life was only as plain as she made it. She untwines in a world wind romance, ultimately finding the love she craved without losing her self-value.
“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte is a novel about an orphan girl growing up in a tough condition and how she becomes a mature woman with full of courage. Her life at Gateshead is really difficult, where she feels isolated and lives in fear in her childhood. Her parents are dead when she was little, her dead uncle begged his evil wife, Mrs. Reed, to take care of Jane until she becomes an adult. But Mrs. Reed does not keep her promise, no one treats Jane like their family members even treats her less than a servant. By the end of this essay it will be proven that Jane’s life at Gateshead has shaped her development as a young woman and bildungsroman.
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.