Tremendous Spirit and Feminism Displayed in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre

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Tremendous spirit. The enviable trait that Jane Eyre from Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre possesses is what stimulates her to achieve self-actualization despite the fact that she is a woman. True feminism isn’t as violent as a handful of vicious extremists claim it to be. The accurate definition of feminism is “the doctrine advocating women’s social, political, civil, educational and all other rights as equal to those of men.” Women of Charlotte Bronte’s era did not have basic rights such as the aforementioned. The feminist movement in the Victorian Era had only just begun and Jane Eyre was far ahead of her peers. Published in 1847, the bildungsroman novel of Jane Eyre was an intricate one, with subtle feminism carefully woven in it, particularly through the actions and thoughts of Jane Eyre, the protagonist. Her quest for self-worth and identity lead her to overcome the various stigmas that women in that era were faced with. These ambiguities reflect the tensions real Victorian women of faith experienced in trying to meet multiple often conflicting demands in their lives. Such challenges were complicated further by the fact that 19th century Evangelical Christianity- attentive to the realities of sin, sorrow, sacrifice, and loss- was no easy creed for women and men. (Lamonaca) Jane Eyre’s battles for authentic love, good reputation and indifferent attitude towards social classes dominated English women’s lives. The heroine tackles gender roles and breaks all the mannerisms of the time to inject an early dose of feminism in the English audience. Jane’s transformation from naïve child to independent woman stunned the public and gave women the inspiration to make their own decisions and defy the norms of their era.

The women of the V...

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...eceive a fine education that would not cause the aforementioned problem. The resilient and spirited Jane Eyre knew that the world say her as unconventional but was not perturbed because she truly felt that if anyone stood at God’s feet with her, that they would be equal in importance and therefore should have equal rights.

Works Cited

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press, 1996. Print.

Patmore, Coventry. The poems of Coventry Patmore,. London, New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1949. Print.

Lamonaca, Maria. "Jane's Crown Of Thorns: Feminism And Christianity In Jane Eyre." Studies In The Novel 34.3 (2002): 245.Literary Reference Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

Griesinger, Emily. "Charlotte Brontë's Religion: Faith, Feminism, And "Jane Eyre.." Christianity & Literature 58.1 (2008): 29-59.Literary Reference Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.

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