However, while at Lowood, Jane is mistreated by Brocklehurst who uses religion as an explanation for their mistreatment. He chastises Miss Temple for providing the children with a decent meal as their food was at poor quality, justifying this with, ‘a judicious instructor would take the opportunity of referring to the sufferings of the primitive Christians to the torments of the martyrs’ as a reasoning to why the girls were left hungry. Another example of Brocklehurst's hypocritical nature is evident in this same chapter where he insists that the girl’s hair must be cut because curls are not Christian and are not modest enough. Hypocritically, his two girls and wife are then shown to have their hair done with ‘fake French curls’ and are in ‘fine silk’ with ‘furs’. These examples show his hypocrisy but as Helen states, he is ‘not a god’ – referring to how Brocklehurst is able to deceit. However, the character of Mr. Brocklehurst was inspired by William Carus Wilson (owner of Clergy Daughter’s school), a Calvinist reverend and moral tyrant who operated the school. Bronte’s experiences at Clergy Daughters' School led her to write about Lowood as Wilson wanted the school to be a place of evangelism and conversion. This clearly shows that Mr Brocklehurst emphasised the cruel treatment of which William Carus Wilson had put upon many young girls.
Brontë uses specific settings and the language of oppression to show how religion controls women psychologically. Miss Abbot, the servant at Gateshead, relates to how ‘God will punish her’ and how God will ‘strike her dead in the midst of her tantrums’ after sending her to the red room for going against the morals within the Victorian society. These quotes from Jane Eyre show a sense of Bib...
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...control individuals differently but it still has a negative effect. However, Jane refers to books such as St. Paul’s letters from the New Testament of the Bible to describe his character. This could show how St. John is a calm and graceful man because of the aftermath of the Old Testament. In comparison, St. John’s sisters (Diana and Mary Rivers) both show heartfelt compassion towards Jane which contrasts with St John’s more dutiful sense.
Overall, Brontë has shown a true religious based novel which widely explores her society and how all women were oppressed by the patriarchal system. Although Jane ends up rejecting all three models of religion, she does not ignore morality or a belief in a Christian God. Her great use of character analysis and thoughts show how this novel, in fact, was widely based on how religion was a great influence within the Victorian era.
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.
This novel was one of the most radical books of the Victorian Era. It portrayed women as equals to men. It showed that it was possible that men could even be worse than women, through John and Jane. It taught the Victorians never to judge a book by its cover. The novel would not be as successful were it not for Charlotte Brontë’s talent in writing, and were it not for the literary devices employed.
In their portrayal of women, Ian McEwan and Charlotte Bronte explore the victimising nature of society through the oppressive portrayal of male authority, the education system, childhood, class, religion and relationships. Through their depiction of marriage, both authors present how women become psychological victims of society as a result of the confining nature of male dominance and power. Female passion and imagination is presented as both a destructive and constructive force and therefore illuminates how women become both victims and victors, as this passion is used to trap and confine women as well as empower them. Despite this confining and patriarchal society addressed in Jane Eyre and Atonement, both authors introduce females who
Mrs Reed keeps Jane only because of a promise she made to her husband on his deathbed. This abuse and neglect from her relatives forces Jane to be resentful and full of hatred. Later on Jane begins to stand up for herself. Once Jane begins to rebel to the abuse done by John and Mrs Reed, it is as if an uncontrollable beast had been unleashed inside of her.
Jane is exposed to different kinds of religion as the novel goes on. Bronte exposes a great deal of characterization in Jane as she is forced to decide between conforming to the religions of her peers or staying true to herself and discovering the faith that is right for her. She must decide between the evangelical overlook of a harsh Christian society, represented by Mr. Brocklehurst, the idea of passion before principle, represented by Mr. Rochester, and the idea ...
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.
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.
Chapter seven sees Jane slightly more experienced to the ways of Lowood School. She has come to accept the poor conditions laid down by Mr. Brocklehurst, however has not yet learnt to ignore them and Bronte describes Jane suffering a lot in this chapter. This lack of food and appalling living conditions are down to the head of the school, Mr. Brocklehurst. This man uses his apparent strong beliefs in Christianity as an excuse to provide the children of Lowood with the absolute bare minimum. Brocklehurst claims his “mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh”, presenting the idea that perhaps Brocklehurst is simply a man that has a immensely firm grasp of his beliefs and has made it his “mission” in life to enlighten others into the ways of christianity.
Jane Eyre's literary success of the time has been cheaply commercialized. In other words, Bronte's novel never got the appreciation it deserved, in the areas it deserved. Many 19th century critics merely assigned literary themes to their reviews to "get it over with". Critics commended Jane Eyre for everything from its themes to its form. However, their surface examinations amount to nothing without careful consideration of the deeper underlying background in Jane's life where their hasty principles originate. The widely discussed free will of Jane's, her strong individuality, and independence are segments of a greater scheme, her life. For example: Jane's childhood serves as the most important precedent for all of the self-realism although this purpose is widely disregarded. Even though "many have celebrated Bronte's carefully wrought description of her protagonist's first eighteen years for its vivid pathos, no one has as yet accorded this childhood its deserved weight in the novels ultimate resolution." (Ashe 1) Jane Eyre's genius develops in a series of internal reactions to external circumstances rather than shallow judgments about those internal happenings.
Jane observes that "Mr. Oliver evidently regarded the young clergyman’s good birth, old name, and sacred profession, as sufficient compensation for the want of fortune" (362; ch. 32). This acceptance of St. John as a husband to Rosamond is in contrast to the disinheritance of Jane's mother by the Reed family when she married Jane's father. One upper-class family sees the marriage as a step down in class and the other accepts it as a marriage of equals. This is true even though both men are of the same profession and neither one of them is wealthy. The difference is the class the clergyman comes from.
Religion plays a prominent role in today’s society and shapes the way people act and think. Furthermore, it provides guidance in times of distress and serves as a moral foundation that keeps excessive desires under control. In the novel Jane Eyre, author Charlotte Brontë portrays religion as a dependable guide that provides stability in the struggle for morality and survival. Although Jane’s moral duties and worldly desires conflict, her religion is always brought back to morally judge her actions. She neglects God while falling in love with her decades-older employer, however maintains her morality by refusing to succumb to his lustful immorality. The starving and penniless Jane is left to wander the heath,
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
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.
In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, the author juxtaposes the representations of femininity of Bertha Mason and the title character to champion Bronte’s ideal conceptualization of independent women.
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.