Within both ‘Great Expectations’ and ‘Jane Eyre’, Dickens and Bronte present examinations of social status and wealth through the use of their main protagonists Pip and Jane, in turn, both are highly critical of the existing Victorian class hierarchy. Both novels are told from the perspective of the main protagonists and take the form of a bildungsroman allowing the reader to witness their desire for self-improvement which drives both novels. However, the narrative structure of both novels varies drastically; in ‘Great Expectations’ Pip’s journey to happiness is circular and ends where it began whilst, Jane’s journey takes a linear form and happiness is found in a place far from home.
A major similarity in both novels is the importance of
Furthermore, Miss Ingram’s higher social standing makes her Jane’s main competitor for Rochester’s love. Throughout the novel the audience is reassured that Jane’s poverty does not make her an inferior individual but her ascent into wealth in fact helps her overcome both personal and social obstacles. Bronte herself speaks out against class prejudice throughout the novel and in several instances her thoughts are spoken by Jane. For example Jane reprimands Rochester for assuming that because she is ‘poor, obscure, plain and little’ she is also ‘soulless and heartless’. Jane continues on to say that this view is wrong and those living in poverty have just as ‘much soul’, if not more soul, than the aristocracy. This small speech that Jane gives directly criticises the norm in Victorian society at the time society that the poor were dishonourable, amoral and lived on the fringes of criminality. Before Jane can become Rochester’s wife she has to prove that she holds upper-class sensibility, however even though Jane become “quite a lady” her cousins are still seen as her superiors socially based solely on wealth. Nonetheless, Bronte does not alter society’s boundaries at any point in the novel –Barton is highly critical of the nature of Victorian society but ultimately Jane is able to marry Rochester as his equal only because she has managed to come into her own inheritance. The novel still however critiques the behaviour of most of the of the upper-class characters Jane meets; John Reed is dishonest as is Rochester with his series of mistresses, Blanche Ingram is conceited and Eliza Reed is inhumanely cold. The final view of Thornfield described to the reader emphasises the contrast between Jane’s breath-taking
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. From the introduction of Jane’s orphan life, she battles between her ire at cousin John’s antics and obedience to Aunt Reed’s reluctant guardianship.
Abraham Maslow, a well-known American psychologist, theorized that human beings have innate needs that must be met in order to have a happy, healthy existence. The most necessary is, of course, the fulfillment of basic physiological requirements, followed by a feeling of safety. If these are fulfilled, every mentally healthy individual begins craving love and a need to belong. Love and being loved in return is, in fact, vital to an individual’s mental state. This, in addition to the feeling of euphoria, pleasure and joy it provides, and the sensual experience of romantic love, makes it a great obsession in nearly every culture. This craving humans to have their unrequited love returned makes great fodder for movies, songs, and novels. Many
Chapter 23 of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Jane Eyre begins by telling us about Jane's strict and unhappy upbringing with her upper class Aunt, Mrs. Reed. She is then sent to Lowood School where her only friend Helen falls ill and dies. When Jane is older she becomes a Governess working for Mr. Rochester at Thornfield Hall. Jane and Rochester fall in love but neither of them express their feelings to each other.
Harry Potter and Jane Eyre are two novel characters who have quite a lot of similarities. In their early childhood, both were raised as orphans, both experienced cruelty and unkind treatment from relatives who were supposed to take care of them, both were given opportunity to study and live far away from the people who treated them harshly, and both of them had a life-changing experience in their respective schools.
Charles Dickens’ aptly titled novel Great Expectations focuses on the journey of the stories chief protagonist, Pip, to fulfill the expectations of his life that have been set for him by external forces. The fusing of the seemingly unattainable aspects of high society and upper class, coupled with Pip’s insatiable desire to reach such status, drives him to realize these expectations that have been prescribed for him. The encompassing desire that he feels stems from his experiences with Mrs. Havisham and the unbridled passion that he feels for Estella. Pip realizes that due to the society-imposed caste system that he is trapped in, he will never be able to acquire Estella’s love working as a lowly blacksmith at the forge. The gloomy realizations that Pip is undergoing cause him to categorically despise everything about himself, feeling ashamed for the life he is living when illuminated by the throngs of the upper class.
Charles Dickens (the author of Great Expectations) and Charlotte Brontë (the author of Jane Eyre) both grew up during the early 1800s. Growing up during the same time period, each author incorporated elements of the Victorian Society into these novels. Both novels depict the protagonist’s search for the meaning of life and the nature of the world within the context of a defined social order. In essence, the two novels encompass the all-around self-development of the main characters, by employing similar techniques. Each spurs the protagonist on their journey by introducing some form of loss or discontent which then results in the main character departing their home or family setting. In both Great Expectations and Jane Eyre the process of maturity is long, arduous, and gradual, consisting of repeated clashes between the protagonist's needs and desires and the views and judgments enforced by an unbending social order. Eventually, towards the end of each novel, the spirit and values of the social order become manifest in both of the main characters Pip and Jane Eyre, who are then included in society. Although the novels end differently, both contain an assessment by the protagonists of their new place in that society. Great Expectations and Jane Eyre, despite exhibiting considerable differences in setting, gender roles, and education, nonetheless convey the same overall purpose – that of the portrayal of the journey from ignorance to knowledge in Victorian Society, starting from childhood to adulthood, enhanced through the use of the protagonists Pip and Jane Eyre.
Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, is set in a Victorian England, where social class is a huge factor in life. Brontë is very critical of Victorian England’s strict hierarchy. the main character, Jane, is a governess. Her social position is very complicated in which she has to be sophisticated, educated, intelligent, and soft spoken but she is then talked down to as she is of a lower class. The job of a governess is to teach children, whether it be art, writing or reading english literature. Victorian society is very corrupt and in the novel Brontë truly captures and illustrates the challenges that Jane has to face as a governess. The novel also emphasizes the social gap between individuals and how big it really is. In Victorian society, the rich get the most out of life and life for the poor gets harder. No individual should judge or belittle another due to the very minor factor of social status, but it seems to be very important in Jane’s society. The message that Brontë expresses in the novel is that social class is a meaningless catalyst in the progression of relationships, creating giant gaps between individuals.
At the beginning of the novel, Bronte presents Jane as a lonely, yet independent and intelligent child who faces difficult hardships at a very young age. At Gateshead, Jane is greatly mistreated by her family members which result in her attending a school for orphaned children called Lowood. Although Jane's life at Lowood is an improvement compared to life at Gateshead, she still feels as though she belongs elsewhere. Jane sends out an advertisement for a wanted governess after six years of living at Lowood and soon begins working at Thornfield Hall where she begins teaching a young French girl Adele Varens. Upon arriving, Jane is informed by the housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax that the owner of Thornfield Mr. Rochester travels often and has lived through a troubled life. After many months have passed at Thornfield Jane finally meets Mr. Rochester and he takes a great secretive interest in her. The relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester is the first non-abusive relationship Jane has with another man in the no...
Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, is not a book that can easily be viewed through one critical theory. However, by knowing the historical background of when Bronte developed her novel, readers are able to understand Jane Eyre on a deeper level. The Victorian era was a time of change, and what authors like Charlotte Bronte did was help increase the change by shedding light into problems in Victorian society. Jane Eyre touches on many of the issues in Victorian society like feminist issues, class struggles, and the relationship between Britain and its colonies. Not only can readers see how much society has changed, but also the similarities. By understanding the novel at a historical level, readers can understand the novel through the lense
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.
The Following essay will examine how class is represented in the novel Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Both in this novel and many others, which are based around the time of the 1800’s, class is a major part of life which in turn made your life’s path completely dependent on what class or background you were brought up in. This was majorly the case in Great Expectations and especially in the life of Pip. After reading Great Expectations there are many arguments
Jane plays the typical role of a Victorian woman through much of her life, but through subtle shifts in power Bronte challenges these Victorian norms by way of Jane’s education, an unlikely rise in social status from teacher to governess and her relationship with a seemingly unattainable man. Jane’s education at Lowood provides a foundation for her rise through the ranks of society and alters the predetermined course of action for Victorian women. Consequently, Jane is raised in a class higher than her own with the Reeds’, and although they are family, they make sure Jane understands her social position is not on the same level. Ironically, Jane is afforded the ability to go to a private school at Lowood and receive an upper class education. “Gendered performances become acts that are increasingly tied to material wealth, and the text suggests that only the middle and upper classes can afford the costly performance of gender” (Godfrey, 856).... ...
These elements are crucial to the structure and development of Great Expectations: Pip's maturation and development from child to man are important characteristics of the genre to which Great Expectations belongs. In structure, Pip's story, Great Expectations, is a Bildungsroman, a novel of development. The Bildungsroman traces the development of a protagonist from his early beginnings--from his education to his first venture into the big city--following his experiences there, and his ultimate self-knowledge and maturation. Upon the further examination of the characteristics of the Bildungsroman as presented here it is clear that Great Expectations, in part, conforms to the general characteristics of the English Bildungsroman. However, there are aspects of this genre from which Dickens departs in Great Expectations. It is these departures that speak to what is most important in Pip's development, what ultimately ma...
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.
This assertion gives room to the following assumption: It’s true that Anne has to stay yards away from her sisters’ influence to build a literary reputation of her own and do something that has not already been done, yet readers of the Bronte sisters will certainly recognize that all of the three have a lot to share in the artistic creation.