Comparing The Power Struggle In Fences And Jane Eyre

In Fences and Jane Eyre, the female characters within those works struggle to break away from men’s exertion of their power and the oppressed nature of their lives and gender due to the patriarchal society that the previous establishments have maintained. The male characters, fearful of losing their power, engender unnecessary strife, causing their respective potential or current counterparts to help repair the commotion the male characters have caused. In the end, the female characters do overcome the power struggle, but face a trade-off between continuing to satisfy (WHAT)? and sharing the struggle (WHAT?) The power struggle is not only permeated through scenes where the power struggle is directly addressed, but symbolized through the physical

environment and the demeanor toward the surroundings that the female characters have presence in .
In Fences, the power struggle between Rose and Troy is initially represented through Rose’s verbal discourse with Troy and the house in which Rose resides in. Not only was Rose limited to a weaker dynamic role in her marriage due to the society’s patriarchal nature, but she was also limited in her ability to exert power due to her belief that life without Troy was hostile and unsafe. Rose’s accepted subservience engenders Troy’s hostility and the absolutist belief in which he establishes himself as the only active contributor and developer to his family and forces Rose to adopt a more passive role in the development and continued well-being of the family. Rose’s role and her inability to exert the equal amount of power as Troy are conveyed through her movements in her house and degree of participation in the conversation between Troy and Bono. In the house, Rose “alternates between the porch and the kitchen” (Wilson Act 1 Scene 1). Her movement throughout the house seem only limited to those two areas only. The porch, despite the fact that it is sheltered from the outside world and is considered a part of the house, excludes her from the warmth that is supposedly present in Troy’s vision of a nuclear family and completes the image of Rose’s peripheral existence within her marriage. The kitchen conveys an image of a woman bound to the societal limitations established by the patriarchal society and a wife who is hampered by the reinforcement of those limitations within a domestic setting. The house that Troy has built for the whole family, in reality, is built as a projection of his power and serves as protection against the mistakes that he, as a man, might make in the future. Rose’s degree of participation within the verbal discourse implemented by Troy and Bono is limited. Despite the fact that Rose has the power to argue against Troy and create an argument for herself within a conversation, it is Troy who makes the final decision, and it is Rose who implicitly acknowledges Troy as the definitive winner of the argument. Rose, in an argument concerning Rose’s preference of A&P and Troy’s preference of Bella’s, derails the premise of her argument by saying, “That’s all I was saying” (Act 1 Scene 1). Such action provides evidence of an attitude of subservience resulting from the differences in amount of power that Troy and Rose hold. Rose, who advocated shopping at A&P’s due to its more economical prices, is unable to overcome Troy’s exertion of power and his firm propensity to shop at Bella’s. The argument put forth by Troy, unaware of the hardships that Rose was experiencing in portioning his meager income and transforming it into generous meal portions, demonstrates the inconsiderate nature of Troy’s role in his marriage. Such thoughtlessness is attributed to the disparity in amount of power held. The disparity of power in the marital relationship between Troy and Rose is also conveyed through Rose’s decision to remain sober during a conversation between the intoxicated Troy and Bono. Rose’s unwillingness to succumb to alcohol demonstrates that she, due to her submissive role in her marriage, is obligated to always make herself aware of the words she put forth, for her role subjects
Rose is eventually freed from the power struggle through consequences of Troy’s transgressions.

Alberta, the girl involved in Troy’s extramarital affair, gives birth to a baby girl and dies during pregnancy. Having overcome with sympathy for the innocent infant, Rose becomes a surrogate mother for Alberta’s and Troy’s baby, Raynell. Such growth in responsibilities triggers Rose’s transformation “from a passive homemaker to an enraged woman” (Shannon 4). The “homemaker” that Rose embodied symbolizes submission and suppression. Rose sacrifices her power to comfort her family and above all, Troy. Troy, due to Rose’s submission, remains stagnant in his belief that he is infallible and allowed to hold his responsibilities off for ephemeral gratifications. Rose, initially, bears the most weight because she has to intake Troy’s attitude of superiority, originated from his inability to overcome his vocational shortcomings, and transform such negative synergy into motherhood to not only Cory, but Lyons, Raynell, and Gabe. Rose is simply consumed by her obligations, and she is simply not given the luxury and time to exercise her power. Rose’s passive nature toward her marriage and family cracks, and her withheld desire to exert power over Troy erupts because she could no longer hold the burdens of both her obligations as a submissive partner and a family caretaker. Like Troy, Rose remained stagnant. However, she now is enraged and welcomes change. By becoming a surrogate mother

to Raynell, Rose not only frees herself from Troy’s stagnation, but also consumes Troy’s position in the family, thereby adopting a role as a dominant counterpart within her marriage. The power shift is symbolized through Rose leaving Troy, who gives her a home and lights to live under, in the darkness when she takes Raynell away from him (Act 2, Scene 3). Troy, at that moment, realizes that the lights he provided are merely meaningless objects unless a medium for Troy’s true intentions, Rose, was on his side, allowing the family to show him respect and provide him warmth. However, Troy’s epiphany comes too late, and his belief in his infallibilty is shattered. Troy now possesses the empty house. Rose possesses the full house.
In Jane Eyre, the indefinite, obscured position as a housekeeper and Rochester’s inconsistencies in his treatment of Jane mainly attribute to the power struggle that Jane experiences throughout the novel.

Her position as a housekeeper and Adele’s private tutor places her at an inferior position in terms of the social caste implemented and continued by patriarchal society. Despite Jane’s lower social status and her gender, she resists of Rochester’s attempt to exert power over her, and such attempts of resistance intensify the power struggle even more. Rochester’s superiority eventually breaks through the consequences of his past beliefs. Rochester’s first effort to demonstrate his power is emphasized by Rochester’s implied claim that Jane is “not fond of presents” (Bronte, Chapter 13). His rather insulting claim toward Jane correctly hypothesizes her societal powerlessness and insecurity that go hand in hand with a position as housekeeper. However, Jane coolly accepts Rochester’s claim and counterclaims that she cannot give her definite opinion on “presents” due to fear that her answer is not yet “worthy” enough (Bronte, Chapter 13). By maintaining that Rochester’s superiority upon Jane, Jane adopts a sardonic tone and mocks Rochester’s haughty and condescending attitude, designed increase his power upon Jane. Retorting Rochester’s claim also gives Jane a medium of resistance, for she is not yet strong enough and restricted by her gender to physically resist Rochester.

Until Rochester’s arranged marriage to Blanche and his devastating injury, Jane’s treatment progressively worsens. Her belief in “spiritual equality” with Rochester creates even more tension with Rochester (Gilbert and Gulbar 352). The belief that Jane is intellectually and emotionally equal to Rochester However, the engendered tension increases Rochester’s interest in Jane and coerces him to discourse his life philosophies and experiences with her. Such dissertations and arguments between Jane and Rochester facilitate mutual admiration and love. Despite Rochester’s newly developed feelings, he chases both power and love: an impossibility. His desire for power leads to inconsistencies in Rochester’s treatment toward Jane. The more Rochester loves Jane, the worse Jane is treated