Research Paper On Jane Eyre

Feminism is described as "the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men". Feminism is a literary criticism that has been prevalent in literature for centuries. Since the beginning of time, humans have lived in a patriarchal society, when women began to question this, to demand their own rights, feminism was born. The novel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, can easily be viewed through a critical, feminist lens. Through its depiction of Jane and the way she strays from the idea of the ideal Victorian woman, through her opinions and aspirations for herself, the text can be viewed through a feminist lens. One of the ways that Jane Eyre can be viewed as a feminist work is through the way that

The most prevalent example of this is in the roles of both Rochester and Jane. Jane is a teacher throughout the story, moving from job to job but always staying within typically female driven jobs. While Rochester has an immense amount of wealth and power. The other women in the story take similar jobs, both of the Rivers sisters became governesses as well. Another way in which the novel displays feminist themes is in the way Jane acts toward the men in her life. As Rochester or St. John attempt to control her, as many women were by their husbands at this time, she only pushed them away. Through turning down marriage proposals and arguing for her own rights, she strongly went against societal norms. In chapter two, she says "Whenever I marry," she continued, after a pause which none interrupted, "I am resolved my husband shall not be a rival, but a foil to me". This was incredibly brave at this time, thinking this

At a time that was incredibly hard for women, a time that could be seen as very degrading to many feminists, Jane went against these societal norms. Jane stood up for herself, being honest and blunt in the way she speaks to people. She resisted men in their attempts to control her. Jane also wanted to work and support herself, something that was hard at the time due to a lack of jobs available for women and a huge decrease in their pay. Through all of this adversity, however, Jane continued to be successful and herself. Not only is the story filled with feminist ideas, the fact that the author is a woman only strengthens these ideas. At a time where women were not published writers, Bronte published a novel that gained and kept immense popularity throughout the literary