Suffering and Injustice in the Opening Chapters of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

Suffering and Injustice in the Opening Chapters of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

At the time the novel Jane Eyre was written, it was very difficult for

women writers to have their books published. Charlotte Brontë was very

aware of the problem, and cleverly changed her name to Currer Bell so

the book would be accepted. Luckily for Charlotte, her novel Jane Eyre

was published in October 1847, and since writing this novel, Charlotte

Brontë has become very popular, and a classic author.

The Victorian era was a time of great social division between the

rich and the poor, and this is shown in the novel by the description of

certain characters for example Bessie – the poorer class, and Mrs. Reed –

the richer class. The poorer classes and working classes were made to

work in very dangerous conditions and were paid very little. In contrast,

many of the upper classes did not have to work, and some of them

employed the poor to work for them. Many of the poorer families lived

cramped together in very small houses, where as the rich lived in huge,

very comfortable homes. This background of injustice is made clear in

the book, as Charlotte Brontë wanted to highlight what life was like for

Jane Eyre, the Reed family and servants like her character Bessie who

worked in the wealthy house in Victorian times. Charlotte Brontën seems

as though she feels quite strongly about these issues - both of

Charlotte’s elder sisters died in 1825 in circumstances that have great

importance for the story Jane Eyre - and is trying to convey to the

readers of her book the many injustices and extremes in Victorian society.

Charlotte Brontë wrote the book Jane Eyre in first person

narrative so we can feel Jane’s outmost thoughts, opinion...

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...e character

of Jane Eyre, and if she had been the slightest bit different I would not

have this opinion of her. At parts she has made me laugh, and other parts

brought a tear to my eye. I feel for her, as she does not have any family,

and because of this has suffered greatly. From the way Charlotte has

evoked Jane’s feelings, the reader is able to understand what it is like,

and the emotions you feel. Jane Eyre is a very determined ten-year-old

girl with a great personality, and Charlotte Brontë could not have used a

better character on which to base the novel. She is definitely my

favourite character in the book, mainly because of her determination and

pride. The book of Jane Eyre has many life changing decisions, and I have

sometimes wondered if it was me that had to make those choices,

whether they would have been as successful as they were for Jane.