In Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre, the role of a woman in the Victorian era was general chores, and basically a servant to the man. Brontë writes about the conflict women have with being held at lower standards than men. Jane grew up with feeling like she was lower than a man, butby the end of the novel Jane finds her inner self and grows against the stereotypical setting of a woman. Jane Eyre is an anti-feminist book, but Jane Eyre herself is a feminist.
With gender equality in Jane Eyre, Jane is the feminist, yet the writing as a whole is anti-feminist. But first, the definition of feminism would be important. From the Oxford English Dictionary feminism is “the advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes”.
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The writing itself is anti-feminist because it can be pro-women without tormenting men. The roles of the characters didn’t depend on their gender, but rather their character and morals. With Jane, for example has a very strong character, and doesn 't let anyone take that away from her. She is not afraid to stand up to Rochester, especially when he proposes to her. Although there weren’t as many sympathetic males as there were females, the least sympathetic characters were of either gender and didn 't keep it focused on one specific gender. Jane speaks about how she feels women are supposed to act. “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts just as their brothers do.” (130). Here, Jane articulates about the struggles she, (and other women), have with men. She believes that women have to same right to express their emotions and feelings as men do. Bertha Mason, Rochester’s current wife, is a great example of how woman can be controlled and feel like
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.
To understand feminism in the novel, one must first understand the feminist lens itself. OWL Purdue describes the lens as “the ways in which literature (and other cultural productions) reinforce or undermine the economic, political, social, and psychological oppression of women” (Purdue). Feminism acts as both a commitment and a political movement that wants to end sexism in all forms. Most feminists generally disagree on many topics of the subject, however all have one common goal. These aspects affect The Things They Carry in a plethora of ways, mostly due to the fact that gender roles is a main theme. There are negative and positive aspects of the feminist lens. Positive contains the empowering of women and equality, whereas negative pertains to oppression and unequal rights. Both are covered in The Things They Carried from sex symbols to battle tor...
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.
What is Feminism? How does feminism affect the world we live in today? Was feminism always present in history, and if so why was it such a struggle for women to gain the respect they rightly deserve? Many authors are able to express their feelings and passions about this subject within their writing. When reading literary works, one can sense the different feminist stages depending on the timeframe that the writing takes place. Two such works are ‘The Yellow Wallpaper’ by, Charlotte Gilman and ‘Everyday Use’ by, Alice Walker; the feminist views within each story are very apparent by the era each author lives in. It is evident that a matter of fifty years can change the stance of an author’s writing; in one story the main character is a confident and strong willed young woman looking to voice her feminist views on the world, while the other story’s main character is a woman trying to hold on to her voice in a man’s world which is driving her insane.
The Victorian Era had lasted from the years 1837-1901. People in this era were known through their social class and how efficiently they were able to present themselves. Those who were obligated to carry themselves is such a proficient manner, were the women of Victorian Era. Although they had been expected to perform and execute many tasks, they were never recognized just as equal to the men in society. They were never acknowledged to make judgments or decisions, rather were best known for marriage, prostitution, and motherhood. As the men, dominated and took control of every decision possible. They were known for their aggressive and independent attitude. This led an extraordinary women named, Charlotte Brontë to begin a revolution of change and improvement in the social standings. As her living in the Victorian Era, set her upon a journey of many hardships but her well-known classics, Jane Eyre, depicted her strength and courage to step up for women equality and portray who she truly was in society.
In conclusion, we can see that feminist criticism can be applied better to certain texts than others. Henry James' The Turn of the Screw, I feel, somewhat contradicts feminist literary theory, simply due to the fact the James writes so convincingly as a woman. The governess shows both masculine and feminine attributes to her character while also displaying passive and active traits, which seems to be what feminist critics appreciate in the literary canon. Shakespeare's Othello, on the other hand, is a text ready for feminist damnation. Femininity in the text is measured against other male roles, for example, Desdemona's fate is largely in the hands of Othello.
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
cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be. The more
The story of Jane Eyre is very much about the status of women in the
In the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane struggles against Bessie, the nurse at Gateshead Hall, and says, I resisted all the way: a new thing for me…"(Chapter 2). This sentence foreshadows what will be an important theme of the rest of the book, that of female independence or rebelliousness. Jane is here resisting her unfair punishment, but throughout the novel she expresses her opinions on the state of women. Tied to this theme is another of class and the resistance of the terms of one's class. Spiritual and supernatural themes can also be traced throughout the novel.
How does Bront portray Jane as an unconventional female character in the novel Jane Eyre? Jane Eyre was published in 1847, during the reign of Queen Victoria. The novel was written by Charlotte Bront, but published under the pseudonym Currer Bell. Pseudonyms were used frequently by women at this point in time, as they were believed to be inferior to men. The The work of female authors was not as well respected as those of male writers.
The article Preface to "What Policies Would Promote Social Justice for Women?" written in 2010 states same idea related to the work Jane Eyre about gender equality. Despite the theoretical relevance of sexual inequality and Jane Eyre the feminist literature signifying the importance of gender issues that needs to change relations on social position. Also, these analyses the impact of changing issues now a days. It is quite surprising that the same issue is continuing over the centuries. The author of the article Preface to "What Policies Would Promote Social Justice for Women?" mentions gender inequality in business, politics, education, and other areas has been closely studied. “Gender discrimination is not limited to the business world. There
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.
...women suffer discrimination because of their sex, that they have specific needs which remain negated and unsatisfied, and that the satisfaction of these needs would require a radical change (some would say a revolution even) in the social, economic, and political order. But beyond that, things immediately become more complicated. " (Mitchell and Oakley). Throughout this play the social and economic order shown to be areas that women are discriminated against. The book What is feminism? also states, "In the writing of feminist history it is the broad view which predominates: feminism is usually defined as an active desire to change a women's position in society" (Mitchell and Oakly). This is the definition that works the best for all forms of feminism, but to clarify in this play specifically it is the economic and sicial roles of women that are actively changing.
Feminist theory is most concerned with giving a voice to women and highlighting the various ways women have contributed to society(about education)." So how is it that Pride and Prejudice approach feminism? Definitely, FairChild feels that the novel favors the feminist theory. I agree with Fairchild based off how the novel portrays women. They are like Austen in that they do not require a man to support them. They are not helpless, rather they are strong and independent. Austen references many of her own struggles in life, especially with marriage. "Jane Austen herself remained single and earned a living by writing novels. She went as far as to advised friends only to marry for love." (Grade saver) Yes, she writes that women such as Charlotte must marry for financial security. However, in Elizabeth she displays that women are just as intelligent and capable.as men. "Elizabeth's story supports Austen's beliefs of independence for women." (Grade saver) Austen proves Elizabeth can be happy by marrying a man she truly loves and esteems an not a man for financial gains. During the era of the novel, it was typical for women's roles were limited. There was little independence. In fact, schooling was only offered to the rich that could afford it or to those that could be schooled on their own. Thus demonstrating that the education of a woman was not of value. So those with no education or means we're forced to marry in order to survive. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife" supports this idea. Austen isn't really saying all wealthy bachelors are in need of a wife, rather women always assume a wealthy, single man to need a wife. (Grade saver) It is also a jab at Mrs. Bennet who consistently strives