Theme Of Morality In Jane Eyre

In Victorian times, propriety was considered to rank above all else. Morality was defined by it; lives were lived by it; everything was contingent on the class system, and ones ability to adhere to it. Through her novel Jane Eyre and the isolation that Jane finds due to social pressures, Charlotte Brontë dares to expose these flaws in Victorian values. Nineteenth century England is synonymous with ill treatment of the poor and orphans. From Oliver Twist to Jane Eyre, there was simply no escaping the fact that society, at the time, did not have a heart for charity, because the social barriers did not allow for one to associate with those of a lower class. Jane Eyre lost her parents when she was very little and consequentially went to live with her Aunt Reed at

John, her cousin, knocks Jane into a door by throwing a heavy book at her, simply because she was reading a book that legally belongs to the Reed’s. This behavior, instead of being punished, is ignored by Aunt Reed, and Jane is punished for her retaliation. This injustice is due to the fact that society assumed that someone of a lower social status was untrustworthy. The logic does not add up; however, this does not stop Aunt Reed from declaring her a liar and sending her off to a charity school faraway. This was not uncommon as it was what propriety dictated Aunt Reed to do. Jane was of a lower class, and therefore deserved lesser things. Nevertheless, there is another reason for this act of cruelty; Jane is quiet. The family hastily assumes that this silence is a result of an arrogant, calculating mind. Actually, Jane believes that if she had “been a sanguine, brilliant, careless, exacting, handsome, romping child—though equally dependent and friendless—Mrs. Reed would have endured [her] presence more complacently,” thus proving that society refuses to accommodate differences, assuming that anything