Belonging In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

     Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is a coming-of-age story about an unconventional woman's development within a society of strict rules and expectations. At pivotal moments in Jane's life, she makes choices which are influenced by her emotions and/or her reason. Through the results of those choices, Jane learns to balance passion and practicality to achieve true happiness.

Reed--the woman whom conducted Jane prior to her schooling--slowly passed into the afterlife, Jane gingerly urges her aunt to love her in her death. She pleaded the dying woman to understand that she would not have hated her, would have loved her, if her aunt had so given her the possibility--she did not. Though--even by her deathbed--Jane Eyre disliked the woman wholeheartedly, she allowed her the peace of forgiveness and understanding that maturity had brought about to her through both her age and experience in love. She no longer found any anger, only sympathy towards the pathetic

In the early stages of Jane's life she was a very autonomous girl. She grew up in a hostile environment in the home of Mrs. Reed and her three children, John, Eliza, and Georgiana that is known as Gateshead. The Reed family showed no love or any sort of affection towards Jane in any way, shape, or form; for they all despised her. She spent most of her time out of contact of others. The most contact she had with someone was a

Jane begins her life in isolation at Gateshead, abused and misunderstood by her Aunt Reed and cousins. She is constantly reminded of her worthlessness to them and the fact that they view her as a burden, and is literally

In the novel Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte, the main character often rebels against that time period’s societal ideas of women and what they should do. With Jane’s independent nature, Bronte wants us to take the lesson that, yes, Jane’s struggles and life choices are worth it for the life she has at the end of the novel. One example of Jane’s rebellion is from her stay at Gateshead, where she spent the beginning of her childhood. At Gateshead, she lived under the control of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. All through Jane’s childhood, Mrs. Reed constantly ridiculed and abused her because she is very plain and not like her own children, who are also extremely rude to Jane.

This follows the narrative of a young Jane Eyre, starting as an orphan in a victorian society, she struggles to find a place to belong. After being branded as a troubled and mischievousness child she is sent to a religious christian school to learn her place. Here she finds a much needed friend, but when her only companion dies of a fervours epidemic she again finds herself alone in the world.

Bronte writes, “my soul began to expand….with the strangest sense of freedom…Not without cause was this sentiment: Mrs. Reed looked frightened.” (35). As a little girl, Jane was oppressed many times. However, she ultimately fought back against the tradition, and she expressed her true sentiments.

After Miss Temple left Lowood, Jane realized she needed to resign her position at Lowood and explore new possibilities of employment. Jane accepted a job as a governess at Thornfield, a manor six miles from Lowood. Immediately, Jane falls into a smooth career of instructing a young girl, Adele. As time passes, however, the growing affection between Mr. Rochester, Thornfield's owner, and Jane swells into a passionate love affair. Unfortunately, at the wedding, Jane was informed that Mr. Rochester is married to a lunatic. After the interruption, Jane prayed to God for solace. Jane was terribly reluctant to leave Thornfield, but strongly objected to Rochester's attempted bigamy and refused to consider living with him while church and state deemed him married to another woman. Jane's every desire and emotion yearned for her beloved Mr. Rochester, but her morals and strong faith lead her away from the manor. "I longed to be his; I panted to return" (Bronte 306) but "I knew what I had to do, and I did it mechanically." (Bronte 305) For days Jane wandered over unknown territory without a cent to her name and without the only love she had ever known. The only comfort she had was the unwavering belief that "God must have led [her] on." (Bronte 306) Dismissing true love and a life-long friend, is perhaps the ultimate sacrifice. Nevertheless, Jane stumbled upon Moor House and recovered from the tragic loss.

She complains that her aunt, Mrs.Reed doesn’t treat her with love like she does with her own children. Jane feels like she is treated more of a servant than a child because she is often commanded by her cousins what to do. She yells at Mrs.Reed that she should not be treated so harshly and deserves her own right. Mrs.Reed replies “No; you are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep.”(11) Mrs.Reed feels that having to care someone’s

Jane Eyre from the very beginning was a character with high morals and beliefs. She didn’t believe in conforming easily and spoke out when she felt that her treatment was unjust. Jane Eyre was a special character of her time because women during her era were considered best suited for domestic care and men were considered superior to women. Women were near restrained to holding their own morals and beliefs but Jane challenges all of the societal thinking. Jane says as she feels and does as she believes is right and just.

In the book Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, we can see in the beginning how Jane Eyre is left with her sour family and how she does not fit in at all. As a result, she gets bullied physical and emotionally by her cousins and aunt, making her feel she is less than everyone, even the servants, and being pushed and shoved around. Jane then has this want of wanting freedom and escape. Bronte show us how Jane wants freedom from her ruthless family because she feels like a stranger in her childhood.

These demands include requests such as working at his school, learning the same language he is learning, and eventually entering a loveless marriage with him. These requests place Jane Eyre in a position where she feels threatened by a misleading, authoritative figure. In the face of these hardships, Jane Eyre learns of her inherited wealth. The fortune signifies her unambiguous independence from social injustice. This helps her to reject St John Rivers marriage proposal, “...she will be liberated from the necessity of marrying where there is no love” (Moglen 51-52). In her denial of St John Rivers, Jane Eyre is reassured that she does things for herself, she can not be persuaded into another one’s wishes, and that "...she must be her own guide..." (Gordon 50). Refusing a man’s marriage proposal is just another example of Charlotte Bronte’s attempt to obliterate accepted, social norms of the

As a young child, Jane is overly passionate and defiant. She is fully convinced of the rightness of her rebellion against those who wrongfully hurt her. Jane’s uncle, Mr. Reed took her into his home after both of her parents died. Before he died, he made Mrs. Reed promise that she would treat Jane as one of her own. Although she said she would, she broke her promise because of her resentfulness of her husband's favoritism towards Jane. Now Mrs. Reed takes every opportunity to neglect and punish her. She always refuses permission to let Jane play with her cousins Eliza, John, and Georgiana. Jane secludes herself behind curtains of a window seat

Each setting of the story provides new experiences for Jane to grow from. Jane’s life under the supervision of Mrs. Reed at Gateshead Hall gave her one of the biggest lessons in the story. Through her mistreatment at Gateshead, Jane learns she must rely on herself for protection. Before Jane finds the power in resilience, she sits in the red-room contemplating her “humiliation,”

Jane Eyre followed her passion with Mr. Rochester, the man she deeply fell in love with, and deprioritized the conscience, contributing to the great transformation of Jane, indicating the pursuit of women free rights. Eventually did Jane insist her choice of refusing St. John and embrace Mr. Rochester after she found his plight. She followed her own free will and reveals the author’s fight for women’s rights.