Bertha must be kept silent Essay

Throughout the course of history, social hierarchies have existed across the globe, spanning from prince to pauper or business tycoon to lowly scrivener. Authors, in turn, have written works regarding social class, often examining the negative effects of societal structure on personal growth. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre takes place in Victorian England, in the age of industry and genesis of industrial capitalism. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, first lives a life of neglect, then a life in poverty, and eventually finds her happy ending. Through Jane’s personal experiences and interactions with fellow characters, Brontë analyzes the effects of social class. Professor Chris Vanden Bossche’s article analysis “What Did ‘Jane Eyre’ Do? Ideology, Agency, Class and the Novel” examines social inclusion and monetary pressures placed on the central characters during this pivotal era of English history. Through the Marxist lens, Jane Eyre can be understood in terms of complexity and character motives. Vanden Bossche effectively argues that external forces, like money and people, both motivate and repress Jane into choosing her own path. Thus, a more developed explanation is made for Jane’s various behaviors regarding social inclusion and societal rebellion.

In its simplest form, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre tells the story of a young woman, Jane Eyre, who grows up poor, makes the decision to be independent, does so, and, eventually, marries rich. The novel follows her from her childhood to her reunion with the love of her life and she, throughout it, deals with classism and sexism and exhibits her own form of feminism. By the end, it becomes clear that, with this semi-autobiographical novel, Charlotte Bronte was providing a criticism on society’s discrimination toward those of a lower class, a subtle argument against the male-dominated society’s treatment of women, and an even subtler call to action for women to find their own agency outside of the men in their lives. On another end, however,

The novel in which Jane Eyre stars in can be seen criticizing many aspects of those times such as the role and nature of women, child negligence and social hardships for those in a lesser class. Jane Eyre’s alienation from society allows for a greater reveal of the story’s culture, values, and assumptions. It’s presented through the use of gender, class and character conflicts throughout the story. On multiple occasions, Jane is judged for the presented factors reflecting the type of society Jane lives in and what the times were like at that time.

While Bertha’s is most obviously apparent, Jane hides her wildness inside of her. However, both women face this unkempt part of them. For example, Jane says ‘‘They have a worth- so I have always believed; and if I cannot believe it now, it is because I am insane- quite insane; with my veins running fire and my heart beating faster than I can count its throbs’’ (Brontë, 606). When leaving Thornfield, Jane feels as though she is crazy, just as Bertha is described simply a chapter ago. This wanton feeling pervades her body. Bertha is insane, and Jane feels just as uncontrolled. Jane also says that ‘‘I could not help it; the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain at times’’ (Brontë, 206). Jane’s need for adventure and change is reminiscent of young, beautiful Bertha who also wanted adventure with her new wealthy husband. Finally, ‘‘I lived with that woman upstairs four years, and before that time she had tried me indeed: her character ripened and developed with frightful rapidity; her vices sprang up fast and rank: they were so strong, only cruelty could check them, and I would not use cruelty’’ (Brontë, 584-5) . Bertha’s mental illness made her inhuman and society made her appear as a monster rather than a woman. Bertha’s disability is her wildness through and through, and though she cannot control it it will always be in her no matter what she does, just as Jane’s unrestrained

Trapped, alone, unloved, and rejected; nobody talks about the girl in the attic. In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, ‘Madness’ as a condition of the sexist view of women in the Victorian Era relates to how Mr. Rochester describes Bertha’s ‘insanity’, Bertha and the wedding veil, and Bertha committing suicide. The way Mr. Rochester describes Bertha makes her look insane. Bertha wishes for a normal life, which is seen when she is dwelling on the past trying on Jane’s wedding veil. Bertha felt trapped and alone in the world due to the isolation of Mr. Rochester and that is truly seen when she takes her own life. With this in mind, it is first important to examine Mr. Rochester’s description of Bertha Mason, because it is the first impression he gives

Jane Eyre’s life was full of oppression, neglect and sorrow. The novel was formed around a few main ideas. One of those would be the search of love and acceptance. Jane wanted to find a family so desperately and she wanted to belong to people. More than this though, Jane wanted to be treated equally. She was denied equality because of her social status, her income,her lack of “beauty” and most of all because of her gender. The book Jane Eyre shows the struggle that women face while attempting to overcome oppression and inequality in the Victorian era.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë depicts the rigid social structure and clear division between the upper and lower classes of Victorian society, in which wealth and status determined one’s beliefs, career, and treatment from those surrounding them. Those of the upper class did not typically converse or involve themselves with those viewed as beneath them; however, Jane Eyre fights the separation between the classes to which she has fallen victim at both Gateshead and Lowood school. Her refusal to conform to the hierarchy eventually leads to the meddling between the Victorian-era elite and peasant class, as seen through Jane Eyre’s romantic relationship with Edward Rochester, an upperclassman and

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.

Jane Eyre, often interpreted as a bildungsroman, or a coming-of-age story, goes further than the traditional “happy ending,” commonly represented by getting married. Instead, the novel continues beyond this romantic expectation to tell full the story of Jane’s life, revealing her continual dissatisfaction with conventional expectations of her social era; as a result, many literary critics have taken it upon themselves to interpret this novel as a critique of the rigid class system present in 19th century Victorian society. One literary critic in particular, Chris R. Vanden Bossche, analyzes Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre through a Marxist lens, asserting the importance of class structure and social ideology as historical context and attributing this to the shaping of the novel as a whole. This approach of analysis properly addresses Brontë’s purposeful contrast of submission and rebellion used to emphasize Jane’s determined will for recognition as an equal individual.

Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” has captivated readers for generations. As with all coming of age novels, young adults can relate to the struggles and triumphs of Jane. Jane’s setting influences and parallel her emotions. A reader can see the novel through her eyes and perspective. In Bronte’s “Jane Eyre,” the location often parallels Jane’s emotional growth through the tone presented by the environment, resulting in the different places she lives revealing her journey through depression. Jane’s behavioral patterns and thoughts suggest clinical depression that affected her choices throughout the novel and her life at Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, Marsh End, and Ferdean.

In the novel Jane Eyre, the author Charlotte Bronte displays the main character Jane as someone who goes against the grain in societal values, roles, and constructions. In Terry Eagleton's essay "Jane Eyre's Power Struggles", he sees internal conflict within the book as she attempts to sort out social class barriers and gender role conflicts. As Jane goes through life she has many challenges starting at a young age with both her parents being dead and raised in a house where she is not loved or wanted, Jane is sent away to a school for poor orphan girls. The book was written in a the Victorian time period where one's status in society was determined by what class they were born into. Going astray from the norm, Jane opposes the caste system

Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is presented in the Victorian Period of England. It is a novel which tells the story of a child's maturation into adulthood. Jane's developing personality has been shaped by her rough childhood. She has been influenced by many people and experiences. As a woman of her time, Jane has had to deal with the strain of physical appearance. This has a great effect on her mental thinking and decision making. Jane Eyre's cognitive and physical attributes have been affected by her environment throughout her life.

Jane Eyre, a novel by Charlotte Brontë, contains several notable themes and messages sent to its readers. Jane Eyre is a coming of age novel that is a story of a girl's quest for equality and happiness. A common theme that recurs throughout the novel is the importance of independence.Charlotte Brontë utilizes several techniques to convey this message, incorporating her personal experiences, as well as including symbolism and motifs. Charlotte Bronte subjects Jane to several conflicts that occur because of Jane’s desire for independence and freedom, such as love, religion, and gender inequality.

Men and women during the nineteenth century were thought to have completely different natural behaviors with men featuring characteristics ideal for the public world while women were suited for a private world. Women were generalized as being weak, emotional subordinates that were in all respects dependent on men (Radek). It’s important to recognize that women and men were expected to demonstrate, “traits [that] are generally polar opposites,” to one another in order for a marriage to function properly (Radek). Any woman that expressed a desire to break free from these expectations was ostracized for their defiance. The main protagonist, Jane Eyre, embodies a spirit destined to defy the social expectations of her time in a multitude of ways. Not only does Jane represent the strength and wisdom that women can display, she takes action striving for her own personal happiness. Despite a powerful love affair, she refuses to ever allow her desires to become, “completely controlled by the men,” in her life as society informed her to, but rather pursues what she believes will be the most beneficial for her own journey (Smith). A woman with the audacity to make decisions with this mindset is unheard of during this time which emphasizes the complexity of Jane as a character. Bronte utilizes this evolving character to contest the common stereotypes that modified the perception of women and created a society that provoked limitations upon

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