Examples Of Social Boundaries In Jane Eyre

Her aunt did not want a person of a lower class in her household, regardless of blood relations. Even the servants know that she is less. Miss. Abbott, one of the servants, says, “And you ought not to think yourself on equality with the Misses Reed and Master Reed….it is your place to be humble, and make yourself agreeable to them” (Brontë 8). Jane was always treated as lower than a servant as a child. She constantly felt alone and hated. However, she decided to take Mrs. Abbott’s advice and be humble. She stayed humble up until the point where she met her first and only love; then she fought for equality. The feelings that she came across, she kept with her and they would serve to aide her in making difficult choices in her

Readers learn early in the story that Jane Eyre does not fit contemporary society's idea of a proper woman.  As a child, Jane stands up to her aunt, Mrs. Reed, on more than one recorded occasion when Jane feels she has been treated unjustly (Brontë 28, 37).  At one point, Jane bluntly tells her aunt, "I declare, I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed [Jane's cousin]" (37).  This was at best improper behavior for a child in Victorian society, and it was most definitely seen as improper by Mrs. Reed who grows to hate Jane, calling her "tiresome, ill-conditioned" and "scheming" (26).  But her aunt's reprimands and hatred do not deter Jane from speaking up in the face of injustice.

During the Victorian era, many literary pieces of work were based around the topics of struggle and societal problems. These topics are introduced in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte as well as many other literary pieces during the time. In Jane Eyre, the main character is Jane Eyre, a girl who struggles with family and her social status. She was raised by Mrs. Reed, whom she eventually left, and encountered many paternal figures in her life. The way she consistently encounters different paternal figures influences her own views on affection. Jane’s consistent finding of a paternal figure, shows how consciously or subconsciously she is finding someone to fill the void of not having that higher figure in her life.

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.

Charlotte Bronte's, Jane Eyre takes place during the Victorian period of England. This gothic romance novel tells the story of an abused orphan, Jane, who later matures into a strong independent woman. The societal standards Bronte portrays in the novel consist of oppression, gender inequality, and social class. Throughout the novel, Jane overcomes each of these social norms and defies what every other person in the society believes.

Even though Jane faces limits to opportunities in her life because she strictly belongs to neither the upper nor poor class, her thinking isn’t limited and she is able to grow as an individual unlike the characters who have been assigned to a specific class. Through Jane’s point of view, Charlotte Brontë expresses her view that the class system is harmful Jane and thus to the society in which she lives in her novel Jane Eyre.

The Victorian Era was known for its propriety, and for its social standards that could be as strict as the caste system in India. Citizens in England of low social regard faced many prejudices and limitations that could be almost insurmountable to overcome. Much like the caste system, people considered to be the dregs of society were often alienated and had little room for opportunity. In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, the main character, Jane, suffers social prejudice because she is a simple governess, revealing much about the social stigmas about the working class during the Victorian Era. Jane’s social status limits her not only from being with the one she loves, but also hinders her endeavor to achieve true autonomy.

            Left orphaned and under the care of extended family, Jane Eyre faced oppression from a young age.  Though strong-willed and independent with an unusual (and considered unnatural by some) brand of spunk, Jane worked hard to appease her aunt, Mrs. Reed, while at the same time representing everything that a young woman of the time should have shunned according to cultural practices; "I dared commit no fault: I strove to fulfill every duty; and I was termed naughty and tiresome, sullen and sneaking, from morning to noon, and from noon to night" (Brontë 14).  Hints from nursemaid Bessie were of no avail to Jane, "You should try to be useful and pleasant, then perhaps, you would have a home here; but if you become passionate and rude, Missis will send you away, I am sure" (12).  Bessie's words prophesized Jane's future departure, but ten year-old Jane did

Throughout Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë uses the character Jane as a tool to comment on the oppression that women were forced to endure at the time. Jane can be seen as representative of the women who suffered from repression during the Victorian period, a time when patriarchy was commonplace. Brontë herself was affected by the time period, because according to Wolfe, she was deprived “experience and intercourse and travel.” (70) Thus Jane offers a unique perspective as a woman who is both keenly aware of her position and yet trapped by it despite repeated attempts to elevate herself and escape the burden placed on by her different suitors. Although superficially it seems that Jane wants to break away from the relationships that further

While at Gateshead, Jane is trapped by her relationship to the Reeds, which is reflected in the environment around her. At the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane states that “there was no possibility of taking a walk that day” (Brontë 6). This beginning immediately puts Jane in her own bubble and exemplifies that she has no other form of positive interaction in her life. Initially, Jane is “[connected to] the natural environment, but also separate[d from it] with an unnatural boundary” (Fuller 152). Thus, this begins the recurring symbolism of how Victorian women were held back by gender roles in society. During her time at Gateshead, Jane is restrained by her

As a governess, Jane is shown the life of the luxurious. Mr. Rochester's mansion is overwhelming, and his parties are extravagant. Mr. Rochester speaks to her frequently, because he needs someone to listen to him. When Edward reveals to Jane his former cheating wife, she feels a connection to him on personal level. Jane has never felt this since her relationship with Helen Burns at Lowood. Jane becomes

Jane Eyre is a story of a quest to be loved. Jane searches, not just for romantic love, but also for a sense of being valued and belonging. However, this search is constantly hindered by her need for independence. She starts of as an unloved orphan who is desperate to find love and a purpose. For example, Jane says to Helen, “to gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest”. However, over the course of the novel, Jane learns to gain love without harming herself in the process. Although she is despised by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, she finds parental figures throughout the book. Miss Temple and Bessie care for Jane and give her love and guidance. However, Jane does not feel as though she has found

This is different in Jane Eyre as she is pleased with her position in society, she doesn’t judge or put down those of a lower status due to knowing what it is like. An example of this is where she takes the positon of a teacher and she feels as though she has “taken a step which is sinking her instead of raising her in the scale of social existence.” She then mentions that she must not forget that these “coarsely-clad little peasants are flesh and blood as good as the scions of gentlest genealogy.” As readers of Charlotte Bronte 's story we are naturally prepared to offer her our affection and admiration for the duration of the book, as a teller of her own story she has to reveal with the becoming modesty what will make her loveable and admirable. In Pride and Prejudice, Jane allows us as readers to witness her remarkable skill at shaping characters into unique individuals through the most commonplace actions and events. These are prime examples of why and how these female authors are able to write successful novels.

There are many examples in the text, but most significant come from interactions with the Reed family, Mrs. Fairfax, and Blanche Ingram. While living at the Reed’s, Jane was treated as an outcast. She was constantly reminded of her privation, this is illustrated in several interactions. This is best illustrated when John Reed tells Jane, “ … you are a dependant, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live here with gentlemen’s children like us … “ (Brontë 10). John leverages the power that comes from his social position to remind Jane that she is below him in social standing. During her tenure at Thornfield Jane had many occasion to be reminded of her lack of social standing. Esther Godfrey makes this point in her article Jane Eyre: Governess to girl Bride when she refers to Mrs. Fairfax’s reaction to the marriage, “ For Mrs. Fairfax, Jane and Rochester’s engagement seems flaunting of a doubly violated social taboo in which class and age are boundaries … “ (863). In fact Mrs. Fairfax is not shy about pointing out class inequality to Jane, when she learned of the impending marriage she intimates that upper class men, like Rochester, never marry below their class, in particular they do not marry

Women were pressured to follow and obey the social conditions that were present during the Victorian era. During the Victorian era when married, women would lose all right to their possessions and property. Women belonged in the home and were classified as a "Domestic Angel" or a "Fallen Woman". The social conditions for women in the Victorian era are acknowledge and challenged by Charlotte Bronte in her novel Jane Eyre. Through Bronte's use of characters such as Blanche, Bertha, and Jane she portrays the different social conditions each woman faced.