Feminism in Jane Eyre Essay

     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.

  The Victorian era in England marked a period of unprecedented technological, scientific, political, and economic advancement.  By the 1840s, the English had witnessed remarkable industrial achievements including the advent of the railways and the photographic negative.  They had witnessed the expansion of the Empire, and, as a result, were living in a time of great economic stability.  Yet they had also seen thousands of people starving-and dying-due to the Irish potato famine and poor conditions and benefits in British factories and witnessed the entire order of society questioned as the working classes began to demand representation in Parliament.    The English also experienced biological

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 created one of the first feminist novels--Jane Eyre--of her time period when she created the unique and feminist female heroine, Jane Eyre. Throughout the novel, Jane becomes stronger as she speaks out against antagonists. She presses to find happiness whether she is single or married and disregards society’s rules. The novel begins as Jane is a small, orphan child living with her aunt and cousins due to the death of her parents and her uncle. Jane 's aunt--Mrs. Reed--degrades her as she favors her biological children. Jane 's aunt--Mrs. Reed--degrades her as she favors her biological children. Her cousin--John Reed--hits her and then Mrs. Reed chooses to punish her instead and sends her to the room in which her uncle

Following this dramatic scene, there are many situations in which her individualism can again be sensed. During her stay at Lowood Jane is emotionally subdued and her personality is in many ways suppressed. It is not until after Miss Temple, the person that seemed to shine light on the school, leaves that Jane realizes the restrictions that she is under. It is at his point that she has the sudden urge to leave the confinements of the school, seek a job as a governess, and experience the “varied fields of hopes and fears,

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

The nineteenth century Victorian era woman needed wealth or position to avoid a life of drudgery.  Women were viewed as trophies or possessions men owned.  They were not permitted to develop nor expected to, and even venturing out on their own was considered inappropriate.  During the era in which Jane Eyre was published the home and family were seen as the basic unit of stability in society.  At the middle of this foundation stood a wife and mother representing the sum total of all morality - a Madonna-like image.  This image was reinforced by social institutions such as mainstream religious and political beliefs.  Women were steered away from independence, confidence, and

Jane's growth throughout the novel will reflect back to her childhood. B.F. Skinner, the psychologist, explains that "a person's history of environmental interactions controls his of her behavior." A person's behavior is followed by a consequence. The nature of the consequence modifies the person's tendency to change or repeat the actions in the future (Stanford Encyclopedia). Jane is nurtured by the people around her and the problems she encounters. Jane has lived a secluded life: isolated from family, isolated from luxury, and isolated from love. When Jane enters a new world of unexpected scenarios, she does not yet know how to react.

The belief that women should have equal economic, political and social rights which were offered to men was known as feminism. Feminism has been a prominent and controversial topic in writing for over two centuries, with the view articulating in the “19th century meaning that women were inherently equal to men and deserved equal rights and opportunities.” (Gustafson, 1) Many women throughout time have stood forward towards women’s rights. Jane Eyre was written and published during the Victorian Era. The novel was written by Charlotte Brontë, but published under the

This novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë is about the life a woman named Jane Eyre undergoing many changes that wound up shaping the person she had eventually grown up to be. This type of novel which accounts for the psychological development of the protagonist as they grow up is known a bildungsroman. One particular moment or action, which accounts for Jane’s psychological development, that is described in this novel is the adoption of Jane by her relatives known as the Reed family (Chapter 3).

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.

Through the Victorian Age, male dominance deprived women from a certain freedom. In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre repeatedly struggles to become an independent young lady due to the troublesome men in the story. John Reed controls Jane, Mr. Brocklehurst humiliates Jane, and Mr. Rochester sees women, in general, as objects. The author manages to depict patriarchal dominance through the characterization of John Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester.

Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre in 1847 during Britain’s Victorian era, a time when the societal culture was patriarchal, meaning men were considered to be superior to women in all parts of life. In general society was guided by etiquette and considered prudish, hypocritical, single minded, and arrogant. The culture of this era was defined predominantly by two main characteristics. First by the rigid caste structure, which prevented most from advancing beyond the station held by their families. Second, the extreme polarization of gender roles, especially in the upper classes. Men were expected to be honorable, enterprising, intelligent, loyal, and morally strong. However, women were expected to be chaste and in the constant company of a chaperone

The 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë has seen numerous film adaptations, which only added to its vast popularity. The bildungsroman follows the plain-featured, poor, but honest, intelligent and dignified orphan’s development from an oppressed young girl to an independent woman who has found balance between her often conflicting principles and sentiments. In her quest for a home and a family to belong to, Jane Eyre searches for both intellectual and emotional fulfillment, while strongly making a statement about women’s role in the Victorian society, gender and social iniquity and discrimination. The themes of the novel remain

A feminist is a person whose beliefs and behavior are based on feminism (belief in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes). Jane Eyre is clearly a critique of assumptions about both gender and social class. It contains a strong feminist stance; it speaks to deep, timeless human urges and fears, using the principles of literature to chart the mind?s recesses. Thus, Jane Eyre is an epitome of femininity - a young independent individual steadfast in her morals and has strong Christian virtues, dominant, assertive and principled. That itself is no small feat.