Fighting the Fire: Women in the Victorian Era

“Jane’s relationship with Rochester in the early part of the novel is based not on love but control, manipulation and secrecy. She does well to escape”

This is suggested by Rochester himself as he offers a comparison of the two females, contrasting his ‘wife’, whom he refers to as a ‘fierce ragout’, with what he ‘wished to have … as a change’ (361) in Jane’s somewhat tempered manner. However, Gilbert and Gubar raise similarities between the two women, arguing that Bertha ‘also acts like Jane’ (361); particularly Bertha’s ’incendiary tendencies’ (362) which echo young Jane’s ‘early flaming rages… emblematic of her mind in its rebellion against society’ (362). Furthering the manifestation of such passion is the portrayal of Bertha as ‘a big woman, in stature equalling her husband’ (359); ultimately a physical metaphor for what Jane aspires to be – an equal to Rochester, and an equal in society.

Jane finds a job as a governess at Thornfield Hall. She teaches a young French girl named Adele, to whom she grows a fondness for. As a lover, Jane was a neophyte, but she soon found the love that she had always craved for. She fell in love with the master of the home, Mr. Rochester, and after some time, he asked her to marry him. “I think you good, gifted, lovely: a fervent, a solemn passion is conceived in my heart, it leans to you. . . It was because I felt and knew this that I resolved to marry you” (Bronte 383). Jane soon finds out though, that Mr. Rochester already has a wife – Bertha Mason. Bertha has gone mad though, and is locked in a room for the safety of others. Jane is unable to accept Mr. Rochester’s marriage proposal because, as Rochester was a married man,

Rochester rides in to Jane’s life as a fairy tale dark prince resembling a Byronic hero. Interestingly, their meeting is symbolic as Rochester represents the upper class male who totally subjugates women like Jane. However, Rochester falls from his high horse, and cannot function without the help of his governess, a working class woman. These events set in motion the unconventional relationship between the couple and Jane’s constant struggle to retain her identity.

During the Victorian period, upper and middle class men and women existed in different spheres of life: the private sphere, and the public sphere. The private sphere, which included taking care of the home, entertaining guests, and raising children was dominated by women. Meanwhile men were superior in the public sphere, where they took part in politics and business. This lead to the archetypes of women being fragile and motherly, controlled by their emotions, and of men being rational and strong. Social norms, supported by laws, viewed women as “relative creatures” that were below men in the natural hierarchy and only defined in reference to men. These two ideas towards women created a gap of equality for women and constricted them to their sphere of domesticity. The suffrage movement, followed by the first and second waves of feminism gave rise to many civil rights for women, narrowing the gap of inequality. The quest for equality continues today, as these two spheres begin to merge, due to the rise in social media and the subsequent decreasing private life, and women gain more influence in the public sphere. While the forms of inequality are different and an issue for both genders, the Victorian ideas are still present and prominent today.

So, Rochester showed the brother (Richard), the priest, and Jane his wife. He explained how Bertha had lit his bed on fire, stabbed Richard, and destroyed Jane’s wedding veil's; she was more a monster than a wife. Heartbroken by learning of this marriage, Jane fled to her room where she stayed for hours upon hours. "Jane Eyre, who had been an ardent expectant woman - almost a bride - was a cold, solitary girl again: her life was pale; her prospects were desolate (341)." When she finally emerged, Rochester tried to convince her to stay with him. “I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are my sympathy–my better self–my good angel–I am bound to you with a strong attachment (363).” This was not something she could not do; as Rochester said, "...[It would] strip you of honour and rob you of self-respect (346)..." The next morning, Jane left Thornfield Hall with some money and few possessions. She did not say goodbye to

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 had a bad upbringing, with her Aunt and family mistreating her. Regarding Mr. Rochester, Blanche knows she is stunningly beautiful and uses this to her advantage. She also prefers to be the center of attention. Opposite of Blanche, Jane keeps to herself and would rather sit quietly than have all the attention.

She was quite possibly the exact opposite of the ideal Victorian woman, who was quiet and refined, and tried to avoid causing trouble for her husband. Because of her bad behavior and congenital madness, she finds herself locked in her husband’s attic for 10 years, only able to leave when the woman charged with caring for her becomes intoxicated. She may also show the silencing of women in the Victorian era, as she is never able to give her own account of the events leading up to her marriage and locking away. A final character example for how defying gender roles can have consequences is Jane herself. While she doesn’t necessarily go against her role, she does refuse to marry Rochester when she discovers that he is married, and when discussing it with Rochester she says “All is changed about me, sir; I must change too—there is no doubt of that; and to avoid fluctuations of feeling, and continual combats with recollections and associations, there is only one way—Adele must have a new governess, sir”

This conflict is a reoccurring motif within “Jane Eyre”.

While Jane was away after the first attempt of marriage, Rochester changed and found humility within himself. Mr. Rochester was slightly the lady of the evening in his past. But he is worthy of Jane through his dear love for her. She now has no tail. She has left all of her childishness behind.

The ideal woman in Victorian Times epitomized the good and virtuous woman whose live revolved around the domestic sphere of the family and home. She was pious, respectable and busy with no time for idle leisure. Her diligent and evident constant devotion to her husband, as well as to her God. She accepted her place in the sexual hierarchy. Her role was that of a domestic manager: wives and mothers. By the time that the industrial era was well under way in Britain, the ideology that committed the private sphere to the woman and the public sphere of business, commerce, and politics to the man had been widely dispersed. Women had to fight for an education equal to that of men, many struggled for suitable,

Furthermore, Jane says “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Chapter 27, Bronte.) This statement greatly represents the growth that Jane has undergone. She no longer dreads the solitude that once haunted her because she respects herself enough to realize that she did not deserve to experience such great dismay. Through independence and self-recognition, Jane has discovered the importance of loving oneself. Without the reliance on the thoughts of others, the once extremely troubled girl found bliss through a lack of outside control. In regards to her relationship with Mr. Rochester, Jane understands that she must leave him behind to maintain her own well-being. She does not allow the wealth or proclaimed love from Rochester to skew her decisions and she does not linger to dominate the life of her lover. Instead, she moves forward to continue her endless pursuit of happiness and independence.

Charlotte Brontë’s nineteenth-century Victorian novel discusses the effects that gender has on male and female paradigms. Rochester was married to Bertha Mason, who is characterized as “the madwoman in the attic.” He locks his wife in the attic because he cannot control her disability and marries Jane Eyre, a young governess. Jane abandons Rochester at the altar because he lies about being married. However, Jane later returns when Rochester becomes disabled.

Jane and Antoinette are both ostracized by their respective communities as a direct result of their social positions. Jane is an orphan with no money and no close relatives. Although she is clearly a bright and unique girl, she is treated as an outcast due to her orphan status. She refuses to accept their low opinion of her however, and maintains “The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself. I will keep the law given by God, sanctioned by man. I will hold to the principles received by me when I was sane, and not mad--as I am now”, illustrating her desire to persevere through