Jane Bronte 's Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre's literary success of the time has been cheaply commercialized. In other words, Bronte's novel never got the appreciation it deserved, in the areas it deserved. Many 19th century critics merely assigned literary themes to their reviews to "get it over with". Critics commended Jane Eyre for everything from its themes to its form. However, their surface examinations amount to nothing without careful consideration of the deeper underlying background in Jane's life where their hasty principles originate. The widely discussed free will of Jane's, her strong individuality, and independence are segments of a greater scheme, her life. For example: Jane's childhood serves as the

Furthermore, this demeaning and negative attitude Jane is exposed to is further instigated when her cousin, John Reed, expresses her situation by saying: "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us". The truth of Jane's unfortunate situation is expressed against her which results in her feeling no true support from this family and confides only in her childhood nursemaid- Bessie, who although behaves inconsistently and has “a capricious and hasty temper”, is the closest mother figure to her. Furthermore, the friction between Jane and John is further emphasised when the first physical aspect of violence is introduced to the reader through a graphic portrayal, further showing the ultimate rejection Jane experienced

Those living in the Victorian period,consider it normal to treat people with cruelty. As a child, Jane constantly faces oppression. Jane faces constant abuse while living with her aunt at Gateshead. Bronte illustrates this point through Mrs. Reed, the Aunt Jane is sent to live with, who says, “Take her away

In the first few opening chapters Jane Eyre is seen as a mentally and physically abused child, during her years at Gateshead Hall. John Reed displays violence towards Jane in the first chapter. He punishes and bullies Jane; it is not known why the Reed family resent her so much. Her situation is seen as desperate within the first few paragraphs. Her cousins and Aunt make her life impossible and unbearable, she is not seen as a member of the family. Jane is simply seen as ‘’less than a servant’’ as she does ‘’nothing for her keep’’.

The Victorian Era encompassed a time of great discrepancy between the sexes, especially for women. The polarization of gender roles reflected on a basis of gender sexuality where men and women were granted certain advantages and disadvantages. Women were expected to realize a specific position in society based on morals of submission, passivity, and a complete lack of selfishness and independence. Constrictive notions such as these prevent individual expression and expansion. Therefore, while struggling to fill the pre-conceived expectancies of society, one forces true desires and happiness to pass as a scant priority. Charlotte Brontë's Victorian novel, Jane Eyre, explores the significance of individual fulfillment in an oppressive

I will never come to see you when I am grown up, and if any one asks me how I liked you, and how you treated me, I will say the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty” (Charlotte Brontë 49). Standing up to those who hurt her and speaking up for herself helps Jane Eyre to feel better about herself.

One would think that she would grow up to be unforgiving, but Jane explains that she “must resist those who punish [her] unjustly. It is as natural as that [she] should love those who show [her] affection, or submit to punishment when [she] feel it is deserved” (Bronte 119). Jane saying this to her young friend, Helen, exemplifies how Jane was beyond her years and how she grew into being a young woman of wisdom. Her development throughout the novel is shown by her beginning as an isolated orphan in her society, yet she ended as an heiress with a family of her own. Jane who creates her own family and happiness by being independent, remaining curious and maintaining self-respect.

just enter Janes mind at this moment in time, it is meant to draw the

The way she is treated is denounced. Jane is not from the working class, nor is she a servant. Being an orphan who has been given a roof from her aunt and late uncle, the little girl whom we meet in the beginning of the novel is furious at the idea of being treated less than the others around her.

            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

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 in her younger years was practically shunned by everyone and was shown very little love and compassion, from this throughout her life she searches for these qualities through those around her. Due to Jane’s mother’s disinheritance she was disowned by Mrs. Reed and her children, and was treated like a servant consistently reminded that she lacked position and wealth.

Jane’s foster family, the Reeds, restrict her rights, refusing to treat her as an equal to the other members of the family. Jane, at a mere eight years old, is chastised by Mrs. Abbott, the nanny, who asserts, “you are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep” (Bronte 11). When Rochester imprisons Antoinette in England, he deprives her of any sense of humanity. The people in their lives who yielded power over them unjustly repressed both women.

An obscure orphan governess, perceived to be too young, too penniless, too insignificant to control her own life, defied societal conventions of her time, and remains relevant to this day. Why does this poor, plain governess with no financial prospects or social standing matter in a modern feminist perspective? If she could speak, a modern feminist’s beliefs would likely shock her, so to interpret this novel as feminist, one must see it through the lens of the time and place Brontë wrote it. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was a feminist work in that Bronte expressed disdain for oppressive gender structures through the voice of Jane Eyre, and the actions of Bertha Mason.

"red room" she is told by Miss Abbot: "No; you are less than a servant