Essay on Jane Erye's Experience as a Governess

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

The governess’ ambition, however, isn’t her only reason for wanting to please her employer. Multiple critics have specifically mentioned her fascination with her employer in a romantic way. James describes him as a “ rich...extravagant,” man who is “charming” with women, and the governess as a “fluttered” and “anxious girl” (James 149).

Governesses represented an unusual social class in Victorian culture. They were often women belonging to the middle class, however, they had a central role in the upbringing of upper class children and the construction of Victorian education and ideals. Despite their significance within the homes of wealthy families, many governesses were treated with suspicion and fear. This paper, however, seeks to analyze several notable governess representations as well as to understand how these various depictions (from homewrecker governess to asexual, unsexed governess) were employed to construct, conceal, and obscure the classed sexuality of the governesses. The governess in the painting “Looking for the Mail Packet”, Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest, Mrs. Vesey in The Woman in White,—portray governesses as superfluous to the home and neglectful of their charges, lacking in sexual desirability, and utterly unsophisticated. Some governesses, including Miss Prism, are described as women who seek to destabilize the Victorian home à la prostitutes and other undesirable women. No matter the case, the governess as a Victorian figure was often not painted in a positive light in these texts. It is important to consider the implications such portrayals because they can illuminate for modern readers the ways in which the Victorian era policed and proscribed sexuality. The governess and her role matters because she represents the social policing of womanhood as well as the

Jane Eyre, a novel written by Charlotte Bronte, is about a young girl who grows up without her biological parents in a home in which she is treated poorly. All the working women depicted in this novel are domestic workers, either maids, teachers, or governesses. Jane Eyre, the main character, is bent on a life of “servitude.” In chapter 10, Jane becomes bored with her life as a teacher and prays for change. However, the change she prays for is for “at least a new servitude” (Bronte 693). After applying for

In addition, Janes first name is a pretty “plain” name, possibly showing Janes ugliness. For instance, we know that Jane is plain, due to all the statements that have been told to us throughout the book, one being by Abbot the Reeds maid, “’If she were a nice, pretty child, one might feel compassionate for her forlornness; but one really cannot for such a little toad as that.’” (Bronte 32). As a result of this, we get an assurance of how plain Jane really is, toad like as Abbot put it. This infers to us that Jane was not a very attractive person, just being a plain looking girl, nothing special about her. Moreover, we get even more of an assurance of Janes plainness by St. John, “She looks sensible, but not at all handsome.” (Bronte 390). Once again, we are directly given the fact that Jane is not an attractive person. That Jane is just plain, and not pleasing to the eye. Further, we are shown Janes name shows us her want of independence, we are shown this by a phrase told by Jane to Rochester, “I don’t think, sir, you have a right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.” (Bronte 157). Therefore, we clearly see Janes want of being independent, she likes to be controlled by no one regardless of the reason.

Rochester must be addressed. Jane listens primarily to her superego, as seen when she advertises herself in order to better her circumstances and refuses to become St. John’s wife because it would offend her conscience. It is thus appropriate that her main career is as a governess, a woman who acts as a mother for and teaches morals to her charges (Bell 263-269). This job leads to her employment under Mr. Rochester, and during this time period, the voice of her id strengthens but does not have a considerable influence. As a result of the rules she adhered to growing up, she refuses to address Rochester as anything other than “Master” despite the equality she understands them to share. However, the desire for Rochester balances with the desire for propriety in the form of her ego, which allows her to love him for afar. This is an important point in her character, as a governess was a “‘tabooed woman’ for the gentlemen she came into contact with in the household in which she was employed, and also tabooed among those employed alongside of [her] in the same households” (Bell

A single woman with a very narrow income, must be a ridiculous, disagreeable old made!’ (p. 68 – 69). She also adds that ‘single woman, of good fortune, is always respectable’ (p. 69). This shows what Emma’s thought about a woman with no fortune. One of the reasons for Emma’s view is that Jane is an orphan who is left with no fortune, which means that she needs to work for her living or marry a man who could support her living costs. Being a teacher or governess was one of the only occupations in which nineteenth-century single women like Jane Fairfax could earn a living. However, Jane shows hatred towards being a governess when she talks about governess as equal to slave trade. For example, in a conversation between Jane and Mrs. Elton, Jane says ‘There are places in town, offices, where inquiry would soon produce something-offices for the sale not quite of human flesh, but of human intellect’ (p. 235).

Jane Eyre from the very beginning was a character with high morals and beliefs. She didn’t believe in conforming easily and spoke out when she felt that her treatment was unjust. Jane Eyre was a special character of her time because women during her era were considered best suited for domestic care and men were considered superior to women. Women were near restrained to holding their own morals and beliefs but Jane challenges all of the societal thinking. Jane says as she feels and does as she believes is right and just.

Jane is different from her sister Elizabeth in that she focuses much more on her physical appearance. She is the most beautiful of her sisters and focuses greatly on the “girly” talents such as dancing. Jane has very good manners that makes her appeal to most people, especially the mothers and

The construction of gender within Jane Eyre is heavily impacted upon by the socio-cultural attitudes of the time. These social and cultural viewpoints are what formed the female gender, by forming the expected code of conduct and behaviour of women in the mid-1800s. Within society women were almost always represented as lower than men and were commonly expected to be sub-servient and non-opinionated. Prime examples of this sort of behaviour is Mrs. Fairfax and to some extent in Jane, while the exact opposite to societal expectation is seen in Bertha Rochester. Who's unruly, psychotic behaviour deemed her to become an unacceptable person within 19th century society. Society at the time of Jane Eyre offered very little in the way of employment for women. The few jobs or tasks they could perform were often menial and mundane. The only alternative to work was to marry, and quite often for money or the purpose of child bearing than love. Thoughts of goals and desires of success were suppressed within women and they were to adhere to convention. Jane Eyre has several characters within its text that comply with these strict, societal

The idea of governess extended until the nineteenth century. The Victorian women, especially the Bronte sisters, Charlotte and Anne, experienced the occupation of a governess. Their impressions were negative because of the poor condition, bad treatment, and low wage of a governess during the Victorian era. According to Gilbert, Anne endured in the governess’s job for six years while Charlotte shortened it to two years. Charlotte wrote in a letter to her sister Emily, “I can now see more clearly than I have ever done before that a private governess has no existence, is not considered as a living and rational being, except as connected with the wearisome duties she has to fulfill”(qtd. in Heyck, 203). Charlotte transfers her negative views of the governess’s status in English society through her literary work Jane Eyre. She portrays the poor conditions and bad treatments of the private school that Jane attends. In Lowood School, Jane spends eight years before she accepts an offer of becoming a governess and starting her financial dependence. Mr. Brocklehurst who is the headmaster of Lowood School keeps the girls hungry and cold. Also, he treats the girls very badly by punishing them. One of the problems that children from working and middle class face in schools, rather than the social distinction, is the physical punishment. In “Aspects of Neglect: The Strange Case of Victorian Popular Education,” Harold Silver investigates about the “corporal punishment” that is used in

In the novel Jane Eyre, Jane is often taken forced to make life changing decisions. Her decisions not only affect her own life and those around her, but also provide a model of a modern woman who is free from the social expectations for women living in her era. From a young age, Jane was taught the mindset that she must be independent and fight for her place. She was neglected as a child while living at Gateshead and often left to fend for herself. She was frequently locked by herself in a room for hours on end and continually accused of being a liar. From fighting John Reed to leaving Rochester moments before their marriage, Jane always emerges as an individualistic figure that refuses to conform to anyone’s wishes except her own. The tough decisions she makes for herself end up benefitting her in her pursuit to break the cultural norm of women in society. Jane Eyre, though often oppressed and looked down upon by figures in authority over her, emerges as a symbol of freedom albeit facing manifold obstacles in her life.

Primarily, Jane had little choice but to become a governess as an intelligent woman. In Victorian England there were few alternative job prospects for a woman of her social class except for becoming a domestic servant – of which there was 750,000 in England - or working in industry. Although the role of a governess seems rather respectable, it is clear that the upper class – that actually employed governesses for the tutorage of their children – did not hold them in high regard, as shown by Blanche Ingham who says: “I have just one word to say of the whole tribe; they are a nuisance” . Jane, however, seems content with her place in society as she says of Lowood that she “[has] served here eight years; now all [she wants] is to serve elsewhere” and leaves for Thornfield. That said, however, her low social class does restrict her from socialising with the likes of Blanche Ingham, shown by Jane seeming to be hiding from the group and emphasised by Blanche’s blatant disregard for her presence and continuing to discuss her as she says that in Jane’s “physiognomy” she sees “all the faults of her class” , hence claiming that from Jane’s outward appearance she can determine her character which has been influenced by her upbringing. Similarly, Jane’s lower class causes her feelings for Mr Rochester to become confused as she tries to stop herself from

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.