Essay about Jane Eyre Obstacles and Love

“Writers often highlight the values of a culture or a society by using characters who are alienated from that culture or society because of gender, race, or creed.

Jane is a spirited woman, and her emotions give her a strength of character that is unusual for a female heroine of this period. Rather than being nervous and oversensitive, Jane expresses her feelings through anger. The first example of this occurs at one of the pivotal moments of her life, when John Reed hits

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.

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

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

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,

simply, it is the story of a woman who began her life with nothing but

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

Lowood also teaches Jane a great deal by giving her one of the greatest benefits to her life: a good education. Jane spends eight years of her life at Lowood where she, "had the means of an excellent education placed within my reach; a fondness for some of my studies, and a desire to excel in all" (pg. 115). Her education means more to her than her simple appearance. She had the option of just sliding by in her studies and leaving Lowood as soon as possible. Instead, she remains in a school

In the beginning Jane seems a strong character who is very rebellious; In the Victorian times it was considered “deceitful” for a child too speak out. Jane wishes to overcome this. And she does when she says, “I must keep in good health, and not

away from Gateshead till I am a woman" and tells this to Mr Lloyd. She

The first passage is from when Jane Eyre is locked in the attic room by force by Abbot and Bessie. Despite her just being punished, along with her earlier treatments, young Jane sees this room as a “jail.” She feels trapped. Unable to express herself in the ways that she sees fit without being tormented by John, or scorned by Mrs. Reed, Jane is forced to accept and take the abuse. When she passes the mirror, she sees a tiny white figure. “All looked colder and darker” to her “than in reality.” She was looking at herself. It is a case of Jane’s internal feelings reflecting on her external appearance and situation. Jane wants to break free and express herself, but feels restrained by her body and her restrictions. The “glittering eyes” that she describes represent her will to be free. It shows a shimmering of hope that she holds on to. The description of “moving while all else was still” also shows how Jane is the only one in the house that is capable of this type of expression. Everything else in comparison to her

When Jane is sent to Lowood (an all girl's school), she finds the first true love shown by an adult. Miss Temple, the school's superintendent) treats all of the girls with extreme kindness and gentleness. When the girl's breakfast is burned, she arranges for them to have the luxury of white bread and cheese to make up for it. Also, even while some of the other teachers like Miss Scatcherd and even the school's headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, are mean to the girls, she is always there for them with a hug and a smile. When Helen falls deathly ill, Jane sees how motherly and unfaltering Miss Temple is towards Helen. Another character who shows Jane love at Lowood is Helen herself. She is the first person Jane's age who is nice to her. Jane grew up with the Reed children's spiteful actions and attitudes toward her and never experienced a peer's kindness until she met Helen.

Parallel to many of the great feministic novels throughout literary history, Jane Eyre is a story about the quest for authentic love. However, Jane Eyre is unique and separate from other romantic pieces, in that it is also about a woman searching for a sense of self-worth through achieving a degree of independence. Orphaned and dismissed at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle that was characterized by a form of oppressive servitude of which she had no autonomy. She was busy spending much of her adolescent years locked in chains, both imaginary and real, as well as catering to the needs of her peers. Jane was never being able to enjoy the pleasures and joys that an ordinary and independent child values. Jane struggles

In England during the nineteenth century, the struggle to gain independence and equality were difficult for Victorian women, largely because of their gender, but also because they did not have any independent source of wealth. Published in 1847, Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Brontë depicts the life of women during that time that were economically devalued and socially marginalized. Women were not seen as equals to men and being independent meant being free from the influences of others. The novel tells the story of Jane Eyre, a young Victorian woman on a quest to fulfill a sense of equality and independence in her life. Throughout the novel, a series of individuals fail to agree with Jane’s ideology, making an identity search a pressing issue for Jane. Her main goal as a Victorian woman is to become independent, achieve self-fulfillment while finding a voice, and overcome oppression. While Jane Eyre can be read as a feminist novel, it can also be seen as a challenge towards the Victorian era and how Brontë uses her protagonist to attack some of the issues during this time. Although Jane faces off with individuals in the novel that do not see her as an equal, the point of equality Jane desires is emotion-based, rather than people-based. The relationships that Jane develops in the novel leads her to want to go against the social norms of women in the Victorian era and fight for her own identity.