Jane Eyre is a girl who lived her young life as an orphan due to poverty and having no reliance on anyone. Jane Eyre was of middle class, but was still impoverished. Growing up, Jane became a governess and this conditioned her to know and live the lower middle class. Jane’s personality attracted society and drove her to success. Aristocrats and the commoners stated that the social class that formed the 19th century society was created by two kinds of people. The 19th century did not rely on the wealth of the people since in this era was more about social class acceptance. Jane’s job did not require any hard labor - all she did was teach children in their households. When Jane fell in love with Rochester, she began to define her moral traits. She was offered an opportunity to stay at Rochester gatherings with his colleagues - Jane …show more content…
In “Daily Life in Victorian England” elaborates on this circumstance by stating, “It was wrong, people thought, to behave like someone from a class above--or below--your own.” (Mitchell, 2) in essence, Jane was embarrassed of where she came from which opposes the conformity in the 19th century. Jane decides to leave the situation -- Rochester in love with Jane does not acknowledge Jane’s social class. “The Victorian Frame of Mind” emphasizes this when man’s reputation was not only to be wealthy, but to also be gentlemen to have a good social status. (Houghton, 185) Despite the fact that Rochester could have fallen in love with another woman of his social class, and treat Jane as any other employee, he did not--in fact, he fell in love with Jane and respected her and realizing the great person Jane was regardless of where she comes from. “My bride is here,” he said, again drawing to him, “because my equal is here, and my likeness. Jane, will you marry me?” (Bronte, ch. 13) Jane accepting his proposal, she ignored the social
Jane is taught at a young age to look down on people not of her caste, and to oppress them the same way that she herself is oppressed as a female orphan. Though Jane is not influenced directly by social status at all times, it is still a constant factor which Brontë makes evident. In Victorian England, a female must either be born or married into her social class, and this is what defines her. The character of Jane served to undercut the popular female stereotypes of fiction: the angel of the house, the invalid, or the whore (Brackett, 2000). Brontë creates Jane as her own force, in which she is neither the angel, invalid or whore, but a young lady who is intelligent and has pride and dignity. In this Victorian society, her unsubmissiveness and independence is her social fault, which Brontë pokes fun at (Brackett, 2000). Male Victorian writers cast women during this time as social, finagling creatures whose goals are to obtain as many friends as possible and throw the most elaborate parties. Brontë opposes this by creating Jane as an opposite of these “defining” characteristics, by making Jane a female who could are less about how many people adore her, a female who would actually enjoy a life with few companions. As mentioned before, Jane’s sense of dignity is evident. As Jane became Rochester’s governess, she is faced with the
All The Single Ladies Queen B (a.k.a Beyonce) once quoted, “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” Beyonce is a strong successful woman who is known for her songwriting, singing , dancing etc. Women all over the world look up to her and get drunk in love because of the empowering effects she has on everyone. In this statement, she explains how women should do what they are capable of.
Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre” is about a young girl who is coming of age and facing the struggles of social class and religious aspects. Throughout her entire journey of life Jane never gives up on what she truly wants. Why does Jane never give up on finding her true faith and life all together, even through all the obstacles she faces in life? Jane faces challenges and/or obstacles such as religious beliefs, love, and social class.
The 19th century was a time of social injustice for women. Woman were seen as second class citizens to men, and inferior in a patriarchal society. As a woman, expectations were to get married, produce offspring, as well as take care of household chores. The novel portrays the social injustices and unfairness projected on women throughout the 19th century. The novel Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte tells the story of Jane Eyre as she tries to succeed and grow in a society filled with many inequalities.
The novel is structured in two parts where the beginning is in the form of a flashback of Jane Eyre as a ten year old and then continues through Jane’s life rapidly to where she is now 31 years old. As a child, Jane was mistreated and verbally abused by her non-blood related aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her wicked children. One of the two maids of the house, Bessie, sympathizes for Jane and cares for her personally. Jane is sent to solitude in the “red-room” when she is “bad” and is forced to sit alone in the room her kind uncle passed away in. When her horrid cousin, who is much bigger than her, throws her book at her head, Jane retaliates and is able to hurt him to the point
“I must dislike those who, whatever I do to please them, persist in disliking me.” (69) In Charlotte Bronte’s book Jane Eyre, Jane was treated horribly but must obey. She believed that Christians should dislike those who dislike them. Through meeting different Christian people Jane spiritually grows.
Brontë consciously incorporates elements of fairy tales and Gothic fiction in her novel. In Jane Eyre, a young woman meets mysterious man and lives in his haunted mansion. His prison-like home is the manifestation of a dark secret surrounding its owner and his first wife, who represents the dark side of the young heroine. Jane Eyre reminds readers of fairy tales like “Cinderella” and “Beauty and the Beast.” For instance, Jane grew up with the archetypal evil stepmother, Mrs. Reed, and is mistreated as a child. Nevertheless, she possesses a kind heart; Jane accepts Mr. Rochester for who he is and encourages his development into a redeemed prince. Brontë can be credited with inventing many of the archetypes of the popular romantic mythos, even
The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte delivers a strong feminist message. Jane was a strong woman in a time when women were not meant to be strong. She was very out spoken (even as a child) and very sure in her values and opinions. She would not change them for anyone. She did not even let men control her, which is what was expected of women in this era.
her new thoughts. In all Jane Eyre’s life, the pursuit of true love is an important representation of her struggle for self-realization. When Jane Eyre falls in love with Rochester, she is not afraid to express her love to him, even when she is only a poor tutor while he is a man of high class. It is because she believes everyone is equal and everyone deserves to pursue their own happiness that it makes her so fearless in love. Her belief in love indicates that she is a strong and independent woman of her own, not a living toy for men to play in their hands. Jane Eyre is also no other ordinary superficial woman. She is well-educated so she is noted that “Beauty is but skin deep”, which is why she confesses her love to Rochester in the first
Although authors’ life histories are not the main line in literary works, the epitomes of authors’ experience are always found in story lines of novels. Through subjectively designing characters of figures and plot development, authors show their personalities, values and views of life in their works, and consequently form the souls of characters and heighten the gist of the works. Virtually, the viewpoints of literary works are formed during this process. Jane Eyre, a typical novel with obvious autobiographic feature, is the master work of Charlotte Bronte, a famous English authoress in the 19th century. Being an authoress with strong feminist consciousness, the feminist characters and thoughts of Charlotte have significant influences on her
When Jane Eyre (1847) was published by Charlotte Brontë under the masculine pseudonym Currer Bell, it was received with great acclaim by some critics, and harsh criticism by others. The conservative Lady Eastlake suggested that if the book was by a woman ‘she had long forfeited the society of her own sex’. In addition to this lack of femininity, she also diagnosed a spirit of rebellion which she likened to the working class uprisings of the Chartists, with their demands for votes for the working people, and also the political revolutions which were then sweeping across Europe.[1] Jane Eyre unsettled views as to how women should act and behave, suggesting, in Lady Eastlake’s eyes, almost an overthrowing of social order. Unlike the long-suffering
Bronte characterizes Jane Eyre as a poor girl full insecurities who was constantly belittled by her own family; she couldn’t rely on anyone but herself. She was an orphan for a while and this helped her grow and discover her true identity, whereas Rochester was an old, rich man who was an owner and had so much to offer. Rochester fell in love with Jane who is the complete opposite of who he is and she eventually becomes a heiress which helped economically as well as the relationship with Rochester. The social class in the Victorian Era was that women had to depend on men and families usually let go of their daughters at a young age in order for them to get married to a rich man who could give and provide her with luxurious things, but Jane
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte shows the hierarchical class system prevalent in England in the 19th century. Through the character of Jane, Bronte explores the system and reveals many issues with society in the 19th century. For instance, the novel raises the issue of whether a governess should be considered upper class due to her superior education or lower class due to her servant-like status in the family. Jane’s journey through the established class structure results in her making judgments based on the class stereotype. Readers see Jane in all social classes throughout the novel from a poor beggar, to a middle-class governess, to a well-off wife. By the end of the novel, Jane finds a “sense of equality” with her place in society. She
In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, the protagonist, Jane, finds herself torn on many decisions throughout the timeless story. Our protagonist faces many hardships throughout the three part book. Growing up as an orphan under the roof a cruel and apathetic aunt left Jane with few other options than to toughen up and accept that the world is not her oyster. Especially as a child Jane never had much luck, while attending school she must deal with another cruel authority figure in Mr. Brocklehurst. Even her one friend at the school, a teacher named Helen Burns who teaches Jane to be a true Victorian woman dies of typhus leaving Jane without anyone to turn to yet again. This sets in motion the rest of the story as Jane departs the school seeking a job as a governess. Jane is a very strong-willed woman throughout the novel, an attribute not usually found or encouraged in Victorian women. Nevertheless, Jane still feels controversy throughout the book and has to take time to think about her decision and how it will affect her and her future. Janes primary struggle is her own will against the will of people she cares deeply for as either lovers, caretakers, or even family. When it mattered Jane did what was right for her and what she believed would give her the best future. Jane felt torn to make decisions when living with Mr. Rochester and St. John in the book, when confronted with these difficult choices she used her conscience and made the right decision in her mind which ensured
Question 1. Charlotte Bronte’s description of Jane Austen’s novel evokes a certain sense that Bronte wanted more from Austen’s literature. When comparing Bronte and Austen’s texts, both question what it means to live as a woman in the world of nineteenth-century Britain, but while In Pride and Prejudice as well as in Emma there is a sense of us as the reader being outside of what’s happening in the novel, whereas in Jane Eyre we are able to understand Jane a little bit better than the other characters. In Jane Eyre we never have access to anyone else’s interiority, and since the narrative is placed inside of Jane’s head, we are motivated to believe her perspective. Jane is represented to us as a character to with whom we are meant to be sympathetic towards and like, whereas with a character such as Emma, even Jane Austen knew that many people might not like the character of Emma that she had created, due to the fact that Emma was relatively spoiled and somewhat of a brat. I believe that Charlotte Bronte’s critique of Austen is that her writing only scrapes the surface of human emotion and does not lend itself to allowing a more in depth analysis of each of her characters true thoughts and feelings, which Bronte, in my opinion, is very fond of. Bronte’s writing seems to focus highly on the internal thoughts and feelings of her protagonist and less so on giving a variety of different perspectives of a variety of different characters. I believe that what Charlotte