Jane Eyre's Struggles In The Man-Dominant World

In its simplest form, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre tells the story of a young woman, Jane Eyre, who grows up poor, makes the decision to be independent, does so, and, eventually, marries rich. The novel follows her from her childhood to her reunion with the love of her life and she, throughout it, deals with classism and sexism and exhibits her own form of feminism. By the end, it becomes clear that, with this semi-autobiographical novel, Charlotte Bronte was providing a criticism on society’s discrimination toward those of a lower class, a subtle argument against the male-dominated society’s treatment of women, and an even subtler call to action for women to find their own agency outside of the men in their lives. On another end, however,

Jane Eyre’s life was full of oppression, neglect and sorrow. The novel was formed around a few main ideas. One of those would be the search of love and acceptance. Jane wanted to find a family so desperately and she wanted to belong to people. More than this though, Jane wanted to be treated equally. She was denied equality because of her social status, her income,her lack of “beauty” and most of all because of her gender. The book Jane Eyre shows the struggle that women face while attempting to overcome oppression and inequality in the Victorian era.

At first glance Jane Eyre may seem to be a young woman with semi-bad taste in men, but she is actually much more complex a character than that. Jane is driven by her craving for freedom, her desire to be useful, and her yearning to fit in somewhere. She is rich in character with a stubborn, strong willed, and passionate personality. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, whether it is a family she wants to have, or a marriage that is unfair and without balance. As an adult, Jane is a level headed young woman, but as a child she let her passions get the best of her. She tones down this passion quite a bit as she grows older and gains more experience, and channels it into other areas of her life.

Charlotte Bronte created one of the first feminist novels--Jane Eyre--of her time period when she created the unique and feminist female heroine, Jane Eyre. Throughout the novel, Jane becomes stronger as she speaks out against antagonists. She presses to find happiness whether she is single or married and disregards society’s rules. The novel begins as Jane is a small, orphan child living with her aunt and cousins due to the death of her parents and her uncle. Jane 's aunt--Mrs. Reed--degrades her as she favors her biological children. Jane 's aunt--Mrs. Reed--degrades her as she favors her biological children. Her cousin--John Reed--hits her and then Mrs. Reed chooses to punish her instead and sends her to the room in which her uncle

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.

Throughout history and literature, men have been trying to make decisions for women and have also treated women as inferiors. Two books that do a superb job of demonstrating this theme are Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and The Good Earth by Pearl Buck. Jane Eyre, set in the 1800’s, is the story of an orphan girl growing up and becoming a governess. All does not go smoothly when Jane falls in love with the master of the house. Drama ensues in this gothic classic as Jane decides how to handle her situation. The Good Earth, on the other hand, follows the life of Wang Lung from a young adult to a grandfather. Along the way, Wang Lung marries O-lan and together they

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

Jane Eyre, a novel by Charlotte Brontë, contains several notable themes and messages sent to its readers. Jane Eyre is a coming of age novel that is a story of a girl's quest for equality and happiness. A common theme that recurs throughout the novel is the importance of independence.Charlotte Brontë utilizes several techniques to convey this message, incorporating her personal experiences, as well as including symbolism and motifs. Charlotte Bronte subjects Jane to several conflicts that occur because of Jane’s desire for independence and freedom, such as love, religion, and gender inequality.

Through the Victorian Age, male dominance deprived women from a certain freedom. In Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane Eyre repeatedly struggles to become an independent young lady due to the troublesome men in the story. John Reed controls Jane, Mr. Brocklehurst humiliates Jane, and Mr. Rochester sees women, in general, as objects. The author manages to depict patriarchal dominance through the characterization of John Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester.

Jane Eyre was written in a time where the Bildungsroman was a common form of literature. The importance was that the mid-nineteenth century was, "the age in which women were, for the first time, ranked equally with men as writers within a major genre" (Sussman 1). In many of these novels, the themes were the same; the protagonist dealt with the same issues, "search for autonomy and selfhood in opposition to the social constraints placed upon the female, including the demand for marriage" (Sussman). Jane Eyre fits this mould perfectly. Throughout the novel, the reader follows Jane Eyre on a journey of development from adolescence to maturity to show that a desire for freedom and change motivates people to search for their own identity.

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre displays cases of physical and social restriction, along with instances of avant-garde emotional freedom in terms of Jane Eyre’s freedom of choice in leaving Mr Rochester and rejecting St John River’s proposal.

Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre in 1847 during Britain’s Victorian era, a time when the societal culture was patriarchal, meaning men were considered to be superior to women in all parts of life. In general society was guided by etiquette and considered prudish, hypocritical, single minded, and arrogant. The culture of this era was defined predominantly by two main characteristics. First by the rigid caste structure, which prevented most from advancing beyond the station held by their families. Second, the extreme polarization of gender roles, especially in the upper classes. Men were expected to be honorable, enterprising, intelligent, loyal, and morally strong. However, women were expected to be chaste and in the constant company of a chaperone

“Little Girls with dreams become women with vision” (unknown). This quote expresses Jane’s entire life in the novel Jane Eyre written by the author Charlotte Brontë. The main character that is discussed in this book is Jane Eyre and she is trying to find herself despite being recognized as less than everyone else solely based on her gender and her poor place in nineteenth-century’s social class. Gender inequality is world wide problem with no end, dating back to the civil rights period to the present day. Mrs. Reed, John Reed, Mr Brocklehurst and Ms. Blanche Ingram, as well as many others are a prime example for this issue. For the reason being that they allow others’ mainly her son to not only treat her with disrespect but also torment Jane as well.

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.

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.