Sexism Exposed in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Essay

Reed--the woman whom conducted Jane prior to her schooling--slowly passed into the afterlife, Jane gingerly urges her aunt to love her in her death. She pleaded the dying woman to understand that she would not have hated her, would have loved her, if her aunt had so given her the possibility--she did not. Though--even by her deathbed--Jane Eyre disliked the woman wholeheartedly, she allowed her the peace of forgiveness and understanding that maturity had brought about to her through both her age and experience in love. She no longer found any anger, only sympathy towards the pathetic

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

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.

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’’.

Once again, Jane is unfairly judged and it appears to her that the new life she seeks is long gone. She’s labeled as the outcast, similar to the way she’s treated at Gateshead. (Moseley 3) Jane is stricken; however, Helen Burns assuages the pain. Jane’s friendship with Helen Burns plays a crucial role in controlling her zealous manner. Helen is the archetype of a pure-hearted, caring person with genuine intentions. Her ability to withstand unfair treatment while she maintains her composure provides a role model for Jane to look up to. It’s this persona that Jane desperately needs at this point in her life, especially following the humiliation by Mr. Brocklehurst concerning her fate at Lowood. She teaches Jane the importance of self-control and

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

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 the book, Jane endures both physical and mental abuse from multiple individuals; however, she defies them by fighting back in her own way. The abuse starts at Gateshead when her older cousin, John Reed, verbally and physically assaults Jane. Brontë writes on page 12, “He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in a day, but continually: every nerve I had feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrank when he came near.” Jane consciously chooses to defend herself after John strikes her on page 13 and 14, “I wonder if he read that notion in my face; for, all at once, without speaking, he struck suddenly and strongly. I tottered, and on regaining my equilibrium retired back a step or two from his chair…I don’t very well know what I did with my hands, but he called me…” Jane defies John’s authority as the man of the house by fighting back when he abuses her. By doing this, Jane breaks the typical Victorian gender-based ideal that a woman must obey and be complacent to the directive of any man in a higher position than her (Olga Zeltzer, Historical Analysis: Women as the "the Sex" During the Victorian Era). Jane’s actions,

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

The nineteenth century Victorian era woman needed wealth or position to avoid a life of drudgery.  Women were viewed as trophies or possessions men owned.  They were not permitted to develop nor expected to, and even venturing out on their own was considered inappropriate.  During the era in which Jane Eyre was published the home and family were seen as the basic unit of stability in society.  At the middle of this foundation stood a wife and mother representing the sum total of all morality - a Madonna-like image.  This image was reinforced by social institutions such as mainstream religious and political beliefs.  Women were steered away from independence, confidence, and

In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Jane is an orphan who is often mistreated by the family and other people who surround her. Faced with constant abuse from her aunt and her cousins, Jane at a young age questions the treatment she receives: "All John Reed’s violent tyrannies, all his sister’s proud indifference, all his mother’s aversion, all the servants’ partiality, turned up in my disturbed mind like a dark deposit in a turbid well. Why was I always suffering, always brow-beaten, always accused, forever condemned?" (27; ch. 2). Despite her early suffering, as the novel progresses Jane is cared for and surrounded by various women who act as a sort of "substitute mother" in the way they guide,

Jane Eyre was born an orphan and raised under the hands of a heartless Aunt. Aunt Reed stressed to Jane that she was privileged to live so well without any

Bronte’s Jane Eyre gave a voice to women in the Victorian era. Bronte embedded her feminist ideas into her novel, Jane Eyre. Her belief in marrying for love was a head of her time. Bronte used Jane to explore the depth at which women could act in society. Her ideas on women being more educated brought on thoughts of equality of a different level.

Jane Eyre is a story of a quest to be loved. Jane searches, not just for romantic love, but also for a sense of being valued and belonging. However, this search is constantly hindered by her need for independence. She starts of as an unloved orphan who is desperate to find love and a purpose. For example, Jane says to Helen, “to gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or to stand behind a kicking horse, and let it dash its hoof at my chest”. However, over the course of the novel, Jane learns to gain love without harming herself in the process. Although she is despised by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, she finds parental figures throughout the book. Miss Temple and Bessie care for Jane and give her love and guidance. However, Jane does not feel as though she has found