Social Class In Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte's, Jane Eyre takes place during the Victorian period of England. This gothic romance novel tells the story of an abused orphan, Jane, who later matures into a strong independent woman. The societal standards Bronte portrays in the novel consist of oppression, gender inequality, and social class. Throughout the novel, Jane overcomes each of these social norms and defies what every other person in the society believes.

Even though Jane faces limits to opportunities in her life because she strictly belongs to neither the upper nor poor class, her thinking isn’t limited and she is able to grow as an individual unlike the characters who have been assigned to a specific class. Through Jane’s point of view, Charlotte Brontë expresses her view that the class system is harmful Jane and thus to the society in which she lives in her novel Jane Eyre.

In Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë, the character, Edward Rochester is put in a very difficult situation. After hiring Jane Eyre as a governess, he falls in love with her. However, he already has a wife—Bertha Mason. Hidden from society, Bertha is declared to be mad and is therefore locked in secrecy on the third floor of the household. Mr. Rochester is incapable to divorce his wife.

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.

Mason’s arrival. It is also in this chapter that Brontë reveals more of Jane’s “strong, independent woman” character. While the rest of the ladies in the house (and at some point, Jane did too; about Banche’s marriage with Rochester) talked to the gypsy regarding love and marriage, Jane’s focus is about her independent dreams— building a school as one of them. Brontë also showed here that the attraction between Mr. Rochester and Jane are disregarding social classes by having Rochester disguised as a woman— a fortune-teller, who is almost equal to or lower than Jane’s social

In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, deception is evidenced by the character Mr. Rochester, who intentionally misleads Jane into assuming he has had no prior marriage or spouse in an attempt to spare her feelings. Rochester does not inform Jane about the truth of the matter–that he has already been married–until their actual marriage ceremony. Although this deception generates conflict between Jane and Rochester, it contributes significantly to the meaning of the novel as a whole. One of the primary motives for Rochester’s deception is to resist Victorian society’s repressive and predominantly social hierarchy. Following the revelation at his marriage ceremony with Jane, Rochester shares his prior life experience in which his parents arranged

In Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, Bronte seemingly condemns the existing social hierarchy. Not only are the characters who are most concerned with the allure of fortune and rank portrayed as either deceitful or unethical, but even characters who’ve accepted their means of poverty and demonstrate honest moral natures are mocked. Rather than use the normal class structures, the book suggests that a person of impoverished means can be viewed as socially respectable with the condition that they maintain a sincere desire to better both oneself and their means of living.

In Jane Eyre, Bronte shows examples of marriages and their outcomes along with her own quest for education. Bertha Mason’s marriage to Mr. Rochester is one marriage of convenience in the novel. They do not marry for love, but for money and social status. Jane describes this kind of marriage like a prison or “a corridor in some Bluebeard’s castle” that doesn’t gain the wife any happiness (Bronte 1989: 108). Bertha therefore suffers the institution of marriage of convenience and because Thornfield symbolizes this institution of marriage of convenience, and must be destroyed before Jane marries Rochester.

The second part of the novel marks the beginning of the marriage between Antoinette and the English gentleman (normally identified as Rochester from Jane Eyre; he will be referred to as such for the remainder of the essay).   The Marriage contract itself, interestingly, is negotiated and put into action by a series of men: Rochester's father and brother, Antoinette's stepfather and, subsequently, her step-brother, Richard Mason. When Antoinette herself puts up a half-hearted resistance to the marriage, both Rochester and Richard Mason step in to push the contract along.  Already, Rhys, within the marriage, establishes action as a male characteristic and inertia as female.

Social class had an impact on the severity of mistreatment. All women had some sort of restrictions and were judged tremendously by their appearance, proper manner and social status. Upper-class women were treated better because they could live up to these expectations. Whereas in Jane Eyre, Jane cannot seem to escape the male domination while living in different places. She is physically and verbally abused because of her gender and social status. First, John Reed takes the role of the master in the house since his father is deceased. John abuses Jane because he is possessive over his household. He never accepts that she is family because of her parents’ misfortune. Jane says, “You are like a murderer-you are like a slave-driver-you are like

Men are sexist creatures who deserve every cruel act they have inflicted on women for centuries. So say the radical feminists of the twenty-first century who follow misandry, which is the hatred of men. In fact, nineteenth-century author, Charlotte Bronte, stood for the opposite as she believed in equality for all. She was against the public view that only men were allowed to be in the political and public spheres of society while women did not even own themselves. In spite of the efforts produced by feminists from the nineteenth century, misandry has created a border between these feminist's beliefs and values to the radical feminists of the twenty-first century. Furthermore, Charlotte Bronte's values of social class and gender equality in Jane Eyre are perhaps in response to Abigail Adams’ “Remember the Ladies,” in which, Adam’s demonstrates the issues of societal values. These issues continue to echo in Sarah McVeigh’s interview with Jessa Crispin in “Why I’m not a feminist,” where Crispin implies twenty-first-century feminists create a backlash in society as they result in misandry.

Charlotte Bronte, born in 1816 at Thornton, Yorkshire, England, is an English writer who is one of three sisters, who are also famous for their writings. Bronte wrote Jane Eyre based on her own life experiences, which is why the novel is subtitled “An Autobiography”. Much of the romantic appeal in Jane Eyre comes from Bronte’s own personal history. Many critics argue that the novel is simply a reflection of Bronte’s life. Furthermore, there are several ways in which, Bronte’s life is similar to the life of Jane and the events that take place in the novel.

Jane Eyre is a classic novel written by Charlotte Bronte. It was published on October 16, 1847 under the pen name Currer Bell. This book is said to be an autobiography of Charlotte Bronte's life, even though it was not published as an autobiography. Jane Eyre was considered a controversial book, but it was also considered revolutionary, as well as interesting.

Bertha Mason, although a minor character in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre , played a crucial role in the love story between Jane and Rochester and gives a deeper understanding of how mentally impaired people were treated at the time. She is necessary to Jane and Rochester’s imminent marriage and her actions lead the two to reconcile. Her motives and the causes for behavior are unclear, besides her obvious jealousy towards Jane and betrayal she felt from Rochester. Not only that, but Bertha also symbolizes everything Jane is not, mirroring her in a way as a polar opposite.