Class, Food, And Proto-Feminism In 19th Century England

Chapman Kuykendall
Mrs.Jones
A.P. Literature Period 7
29 March 2016
Jane Eyre Social Justice Criticism
Class, Food, and Proto-Feminism in Nineteenth Century England The social and political environment in nineteenth century England from the perspective and hindsight of modern norms and policies looks grim and indentured. Criticising a culture from hindsight may seem redundant, but in the words of Edmund Burke, “those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it”. Looking at a former culture, comparing and contrasting it with current views is important for moving forward socially and politically as well as understanding where current societal norms derive from. Jane Eyre is possibly one of the most important books from this time period

The mid nineteenth century was a time of famine specifically the time in which Jane goes to school was called the hungry forties. In Lowood Jane and the girls never received a sufficient amount of food because of the rampant famine that was occurring. But their deprivation of food didn’t just arise from necessity. One of the techniques employed in Lowood was the restriction of food and to provide only bland food, the practical theory being that too much food and tasty food excites young people and corrupts them giving them impure thoughts “You are aware that my plan in bringing up these girls is, not to accustom them to habits of luxury and indulgence, but rather to render them hardy, patient, self denying. Should any little accidental disappointment of the apatite occur, such as the spoiling of a meal, the over or under dressing of a dish, the incident ought not to be neutralized by replacing with something more delicate than comfort lost” (Brontë 76). Mr.Brocklehurst 's tirade about a lunch of bread and cheese being served is used to illustrate the society’s view on food. In the nineteenth century good tasting food was viewed as a thing that caused children to have impure thoughts, in fact Corn Flakes were purposefully made to be bland by John Harvey Kellogg so they could be used as a deterrent for boys to mastrabate. A backwards view on food coupled with famine caused many problems. For example the typhus outbreak in

The former being the most widely accepted interpretation of the novel. While Jane Eyre has many elements that make it seem like an anti feminist novel, it is unfair to call it that because feminism was in its infancy when it was written. Women in England had no right to vote or any independence to speak of. So a woman striving for independence and fighting back against the patriarchal society , meager as the attempts may be, was still revolutionary. Looking back on Jane Eyre’s plight from a society where women are nearly as equal to men may be difficult to see what’s so feminist about it. But Jane Eyre was banned for being unsuitable for young girls, so it is clear that the society at the time saw Jane Eyre as something too scandalous for young women to read. This fact illustrates just how influential Jane Eyre was regarding social issues especially feminism. While it doesn’t seem to be a very revolutionary book for the average high school student who is assigned it, Jane Eyre was one of the many books at the foundation of modern feminism. Without books like Jane Eyre many women now may not enjoy the freedoms they do. But even so, there are some who proclaim Jane Eyre to be an anti feminist novel, but it is much to the contrary. The feminism in Jane Eyre is very clear and even on par with today’s notion of what feminism is “ ‘Jane, be still; don 't struggle so, like a wild frantic bird that is rending