Enslaving individuals because of their lower class, gender, race, and ethnicity has been prominent since the 1600s. In Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel, Jane Eyre, published in 1847, the same idea of slavery takes place. According to Judith Leggatt and Christopher Parkes’ article From the Red Room to Rochester’s Haircut: Mind Control in Jane Eyre, Jane is the victim of “the power of people and institutions that want to break her spirit” (Leggatt and Parkes 169). Most of her “masters” wants to “turn her into a servant” (Leggatt and Parkes 169). Throughout the novel it does not seem that Jane can get out of the vicious circle of being trapped in a “tyrant-like” society that depletes her of freedom and self-empowerment. However, gradually she …show more content…
Brocklehurst at Lowood, another tyrant-like character that deprives Jane and other students of power. However, this institution can be seen as an improvement from her last home for Jane, because there is not physical abuse and she is receiving an education. That does not mean that Jane does not endure cruel and unusual punishments from Mr. Brocklehurst. His idea of helping the girls seems to be making them aware of their lower class in society rather than “rehabilitative” strategies (Leggatt and Parkes 173). Firstly, he tries to make the school prison-like. He does this by attempting to make all the girls look similarly in appearance by looking “modestly [and] plainly” (Brontё 64). This can be seen by a student at Lowood, Julia Severn. A student who has hair that is natural, red and curly that “gives her a measure of uniqueness” (Leggatt and Parkes 173). Mr. Brocklehurst says to Miss Temple that they “are not to conform to nature” (Brontё 64). Mr. Brocklehurst orders for her hair to be cut, which is degrading since it is “submission to a more practical and more economical genderless appearance” (Godfrey 856). It is obvious that he does not feel as if higher class women have to hide vanity. Godfrey explains that “only the middle and upper classes can afford the costly performance of gender” (Godfrey 856). This can be seen when three higher class women walk into the school wearing “velvet, silk, and furs” (Brontё 64). Along with not allowing …show more content…
Thornfield seems to be a better place of living than Lowood, because she has adequate basic needs, such as, food and a proper shelter to stay healthy. This is more suitable for Jane since she has gained entrance to the working class as a governess. However, her position as a governess is acting as a “mother figure” (Leggatt and Parkes 181) which can be seen as domestic work. Domestic work would not be considered a larger working world in Thornfield, because it is private and her residence is who is paying her. Technically speaking, she is not a part of the working class society. Rochester who is a part of the high class is, once again, is controlling of her. She is still as much “owned by Rochester as she was by Mrs. Reed” (Leggatt and Parkes 181). Brontё creates a more than twenty year difference between the couple in order to communicate to the reader that Rochester is more powerful and dominant. The age difference “reinforce[s] the subservient role of the female as child, as student, as victim, and the dominant role of the male as father, as teacher and as aggressor” (Godfrey 860). The age difference depicts who is in control of the duration of the relationship. Rochester confirms this by saying “I don’t wish to treat you like an inferior…I claim only such superiority as must result from twenty years” (Brontё 133). In
In the beginning of the book we learn that all of Jane’s direct family was dead. Now all she had was an aunt, Mrs, Reed, and an Uncle that we do not know much about. Jane lives with Mrs, Reed and her children. Jane is not well liked by them and constantly seems to be getting into trouble. One time Jane was reading a book and was found by John. John went to punish her, but Jane went to fight back, but John immediately responded, “...mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg…”(11) This shows how the whole Reed family feels about Jane. She is showed off as poor and not able to do or become anything of worth. This may be the most important quotes in the entire book. This sets Jane in her “rightful” place in the family. Jane then feels like she does not belong, and feels this way for most of the book, leading up to an unforeseen twist in character in many different people.
As Jane grows up and passes the age of eighteen, she advertises herself as a governess and is hired to a place called Thornfield. Although journeying into the completely unknown, Jane does not look back, only forward to her new life and her freedom at Thornfield. This particular journey marks a huge change in Jane’s life; it’s a fresh start for her.
After one of Jane's outbursts one of the servants at the house discusses how because of the lack of her "beauty" and "obedience", "if she were a nice, pretty child, one might compassionate her forlornness, but one really cannot care for such a little toad as that." (Bronte 26). As a result of her demeanor, she is sent to Lowood to learn how to become more obedient and mostly just to get her off the hands Mrs. Reed. Jane eventually begins working as a governess, which breaks the typical role of a woman marrying and living her life at home. Because of her profession, Jane was also an outsider to those surrounding her in her immediate world, thus demonstrating the life of a working woman as the living quite solitarily. In Lady Audley's Secret, Robert's initial description in the novel is also negatively portrayed, similarly to Jane. The lack of hard work and the laissez faire qualities of his personality are opposite of what was expected from men during this era. Braddon description of Robert casts a negative portrayal of his lax characteristics and his seemingly meaningless profession, "But he had never either had a brief, or tried to get a brief, or even wished to have a brief in all of those five years, during which his name had been painted upon one of the doors in Fig-tree Court. He was a handsome, lazy, care-for-nothing fellow…" (Braddon 32). Along with his lack of motivation,
She rebelled because she was long deprived of freedom, and her imprisonment. From this isolation Jane manages to learn independence and learns to really only on herself for much needed comfort and entertainment.
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre chronicles the growth of her titular character from girlhood to maturity, focusing on her journey from dependence on negative authority figures to both monetary and psychological independence, from confusion to a clear understanding of self, and from inequality to equality with those to whom she was formerly subject. Originally dependent on her Aunt Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and Mr. Rochester, she gains independence through her inheritance and teaching positions. Over the course of the novel, she awakens towards self-understanding, resulting in contentment and eventual happiness. She also achieves equality with the important masculine figures in her life, such as St. John Rivers and Mr. Rochester, gaining self-fulfillment as an independent, fully developed equal.
Jane started out with no family, causing her to yearn for someone to accept her as their family, treating her with love and respect. At a young age, Jane lost her parents, leaving her with her aunt and cousins. They treated her poorly, acting as if she was incompetent and considering her more of a servant than a family member. Then, they sent her off to school, forgetting about her entirely. Eventually, Jane acquired the family she had always dreamt of. She never felt quite right with other people accepting her, that is, until Mr. Rochester came into her life. She did not feel as though she had found her true family until she had met him. "All these relics gave...Thornfield Hall the aspect of a home of the past: a shrine to memory.” (92). When they get married, her dreams are achieved, as she finally got the family she had always wanted.
Jane not only shows the reader her beliefs on female independence through her actions, but also through her thoughts. Jane desires to see more of the world and have more interaction with its people. While she appreciates her simple life at Thornfield, she regrets that she does not have the means to travel. She relates her feelings to all women, not just those of her class, saying:
At the beginning of the novel while Jane is living under her aunt, Mrs. Reed, she is treated disrespectfully and cruelly. She accuses Jane of being deceitful and a troublesome girl in front of Mr. Brocklehurst, the master of Lowood School. Jane is so hurt by this accusation that she cannot stop herself from defending her well being, and she stands up to her aunt. She knows she is being treated disrespectful and has much more self-worth than ...
The novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, has a plot that is filled with an extraordinary amount of problems. Or so it seems as you are reading it. However, it comes to your attention after you have finished it, that there is a common thread running throughout the book. There are many little difficulties that the main character, the indomitable Jane Eyre, must deal with, but once you reach the end of the book you begin to realize that all of Jane's problems are based around one thing. Jane searches throughout the book for love and acceptance, and is forced to endure many hardships before finding them. First, she must cope with the betrayal of the people who are supposed to be her family - her aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her children, Eliza, Georgiana, and John. Then there is the issue of Jane's time at Lowood School, and how Jane goes out on her own after her best friend leaves. She takes a position at Thornfield Hall as a tutor, and makes some new friendships and even a romance. Yet her newfound happiness is taken away from her and she once again must start over. Then finally, after enduring so much, during the course of the book, Jane finally finds a true family and love, in rather unexpected places.
Jane's oppression begins at Gateshead Hall while living with her Aunt Reed and cousins. For most of her time there, she chooses submission to all their cruelties because she has no choice really. She is a little child with no money and not living relatives that she knows about. John Reed is terrible to her; he teases Jane cruelly and tries to harm her. Jane sees "in him a tyrant: a murderer" in the instance when he yells at her for reading his books and then throws the book at her, drawing blood (13). This is when Jane decides not to remain passive and submit to these cruelties, but to revolt fully against him. She insults him back and physically fights with him. As a result of this, however, Jane is forced to submit to even greater oppression by Mrs. Reed; she is locked in the red-room like an animal. She tries to revolt, but she is unable to accomplish anything at all while locked in the room, except for becoming ill with fear of the room.
Women in the Victorian era were held to an inferior status. Many had to hide their feelings, conceal their creativity and they sought to conform to societal rules. Jane Eyre never quite followed this, growing up in a contemptuous household Eyre acted out, calling her provider, Mrs. Reed, "deceitful" and describing her upbringing as "miserable cruelty" (Bronte 37, 36). Jane's upbringing instills her strong belief in justice toward those who treat others unfairly. When Jane becomes a student at Lowood Institute, the orphan school, Jane endures cruelty from the headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst.
When Jane is shunned by Mr. Brocklehurst in front of the entire Lowood population, Helen is the one person that does not immediately judge Jane. In fact, she makes her feel more comfortable in a place that is filled with punishment and hypocrisy. Though Lowood does not truly feel like home, Helen is able to provide Jane with not only all the compassion she needs as well as support and respect. This is one of the first loves Jane experiences on her journey and it allows her to become more open to the love she finds in her future endeavors.
...rotagonist, Jane is presented in the role of a lower class woman. This is evident in the way that she must work to support herself. Mrs. Fairfax, the tenant at Thornfield Hall is presented in the role of a middle to upper class woman. Although she does not have a family of her own, which is uncharacteristic of middle class women in Victorian times, she has a well paid job and a wonderful house to live in. Charlotte Bronte has given the reader an insight into the role of upper class women through the character of Miss Ingram. She has no job, as her principle in life is to bear a child. Her days consist of social outings and reading or playing the piano. It is therefore evident that there was a great division between the social classes with women. The roles of women altered largely between classes, and Charlotte Bronte has focused on this significantly in her novel.
This classic English novel focuses on Jane’s struggle against societal expectations of class and of gender. Jane had many struggles with many characters throughout the novel, and this essay focused on some of the most important characters and the most important instances. Those struggles helped her become a smart, independent woman.
It is very obvious now that Jane has matured and grown from a little girl with little self-confidence, to a mature and successful woman with self-confidence and experience. The obstacles she had to encounter throughout some of the stages of her life had made her stronger and her self-confidence had grown, also because of certain people in her life. Jane believed in herself and her morals, and as a result was so successful in her life and she was able to achieve a high position of self-confidence at the end of the novel. She developed self-confidence and maintained it my knowing her self-worth, and having faith in what she believes in.