Social Protest in Jane Eyre

Social Protest in Jane Eyre

Social protest is an act of express opposition through words to do

with social issues. This is what charlotte Bronte did by writing this

book, ‘Jane Eyre’.

Mainly Charlotte Bronte was protesting against the position of middle

class women, social inequality between the rich and the poor and

marrying above or below status. These issues were very important in

the Victorian times. Charlotte Bronte was very critical of the

Victorian society. To her everything was not fair. The book ‘Jane

Eyre’ is based on a true-life story. It is just like a reflection of

Charlotte Bronte’s life and the way she was treated. People were

divided into different classes: upper, middle and lower class. All

these classes were treated differently and unfairly. The upper class

were the highest of the classes; they were treated with the most

respect and honour. Middle class then was divided into, upper and

lower middle class. Upper middle class were treated more or less the

same as upper class individuals, they were respected and people below

them obeyed them. Lower middle class middle class mostly consisted of

orphans who were dependents; people who were of a higher class then

raised them. Working class was the lowest class of them all; the

majority of them were treated like slaves, and were not given any

self-respect. Nearly all of them had jobs even the children. Women of

that age were not given any rights: they were not allowed to vote,

they were not allowed to pursue an occupation outside of their home,

even if they had a job it would have been lower down the scale.

Children at that time were seen, but not heard. Lower class c...

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...Master Reed. If Jane didn’t

live in Gateshead she would have been sent to live in an orphanage

where she will be poorly treated. One similarity is that Jane was

locked in the Red Room she was locked away from everybody else who was

living at Gateshead. This is similar to Bertha Mason being locked

away on the third floor. She also was locked away from everybody at

Thornfield. The only differecnce is that Bertha Mason had a maid and

Jane did not. Another thing that was different about the two ordeals

is that Bertha Mason got locked up for something that she couldn’t

control and Jane got locked up for something that she could control.

Jane had spent only one night locked up and Bertha Mason spent the

whole of her marriage to Rochester up on the third floor.

There are quite a few differences between the two ordeals.