Throughout history women have struggled to become equal with men. Even though women are not exactly equal with men today because of things like unequal pay, they are closer to being equal than in other periods of history. Particularly, women now are much closer to being equal with men than in the Victorian Era of Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë. In the Victorian Era, women were largely expected to obey men, while in modern times, women are expected to be independent. Furthermore, now that women have more rights than in the Victorian Era, they rely less on men and therefore spend their lives very differently from the Victorian Era. If Jane Eyre took place today, many of the characters would have made different choices based on the way gender roles have changed and affect society. Women Jane Eyre are forced by society to act certain ways while relying on men to support them much unlike modern women.
Until very recently, the norm for women was to grow up to marry a man and become a stay-at-home mother. Now the norm has evolved and girls are expected to be independent unless they happen upon a man to whom they wish to marry. Before, girls grew up learning things like how to do chores around the house, while men traditionally went school for the sake of getting a job in the future. In Jane Eyre, Jane attends Lowood, an all girls school that teaches basic lessons and strict discipline. When Mr. Brocklehurst, the head of Lowood school, come to take Jane away he immediately shows his power over her, representing the harsh punishment of Lowood School and to teach the girls to listen to men. Mrs. Reed also mentions then that, “[She] should wish [Jane] to be brought up in a manner suiting [Jane’s] prospects . . . to be made usefu...
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A modern day version of Jane Eyre would be very different from the original version because of the way gender norms have evolved from the Victorian Era to present day. The main difference between the Victorian Era and today is the way that women are treated. In the Victorian Era, women depended largely on men and men took advantage of that. Likewise, women were expected to act feminine and proper so when the broke the norm, other women reprimanded the deviant woman. Both men and women took a stand against improper women which forced women to adhere to social norms in the Victorian Era. Now that women are punished less for drifting from classical social norms, they have more social freedom to do what they want. The expected gender roles in Jane Eyre, forces women to suppress who they really are, while modern women are not restricted to act certain ways.
Jane has been dealt a rough hand of cards, she hasn’t felt love or care from anyone, she doesn’t know what love feels like. She has owned very little, and throughout the book she refers to herself as dull and plain. “ ‘Did you expect a present, Miss Eyre? Are you fond of presents?’ and he searched my face with eyes that I saw were dark, irate and piercing. ‘I hardly know, sir; I have little experience of them: they are generally thought pleasant things’” (Brontë 81). Now that Jane left Lowood it seems to be as if she wants more independence. She doesnt like being bossed around. She wants to do her own
Jane Eyre is about a girl named Jane who struggles to find who she really is and with it what she really wants. “As a model for women readers in the Victorian period and throughout the twentieth century to follow, Jane Eyre encouraged them to make their own choices in living their lives, to develop respect for themselves, and to become individuals” (Markley). One of the reasons why this book gained merit was because of its striking presence within its time period. During the “Victorian Age” woman did not have much say in society, so this novel broke boundaries to societal norms that restricted woman from things they have today. “Brontë is able to enact this tension through her characters and thus show dramatically the journey of a woman striving for balance within her nature.
Actually, well into this book I was afraid it was going to be another one of those English countryside, woman-gets-married novels. I was reminded of a friend's comment a few years back to "avoid the Brontes like the plague." But of course there is a little more than courting going on here. For example, if you compare Jane with one of Jane Austen's young women coming into society, you have a bit more adventure, roughness, and connection to nature. I don't think a Jane Austen character would wander around the forest, sleeping without cover in the wilds of the night to prove a moral point. Jane Eyre can get dirt under her fingernails--that's the difference. You also get more emotion in Jane Eyre, you feel with her, deep hate (for Mrs. Reed), religious conviction (with ...
Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Brontë, was published in 1847 by Smith, Elder & Company, in London. This year is exactly ten years into Queen Victoria’s sixty-four year reign of the British Empire. The Victorian Era was renowned for its patriarchal Society and definition by class. These two things provide vital background to the novel, as Jane suffers from both. Jane Eyre relates in some ways to Brontë’s own life, as its original title suggest, “Jane Eyre: An Autobiography”. Charlotte Brontë would have suffered from too, as a relatively poor woman. She would have been treated lowly within the community. In fact, the book itself was published under a pseudonym of Currer Bell, the initials taken from Brontë’s own name, due to the fact that a book published by a woman was seen as inferior, as they were deemed intellectually substandard to men. Emily Brontë, Charlotte’s sister, was also forced to publish her most famous novel, Wuthering Heights, under the nom de plume of Ellis Bell, again taking the initials of her name to form her own alias. The novel is a political touchstone to illustrate the period in which it was written, and also acts as a critique of the Victorian patriarchal society.
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.
Bronte wrote Jane Eyre to emphasize her beliefs behind the purpose of women, and how society lacked to understand them as who they were created to be. The issue of lack of opportunity for women to engage in intellectual preparation and continuation is prevalent within the character of Jane. Expectation of women’s role was a social norm, with a lack of diversity or individuality. Bronte challenges this issue through the character of Jane, whom experiences a tug-of-war sensation between being herself, who she wants to be and should be, and what society wants her to be, and pushes her to be. Bronte was trying to explain that women have the same capability as men to be productive individuals of society, but they are held back from establishing their potential. The most unique understanding of Bronte’s challenge to society is the understanding that the characteristics and personality of Jane as a female is shamed and criticized, however these features are identical to those of a successful and representable man in
Bronte is known as one of the first revolutionary and challenging authoress’ with her text Jane Eyre. The society of her time was male dominated, women were marginally cast aside and treated as trophies for their male counterparts. Their main role in life was to be a mother and a wife, “ Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life……the more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure she will have for it.” A quote from a letter Robert Southey wrote to Bronte. A clear sign of the mentality and opposition Bronte was up against. A woman’s “proper duties” of course being to tend and wait on her “master’s” every whim and need. Women during Bronte’s time had no clear voice, none that was of any merit, they were a silent category of society, silenced by their male oppressors. Bronte’s book was in fact written before the first women’s rights movement had happened, yet it puts forward an image of an independent strong character, of a passionate and almost rebellious nature. A character “refusing subservience, disagreeing with her superiors, standing up for her right’s, and venturing creative thoughts.” I put forward that Bronte throughout her text not only revises the themes of male power and oppression, but reconstructs them also. The text is a female bildungsroman of it’s time, sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly tackling the patriarchal view of women.
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.
The story of Jane Eyre is very much about the status of women in the
...isted of many roles, but mostly consisted of the governess teaching her students to become adequate adults. Nevertheless, a governess must face many challenges and hardships. Through Jane Eyre's experiences as a governess, readers are able to gain a sense of what it is like to be a governess. Even though it seems that Jane has it easy in some ways there are many realistic things that happen to her that makes her experience similar to experiences of traditional governesses. In many aspects Jane Eyre is the embodiment of a Victorian governess. However, her strong-willed, independent, and assertive qualities seem to make her an exception to the ordinary governess as well, which clearly undermines what most governesses had to endure. Bronte does involve some realities of domestic service in the 19th century but more of Jane’s story has things that were very unrealistic.
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.
Bronte’s Jane Eyre is brimming with feminist ideology rebuking Victorian-Era gender-roll ethics and ideals. As a creative, independent woman with a strong personality and will growing up during this period of female repression, Bronte wrote Jane Eyre as a feminist message to society. She criticizes the average, servile, ignorant Victorian woman, and praises a more assertive, independent, and strong one. She does this through her protagonist Jane, who embodies all of Bronte’s ideal feminine characteristics. She is a strong woman, both mentally and physically, who seeks independence and is in search of individuality, honesty, and above all equality both in marriage and in society in a world that does not acknowledge women as individuals.
Although written during both the Victorian and Gothic time period, Jane Eyre draws upon many revolutionary influences that ultimately enabled it to become one of the most successful books of all time. Jane Eyre is merely a hybrid of a Victorian and Gothic novel, infusing a share of dark allusions with overzealous romanticism. The primitive cultures of the Victorian period reflect high ethical standards, an extreme respect for family life, and devotional qualities to God, all in which the novel portrays. Yet, to merely label Jane Eyre as a Victorian novel would be misleading. While the characteristics of a Gothic no...
Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre represents the role of women in the Victorian era by giving the reader an insight into the lives of women from all social classes. Jane Eyre therefore represents figures of the Victorian time yet the character of Jane Eyre, herself, can be seen as very unconventional for the Victorian society.
The development of Charlotte Bronte's character, Jane Eyre, becomes vital to her novel Jane Eyre, and the other characters in which she is involved. She is an intelligent, plain featured, honest young girl whose reaction to her situations brings more depth to her personality. She is forced to deal with oppression, discrimination, and at times poverty, which disrupt her strong will, dignity, and desire for freedom. At the beginning, Jane possesses a passion for pride and the idea of freedom and these characteristics, along with her integrity, are tested continuously throughout the novel by the many personalities with whom she encounters. Living in a male dominant world Jane is expected to remain obedient and docile and her passion sometimes keeps her from being able to do this. She is a rarity among obeying female characters and we see this throughout the book.