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representation of varies women in the novel jane eyre
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The Novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte symbolized a new era in the history of literature. It not only awakened women’s awareness to being independent, but also brought about a completely new concept of the value of life to a woman. Ideas like marriage based on love and respect and not social ranks where considered very controversial at the time. Even though the idea may have been considered controversial, Bronte had no trouble making her novel defy all odds. This also included her heroine, Jane Eyre, who demonstrates the image of a woman who is kind, free spirited, and most importantly, brave enough to say “no” to the social conventions. Critics agree that Charlotte Bronte’s truly ground breaking story beautifully explores and appreciates the spirit of feminism, and it is clearly reflected throughout the novel.
One of the many examples of feminism throughout the novel is the way women are treated by men. The novel was written in the early nineteenth century when men played the leading role in society. All women were supposed to do was follow the instructions of men and do nothing le...
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. A novel creates its own internal world through the language that it uses, and this fictional world may be quite independent from the real physical world in which we live” (Johnson). Bronte creates another world through her enlightening form of writing that has the reader connected to the novel as much as Riordan has on the readers in The Lightning Thief. “Reader, I married him” (Bronte 457). This line from the novel is one of the most iconic lines in literature because after all the terrible things she had to endure, Jane finally
The novel starts begins with Jane’s childhood years at Gateshead, the home of the Reeds. At Gateshead, Jane is emotionally and physically abused by her aunt Mrs. Reed and her cousins. Mrs. Reed makes her dislike for Jane obvious by treating Jane like a burden and keeping children from interacting with Jane. In her absence, Mrs. Reed’s children, particularly John, continue to bully poor Jane. In the beginning of the novel, Jane defends herself against John, but this act ends up getting herself sent up to the red-room. In this red-room, Bronte shows how much those years of mistreatment affected Jane:
In her article, “A Dialogue of Self and Soul: Plain Jane’s Progress,” Sandra M. Gilbert begins by identifying what shocked Victorian audiences disliked about Jane Eyre. Gilbert acknowledges that many modern critics believed, “the novel’s power arose from its mythologizing of Jane’s confrontation with masculine sexuality” (483). Though this aspect of Jane Eyre caused grumblings among reviewers, the real issue with the novel was, “its ‘ant-Christian’ refusal to accept the forms, customs, and standards of society—in short, its rebellious feminism” (Gilbert 483). Gilbert’s feminist read of this Bildungsroman tracks the progression of Jane Eyre from enclosure to equality and freedom.
Reactions to Patriarchal Oppression by Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason. Missing Works Cited Jane Eyre and Bertha Mason are both oppressed by the British patriarchal system, where men are the makers, interpreters, and enforcers of social and political rules. However, these two women differ greatly in the ways that they accept and cope with the reality of their place in society, and it is these differences that ultimately determine their fate. Jane Eyre follows the rules. Although she initially revolts against what she believes to be unfair restrictions at Gateshead and Lowood, she soon discovers that rebellion carries a high price and, over time, she learns to modify her behavior to conform to socially accepted norms.
Charlotte Brontё's, Jane Eyre (1847), is a classic Victorian novel that entrances readers to Victorian society. Written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First, the novel is Brontё’s second novel, “though the first to see print” (Gaskell, 1857) with 500 publications. The society revolves around the strict class-based social system and hence a predominant belief that social class defines social behaviour. Through a thorough analysis of Victorians being unable to withhold the set belief, discussing the way this has altered the role of the intended reader to sympathise with Jane Eyre during the course of the novel, and Queen Victoria's prudish female rights is the main reason to the eruption of individualistic values in classes other than those of the upper class. Henceforth the establish belief is false, and Brontё's Victorian readers cannot be forgiven as the truth of individualism is clear to the majority of society, with the exception of the upper class that ascertains the false belief.
This novel was one of the most radical books of the Victorian Era. It portrayed women as equals to men. It showed that it was possible that men could even be worse than women, through John and Jane. It taught the Victorians never to judge a book by its cover. The novel would not be as successful were it not for Charlotte Brontë’s talent in writing, and were it not for the literary devices employed.
In Jane Eyre novel, Bronte shapes a tough and independent woman who pursues equality. Bronte is able to portray Jane’s strong character by showing her feminist development throughout the novel from place to place. Jane starts off as a dependent character in the Reeds’ home. She is abused and taken advantage of by her aunt Mrs.Reed and her cousin John Reed, leading to her punishment in a cold room for speaking out of the injustices. After being locked in for a night with her own thoughts, her early feminism cames out and she refuses to be treated as an inferior. Jane resorts back straightly and powerfully to Mrs. Reed before moving away to a disciplinary boarding school Lowood, “ I shall remember how you push me back-roughly and violently pushed
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
Explore how Charlotte Bronte presents the character of Jane Eyre in the novel of the same name, noting the effects of social and historical influences on the text. Jane Eyre was a plain and insignificant unloved orphan, she was cared for by her aunt Reed, who did not like her but was obliged to look after her because it was a request of Mr. Reed who was also Jane's uncle. Eventually she was sent away to school after fighting with her bullying cousin John and getting locked in the room her Uncle died in, and she fainted. The school was awful with a horrible owner and bad conditions; there was a typhus epidemic in which her friend Helen Burns died.
How does Bront portray Jane as an unconventional female character in the novel Jane Eyre? Jane Eyre was published in 1847, during the reign of Queen Victoria. The novel was written by Charlotte Bront, but published under the pseudonym Currer Bell. Pseudonyms were used frequently by women at this point in time, as they were believed to be inferior to men. The The work of female authors was not as well respected as those of male writers.
Similar to many of the great feministic novels of its time, Jane Eyre purely emerges as a story focused on the quest for love. The novel’s protagonist, Jane, searches not only for the romantic side of love, but ultimately for a sense of self-worth and independence. Set in the overlapping times of the Victorian and Gothic periods, the novel touches upon both women’s supposed rights, and their inner struggle for liberty. Orphaned at an early age, Jane was born into a modest lifestyle, without any major parent roles to guide her through life’s obstacles. Instead, she spent much of her adolescent years locked in imaginary chains, serving those around her but never enjoying the many decadences life has to offer. It is not until Jane becomes a governess that many minute privileges become available to her and offer Jane a glance at what life could have been. It is on her quest for redemption and discovery that she truly is liberated. Throughout Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre, the story’s protagonist Jane, struggles to achieve the balance of both autonomy and love, without sacrificing herself in the process.
The article Preface to "What Policies Would Promote Social Justice for Women?" written in 2010 states same idea related to the work Jane Eyre about gender equality. Despite the theoretical relevance of sexual inequality and Jane Eyre the feminist literature signifying the importance of gender issues that needs to change relations on social position. Also, these analyses the impact of changing issues now a days. It is quite surprising that the same issue is continuing over the centuries. The author of the article Preface to "What Policies Would Promote Social Justice for Women?" mentions gender inequality in business, politics, education, and other areas has been closely studied. “Gender discrimination is not limited to the business world. There
cannot be the business of a woman's life, and it ought not to be. The more
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.