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Society in the Victorian era
The developments of the Victorian age
The developments of the Victorian age
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Recommended: Society in the Victorian era
The Victorian era in England was one of strict propriety, and the temperate state of existence saw little criticism in direct conversation. A perseverant few, however, found subtle ways to question the status quo. Charlotte Brontë, author of Jane Eyre, was among them. Jane's encounter with a soothsayer, in which the prophetic hag asserts that Jane's rigid morals hamper her happiness, highlights Brontë's critical attitude towards the Victorian state of being. In her analysis of what the different parts of Jane's body intimate about her future prospects, the fortuneteller only finds an "enemy to a fortunate issue...in the brow." The phrase "fortunate issue" means prosperous offspring to the superficial reader, but in preceding paragraphs, …show more content…
However, the old woman does mention that Jane needs to "stretch out your hand, and take it [happiness] up" in order to gain happiness (171), and the hag claims that the brow believes "I have an inward treasure." That the brow is content with its "inward treasure" implies that it has no desire to reach for happiness, and so "fortunate issue" has a meaning identical to that of happiness; thus the brow is an of Jane's happiness. The reason that the brow stymies happiness shows the absurdity of the Victorian life. According to the soothsayer, the brow "professes" that "I have an inward treasure, born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld." This is an argument against how Victorians lauded austerity: Victorians purported to believe that discomfort was virtuous and purported to shun worldly pleasures, and Jane's brow "professes" to be able to forego all that is carnal and appetizing. While outwardly, Victorians obstinately vouched for self-restraint, they stealthily and cannily indulged in secret; thus the word "profess." After criticizing the Victorian's hypocrisy, the old woman goes on to denounce their hauteur, which has deeper roots than their faked moral standards, and which another inhibitor of …show more content…
Where earlier the brow "professes," here it "declares": "Reason sits firm and holds the reins, and she will not let the feelings burst away and hurry her to wild chasms." The forehead has a deep-seated idea that it can dominate lowly emotions, and it clings to reason, believing that natural tendencies can only lead one astray. Reason, however, is not reason in the sense that it is known today; religion has a vital role in this form of reason. To Jane's forehead, emotions constitute relics of the primordial faiths that preceded Christianity: "The passions may rage furiously, like true heathens, as they are." Jane's forehead equates the "passions," or emotions, that she is able to suppress to "heathens," or pagans. Similarly, pious Victorians revere Christianity and disparage more primitive religions; therefore, Jane's forehead, the threat of Jane's happiness, is so partly because of Victorian superciliousness. No matter which misfortunes Jane faces, the stalwart forehead will remain Victorian: "desires may imagine all sorts of vain things: but judgment will still have the last word in every argument....Strong wind, earthquake-shock, and fire pass by: but I shall follow the guiding of that still small voice which interprets the
Pain, misery and disappointment are all a significant part of this world’s concepts of both life and love. A prime example of this is displayed in Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, where the protagonist, Jane, suffers through a particularly difficult life; her love is constantly stripped from her the moment she is relishing it most. With Bronte’s introduction of Bertha Rochester, Jane’s never-ending cycle of disappointment and loss of love.
During the era were Jane lived it was thought to be a selfish for women to show desire, it was a bad emotion that women were expected to control and keep quite. To perform one's duty to society was thought to be respectful and should be put before anything else. Desire is a term to want something or someone very strongly no matter what the outcome is. Duty in contrast, is a moral obligation to something that somebody is obliged to do for moral, legal, or religious reasons , which is thought to be selfless. The decisions made regarding these emotions are significant throughout Jane Eyre. Charlotte Bronte shows us Jane’s integrity helps her find the balance between duty to herself, and desire to stay.
Jane Eyre, a conscientious young governess, tells her master, Mr. Rochester, that she dislikes speaking nonsense. Mr. Rochester tells her quite frankly, "If you did, it would be in such a grave, quiet manner, I should mistake it for sense...I see you laugh rarely; but you can laugh very merrily: believe me, you are not naturally austere" (141). In this way is the inner struggle between feelings and judgment recognized and revealed. In Charlotte Brontë's novel, Jane Eyre, Mr. Rochester, St. John Rivers, and Jane Eyre all struggle with feelings versus judgment.
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.
... self-worth. She believes that there is a chance for her to change her future. She had to make certain sacrifices in order to discover her strength, true friendships and her self-worth. She sacrifices her love to preserve her self-worth. After realizing her marriage to Rochester cannot be lawful and will mean surrendering her sense of dignity and virtue, she leaves him. When Jane leaves Thornfield she says “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself” (Bronte 336). In the end, she finds her happiness, as she is now with the man she loves, she preserves her self-worth without sacrificing her integrity.
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.
posts, this was felt to be a women's job as it is the mother who would
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.
The novel Jane Eyre details one woman’s journey to find a place for herself in a world that does not want her. In order to do this, she must find internal strength and solace. For a large portion of the novel, she seeks and fails to find this through external forces. For every two steps forward, she takes one step back because of external forces that draw her away from this internal self. However, Jane does manage to progress and eventually find internal happiness. Her journey and her turn to the external, battle with the internal, and eventual acceptance of her internal self in spite of external forces is embodied in the external and internal imagery that Bronte uses throughout the course of the novel. Such imagery is inherently necessary to Jane’s evolution.
So it is not surprising to find that the Victorians also placed great faith in bodily appearance. To the Victorians, a face and figure could reveal the inner thoughts and emotions of the individual as reliably as clothing indicated his occupation. There is abundant evidence of the pervasiveness of this belief in the literature of the period. According to Reed, "Victorian literature abounds with expressions of faith in physiognomy" (336). He quotes a passage from Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre to prove the point: "Jane Eyre, for example, trusts her initial perception of Rochester, whose brow 'showed a solid enough mass of intellectual organs, but an abrupt deficiency where the suave sign of benevolence should have risen'" (146; ch. 14, Reed 336).
Although most see Jane as impassioned, we see her strive to meet a balance with passion and reason. A complete balance is not reached in Jane Eyre, but the issue it brings forth applies to us today. In the ideal world we could reach a sense of balance between them, but many will rather have a `warm slush' mixture. Still, as Jane did, we will have the ability to choose the right one. In the end, the opposing forces show us that maybe striving for one or the other won't bring happiness as it did to Jane.
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.
Helen's advice to Jane teaches her self-possession, to endure hardships that come her way and forgive those who bring them.... ... middle of paper ... ... Jane feels that becoming Rochester's mistress would be "degrading", highlighting Jane's strong, feministic values (317). Jane conceals her passion for reason, as she is firm in her morality.
...ighting for acknowledgement in a society dominated by males. She, unlike her aunt, is not afraid to stand up to John, and is not bossed around by him. She is constantly fighting with him. Bronte uses this difference between Jane and the other women characters to create the picture in her reader’s mind, that women who display the behaviors of the classical Victorian female are bad, and that the women who show independence and individuality are good.