Mr. Rochester pleaded Jane for forgiveness and that they should marry and forget about Bertha Mason and leave with him to France. Jane deceived him by leaving the Thornfield hall in the middle of the night without saying farewell to Mr. Rochester in person.
In Victorian times, women played a very small role when interacting with men. Women held a subservient attitude and did as they were told due to their lower position in society. Two women that significantly went around these rules not only with men but also with anyone around them would be Jane and Bertha Rochester. Throughout the novel they have left their own marks with their actions and words. Her stay at Thornfield has made a tremendous impact on those around her especially Mr. Rochester and Jane. Bertha Rochester has not only left an impact in Jane’s present life but also in her past as well.
Everyone experiences disappointments, however although they may hurt if we learn from them we are able to grow, throughout the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte we see that Jane experiences many disappointments from the start at Gateshead to Lowood and finally Thornfield. However even with as many disappointments she faces she still manages to pick herself up and move on and better herself. One of the biggest disappointments she faced was finding out that her soon to be husband Edward Rochester, had a wife.
To what extent is Jane presented as a victim during her time at
Gateshead in the first four chapters of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre?
The first four chapters of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre draw the
reader into the life and emotions of the heroine of the novel Jane
Eyre and the cruelty she suffers in the hands of the Reeds. These
chapters portray an image of Jane and present her character which
appears to be vulnerable yet determined to stick up for her self.
We learn that Jane is a young girl who is a victim of emotional and
physical abuse from the Reeds, and also suffers from discrimination.
At Gateshead Jane Eyre grew up with her malicious cousins and Aunt. This fictitious location is placed in a part of England north to London. The name Gateshead has significant meaning in the book. This location was the “gateway” to the rest of the world. Also, this is where Jane grew up, so evidentially it was the “head” or beginning of all her tribulations in life. Throughout the rest of the book, all that Jane has to deal with is linked back to her childhood there at Gateshead. Abused verbally and physically by her Aunt and cousins, Jane felt an outsider among her kinsmen. She was ostracized by Aunt Reed from the rest of the family. At one point when her Aunt became extremely oppressive, she locked adolescent Jane into the dreaded “red room”, where Mr. Reed had died. She was frightened that his spirit haunted the room. Jane clearly describes how she feels when saying, “…I lifted my head and tried to look boldly round the dark room: at that moment a light gleamed on the wall. Was it, I asked myself, a ray from the moon penetrating some aperture I the blind? No; moonlight was still, and this stirred: while I gazed, it glided up to the ceiling and quivered over my heard… I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world. My heart beat thick, my head grew hot…I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down-I uttered a wild, involuntary cry-I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort.” (Bronte 17-18) Once Bessie came to rescue Jane’s, Aunt Reed to decided maliciously punish her for crying out and even went to say, “Let her go…loose Bessie’s hand child: you cannot succeed in getting out by these means, be assured. I abhor artifice, particularly in children; it is my duty to s...
The Victorian Era encompassed a time of great discrepancy between the sexes, especially for women. The polarization of gender roles reflected on a basis of gender sexuality where men and women were granted certain advantages and disadvantages. Women were expected to realize a specific position in society based on morals of submission, passivity, and a complete lack of selfishness and independence. Constrictive notions such as these prevent individual expression and expansion. Therefore, while struggling to fill the pre-conceived expectancies of society, one forces true desires and happiness to pass as a scant priority. Charlotte Brontë's Victorian novel, Jane Eyre, explores the significance of individual fulfillment in an oppressive society through the main character, Jane Eyre, as she evolves during her journey with the effect of her relationships as well.
Charlotte Bronte is, first and foremost, a storyteller at heart. She broke a mold for women at her time because there were not many occupations that were deemed acceptable besides ‘teacher’ or ‘governess’ in the mid-nineteenth century. Her imagination was far too creative to be left unwritten on a page. Charlotte Bronte’s writings reflect her opinions on women’s roles in society and such opinion is shown in Jane Eyre. Although Jane Eyre was considered radical for its time because women weren’t supposed to play the role of heroine, Jane Eyre rises up from her oppressors, fights for what she thinks is right, and above all stays true to herself and today is considered a true role model for heroine characters.
Rochester, Jane is forced to evaluate her desire for equality against her desire for love. Jane could either stay at Thornfield to be Mr. Rochester’s mistress, or she could leave to face a life without money, a job, or a home. Ultimately, Jane realizes she must not have any compromise in her beliefs on marriage which in turn means giving up her love for Rochester as she says “I do love you, more than ever: but I must not show or indulge the feeling: and this is the last time I must express it” (Bronte 259). Jane would rather abandon her love than give up control over her own destiny. Rich supports this notion in her article as she states, “Jane’s rebellion against Rochester’s arrogance-for in pleading with her to stay with him against the lows of her own integrity - forces her to act on her own behalf even if it causes him intense suffering, even though she still loves him” (Rich 8). Even before her engagement to Rochester, Jane would repeatedly dismiss lavish gifts from Rochester, as for her to not be dependent upon him. As Rochester attempts to bestow more extravagant gifts upon Jane, she says, “the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation” (Bronte 229). With each present, Jane can sense her independence decreasing, yet by rejecting his gifts Jane is able to maintain a form of power over Rochester. After leaving Thornfield, Jane arrives at Marsh End, where her self-identity is
When we first meet Jane she is a young and orphaned girl with little self-confidence and hope of feelings a sense of belonging and self worth. It is unfair that Jane already feels lonely and desperate in such a cruel world as it is. Jane is open with her thoughts during her narration, “…humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed” (Bronte 7). Jane already feels as though she cannot participate in everyday activities because she acknowledges that she is a weaker person. By Jane believing she is weak she is succumbing to her own entrapment. The novel opens with Jane feeling inadequate about going on a walk with her cousins and the novel ends with Jane embarking on a journey of her very own, this is not a coincidence.
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.