Since ancient history, women have been labeled as gatherers, cooks, nurses, governesses, maids, or, simply, housewives. They had no civil rights, or any rights for that matter. Women were treated as objects who existed for men’s pleasure. Until very recent history, women struggled to survive in a “man’s world.” Whether it was art, literature, music, politics, or law, women faced a vast obstacle – their gender. The society was not ready to accept that women could be as competitive, as smart, as powerful, as ambitious and as passionate as men. Most women agreed to degrade their intellect and suppress their ambition, because that seemed to be easy at the
Apart from the orphans at Lowood and recluses at Marsh End (who are social outsiders themselves), characters in Jane Eyre shun the protagonist from their social circles. For example, at Gateshead, John Reed marginalizes Jane by calling her a “dependent” who doesn’t deserve to live amongst “gentleman’s children” (8). Mrs. Reed likewise separates Jane from the Reeds’ social circle by confining her to the nursery while her cousins spend their days in the drawing room (22) and calling Mr. Lloyd, the apothecary for “ailing servants,” instead of the family physician for Jane’s illness (15), thus placing her among the servants. However, the servants too reject Jane from their group—Miss Abbot told Jane that she is “less than a servant” because she does “nothing for [her] keep” (9). Jane thus
Imprisonment and constraint, can be felt in many different scenarios in the passage from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. However, we get these two feelings with a girl who is portrayed as an orphan in this chapter. When being an orphan many feelings can run through a person’s mind, for example abandonment and not feeling loved, or being/feeling trapped. The feeling of imprisonment and constraint in this chapter is expressed through the use of imagery and diction.
It is ironic that Jane is seen as the guilty party in the incident with John Reed because John started the fight when he slapped Jane. Then when John’s sisters, Eliza and Georgina, go to “tattle tale” on Jane, their mother blames Jane for the whole situation. Jane compares John to a “murderer,” “slave-driver,” and “Roman Emperors” (Bronte 9). During this comparison, she is implying that he is a very cruel and awful person. That he would beat her and boss her around.
The novel incorporates Jane’s frequent conflicts, oppression, isolation and self-examination as she defends her identity and independence. Set amongst five separate locations, Bronte’s skilful use of literal and metaphorical landscapes, nature, and imagery, skilfully intertwines with the plot and denotes each phrase of her maturity. To deliberate these points further, the setting of Gateshead, Lowood and Thornfield will be closely analysed. Additionally, it will discuss how Bronte used the setting of Jane Eyre, to demonstrate that women can go beyond the oppressive limitations of their gender, and social class and find fulfilment. It will also consider how the setting reflects the political and social conditions of the era.
As an adult, Jane asserts her independence by rejecting unequal marriage. When Jane finds out that the man she was to marry, Mr. Rochester, was already wed, she ran away. Mr. Rochester pleaded passionately for her to stay, revealing his unfortunate history and even threatening to use physical force to restrain Jane. Both tactics failed since, as Jane puts it, her conscience personified strangles her passion for Rochester. Being a mistress to Rochester in addition to being financially and socially inferior to him prompts her to leave him. When a new suitor, St. John, proposes to Jane, she again rejects the marriage. This time, it 's because St. John plainly states that Jane would be subordinate to him as a missionary 's wife. Jane soon leaves St. John too. It 's only when Jane is fortified financially through an inheritance and socially by newly discovered family that Jane marries a blind and crippled Mr. Rochester. A marriage without equality, according to Bronte, shouldn 't have to be the only option
Though, upon the marriage with Mr. Rochester, Jane shows another side of her feministic character. The independent Jane, starts to question her role in the marriage. Jane hated that Mr. Rochester bought pretty jewelleries and dresses for her;” the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation” (Brontë, 321). One can interpret this as Jane worries that the marriage would lessen her independence and put her at an inferior position. The fact that Mr. Rochester buys her all these things makes Jane feel objectified, and she could not tolerate it. Once again, this signals the feministic opinions that the character of Jane is associated with. Jane and Mr. Rochester does not get married during this section of the book, due to the fact that he is already in a marriage. The way Jane distance herself from objectification, and the fact that they do not get married (in this part of the book) contradict the ordinary romantic novels in this contemporary
Jane Eyre is a female Bildungsroman written by Charlotte Brontë in 1848. In the novel we follow the protagonist, a young Victorian woman who struggles to overcome the oppressive patriarchal society in which she is entrapped. It is a story of enclosure and escape, from the imprisonment of her childhood to the possible entrapment of her daunting marriage. Throughout the novel Jane must fight against her inevitable future that society has already chosen for her. We see her attempt to overcome the confinements of her given gender, background and status. She must prove her worth against the men she encounters throughout her life, showing her equality in intelligence and strength. Her refusal to submit to her social destiny shocked many Victorian readers when the novel was first released and this refusal to accept the forms, customs, and standards of society made it one of the first rebellious feminism novels of its time (Gilbert and Gubar). This essay will discuss the relationships Jane formed with the men she encountered throughout the novel and will attempt to identify moments of patriarchal oppression within the story.
It isn 't until Jane is happily married to Rochester at Ferndean that she has a sense of community. Jane expresses her desire to be with Rochester when she says, "I 'll not leave you on my own accord" (Bronte 546). This is the first time in the novel that Jane expresses content with who she 's with where she is living. Jane describes her marriage by saying, "I am my husband 's life as fully as he is mine. No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am" (Bronte 554). It is evident that Jane feels a close connection with Rochester, and this is one of the first times in her life that she doesn 't feel isolated from everyone she is with.
Her love is loyal and steadfast. Jane Eyre aspires after true love and she overcomes the obstacles in the process of pursing true love. At last, she succeeds and lives a happy life with her lover. Through the detailed analysis of Jane Eyre’s struggle for self-realization, it is known that whatever difficulties one encounters in his life, never be a quitter is the only way that one can do. Jane Eyre proves to the world of the 1800s that a woman beating the odds to become independent and successful on her own was not as far-fetched as it may have seemed. Jane goes against the expected type by “refusing subservience, disagreeing with her superiors, standing up for her rights, and venturing creative thoughts” (Margaret, 1997, p. 325-346). She is not only successful in terms of wealth and position, but more importantly, in terms of family and love. These two needs that have evaded Jane for so long are finally hers. Adding to her victory is her ability to enjoy both without losing her hard-won independence. Everybody has the rights to pursue happiness, to pursue the true spirit of life, which can be seen from Jane Eyre’s struggle for independence and equality. Jane Eyre’s story tells us that in a man-dominated society, a woman should strive for the decency and dignity. In face of hardships in life, the courageous woman should be brave enough to battle against it. Self-esteem is the primary element to protect. And the feminism taught how to defend ourselves. Whenever
As punishment for her act of resistance, the eponymous heroine is confined to the frightful "red room" (Brontë, 5-14). Imprisoned for her insolence in the horrifying red room at Gateshead, Jane remembers: “My heart beat thick, my head grew hot, a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings: something seemed near me, I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down—I uttered a wild, involuntary cry—I rushed to the door and shook the lock in disparate effort.” (Brontë, 22) This opening confrontation sets the stage for what will be the central struggle of the work. Jane's struggle to make her voice heard and to express the truth of her own experience. Jane Eyre is very much the product of the specific time and place in which it was written, an environment in which a woman, especially an economically disadvantaged one, has to struggle greatly so that she might speak of her own vision of reality. According to the critic Maggie Berg, Jane Eyre reflects “the contradictory nature of Victorian society, a society that was in transition, and one in which people were forced to discover new ways of finding and defining identity” (Berg, 17). The world that Charlotte Bronte inhabited was rife with dichotomies.
Before Rochester, and his influence, Jane had been accustomed to men in power such as John Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst. Their influences on Jane were more negative as they tore Jane down instead of putting her up. These figures allowed the arrival of a seemingly encouraging, kind, and adoring man such as Rochester to be a shock to Jane when she was first employed at Thornfeild. This stems Janes biggest growth from Rochester, the bettering of her self-esteem. Due to Rochester’s exaggerative language he constantly teaches her the value of her self-worth and her beauty. This enhances her confidence, and teaches her to follow her instinct rather than the
Charlotte Bronte’s classic heartfelt novel entitled “Jane Eyre” depicts how an unloved orphan constantly wishes for affection and acceptance throughout her life. Even at an early age in life, she never truly understood what it meant to be “loved” and what it means to “love” others. With this, maturing into a young lady definitely opened her eyes to the realities of life. Moreover, the novel also depicts a patriarchal society where women aren’t respected with dignity and equality. In this coming of age novel, discover how a young woman courageously faced her fears and triumphed with love in the end. Unraveling the acclaimed novel definitely showcased how in the end “Love conquers all”. Truly, Jane Eyre will forever remain as a masterpiece of art due to its dynamic characters, insightful themes and exquisitely crafted sense of style and writing.
The protagonist from “The Turn of the Screw”, is perceived to be despearate as she tries to achieve her dream but her personal pride leads her to an unstable condition. The author depicts the Governess believing that to attain her goal of gaining attentionby her employer, she must be a hero. Therefore, she invents lies about seeing her predessors haunting her pupils. Nonetheless, the more times James makes the Governess mention the ghosts the more she believes they are real and they, “want to get them (the children)” (82). The Governess is blinded by making it appear she sees the ghosts that she looses herself in her own lies leading her to an unstable condition of not knowing what is real or not. As found in “Jane Eyre” and “The Turn of the
Charlotte Bronte takes us on a journey from the point which Jane Eyre, the protagonist lives with her aunt and cousins whom very much dislikes her in Gateshead to her going to a boarding school in Lowood, after which she becomes a governess in Thornfield where she falls in love with Mr. Rochester her employer whom she later finds out is married to a mad woman by the name of Bertha Mason, upon her discovery of this she picks up and leaves Thornfield, she then ends up at Marsh End where he meets her relatives. The novel carries us through ever important event in her life, which introduces us to new aspects of her personality, up until her eventual marriage to Mr. Rochester. The novel fits this theme as its protagonist chooses individualism as she refuses to take the role subservience as that of a traditional female of the Victorian era society, she stands up for her rights and want she believes in, she ventures in her own unique thoughts, and stands by her views even if it means disagreeing with those superior to her. Jane comments on the role of women in society and the greater constraint imposed on them.