Jane Eyre As A Feminist Novel

Feminism in Jane Eyre

Feminism can be defined as the belief that women should have equal economic, social, and political rights as those that are offered to men. Feminist ideas have been a dominating topic in the literature world for centuries because of the various views on the subject. The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte shook Victorian England because it refuted the conventional views on how women should be seen as “less” than men. Bronte’s Jane Eyre describes a girl who was born to challenge the typical beliefs that women were property and unequal to their male counterparts. The character of Jane Eyre is a representative of feminist qualities of the Victorian Era by showing independence, intelligence, and determination throughout the

In the Victorian Era, education for women was one of the only ways that people from poor families could prove their worth. Most beliefs were that women could not learn more than vocational skills, such as knitting. Yet, Jane begins to demonstrate her intelligence at a young age by reading in her Uncle John’s library, which develops her imagination of what lies outside of Gateshead. When introduced to the idea that she could obtain an education, Jane thought to herself, “Besides, school would be a complete change: it implied a long journey, an entire separation from Gateshead, an entrance into a new life" (Bronte 26-27; Ch. 3). Despite her initial skepticism of leaving Gateshead, this quote demonstrates that Jane is confident that she can build a new life with the opportunity. Attending Lowood helps her develop both her emotional and educational intelligence that she didn’t know she had. She learns abilities such as music, art, and foreign language as well as things that can’t be learned from a book, like patience and tolerance. Jane’s educational experience technically began as a student teacher at Lowood, yet her intellectual independence was truly solidified when she became the governess of Adele at Thornfield Hall and later as an educator at Morton. Despite the social norms, Jane attains a well respected teaching position where she can help other young women develop their knowledge. Jane’s educational experiences helped readers realize that gender restrictions to intelligence could be broken. As Roberta Forbes stated in her article about gender inequality, “Bronte argues, men and women should be subject to the same advantages of education, so as both sexes may exercise their minds, and maintain themselves morally.” This quote reinforces that Jane’s intelligence was one of the ways she demonstrated a feminist quality that