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Gender Roles In Jane Eyre

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Charlotte Brontë´s novel Jane Eyre is considered one of Britain´s most classical literary work. The story consists of a hybrid of three genres, the Gothic novel, the Romance novel and the Bildungsroman and many critics have praised the novel. Though, the novel got a great deal of good criticism in contemporary time, its immediate reception was controversial. The story plays out during the Victorian period in Britain where the social norms were strict and there was a big gap of equality between the genders. This essay will analyse how the gender roles are portrayed and if they are modern or traditional.
Jane Eyre is a novel where a modern view on gender roles get in the discourse of the traditional Victorian social hierarchy and patriarchal …show more content…

She states a more modern view upon the subject about the female role in society where she states a desire that women should be able to do the same things as men, without a judgemental view from society. This view of gender roles was controversial in the Victorian era, but Jane Eyre represents a new and fresh feature in the early feminist movement with a more equal view upon the subject.
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

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Tamyah Smith Jane Eyre Summer Reading Assignment Journal Entry Three: Part One: Edward Rochester is a hero in the novel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. At the end of the book, he tried to save his wife, which left him blinded and alone. It was because of Jane’s influence that he was tempted. He strings along Blanche Ingram, he tries to marry Jane even though he is already married. When he acknowledges his actions and suffers the consequences- being maimed, blinded, and losing the love of his life- is when he becomes a hero and changes as a person.

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In the novel written by Charlotte Brontë, the character of Jane Eyre is undoubtedly controlled by the patriarchy since childhood. Whether it be her older male cousin, the headmaster of her school, or someone she works for, the men in this novel use ever ounce of their title as a male to subject Jane to whatever they feel is right. The influence of men ultimately dictates Jane’s decisions in life and to claim the men to be anything other than an abuser is a product of blatant manipulation. The male characters in the novel Jane Eyre portray the control men impose on the women as well as the toll these actions take on the women’s lives.

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Fleeing from Rochester, Jane almost perishes out on the moors.’ As there are conflicts of Jane with the society, there are also ‘conflicts within the character of Jane herself – conflicts of duty and desire, assertion and restraint […]’ Jane longs for to be with her beloved Rochester, but at the same time she realises that she has a duty to herself and to her moral and she cannot stay with him regardless of the consequences. Jane Eyre, even as a child, has no clear space in the society and she continues to seek her position throughout the whole story, though it is difficult as whenever she finds a place there appears an obstacle to her happiness. As a governess, she is disrespected by the guests of Rochester and dependent on her employer, as the fiancée of Rochester she cannot wed him because he is already married and as a country teacher, she has to live without her beloved man. Eventually, she finds her place as a wife of Rochester and joins him in his rather solitary living.

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First, Jane Eyre’s attributes displays women in our society who are still in search for meaning and love in their lives. Just like Jane’s spirit of passion despite abuse, these women continue to search for respect from other

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Bronte 's Jane Eyre transcends the genres of literature to depict the emotional and character development of its protagonist. Although no overall genre dominates the novel exclusively, the vivid use of setting contributes towards the portrayal of Bronte’s bildungsroman (Realisms, 92) and defines the protagonist’s struggles as she grapples with her inner-self, and the social expectations of her gender. 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.

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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. The first act of patriarchal oppression Jane experiences is quiet early on it the novel, during her childhood years spent at Gateshead. It is here where she must endure to live

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If everyone was considered to be a “heroine,” the term would no longer have true meaning. In order to be classified as a true “heroine,” she needs to possess noble qualities such as courage, bravery or determination. A person who is indeed a heroine needs to be their own hero. Throughout the novel, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, we discover that Jane has many positive qualities. Jane is a heroine, as a result of her most significant trait, courage.

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After the many deaths in her life, the harassment and oppression, and the homelessness, Jane Eyre grasps her ambitions and becomes a wonderful individual. She marries the one person she truly loves and at the conclusion of the book, expresses that she has been joyfully married for ten years and that she and Rochester live an equal life together, very

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Both characters, venturing out of their gender roles, find ways to compliment and figure out who the other person really is, and, in the end, a burgeoning love fully blooms. When examining the gender roles of Mr. Rochester and Jane, both are a blend of each and life seems better when conventional gender roles are forgotten. In Rochester and Jane’s first meeting, the two begin to show their blended gender roles immediately. Rochester is first described as having a “dark face” with “stern features”, with a complexion that seems, “ireful and thwarted” (146).

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(Bronte 292). When Jane sustains the courage to stand up to Rochester’s remarks, he starts to admire her more and more for her need to rebel and her grasp to attain freedom, and begins to love her. Rochester feels this way because despite his social status, he has feelings that equal the intensity of Jane’s. They marry because

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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.

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In Charlotte Bronte’s novel “Jane Eyre” Edward Fairfax Rochester plays a contributing role in Janes development and growth as a character and human being in the Victorian time period. Not only does he play a large role in her independency, but in her emotional and spiritual growth as well. She grows around him whether she likes it or not. Due to Edwards manipulative and seductive nature, jane has to grow and develop in a way that has her frequently questioning her own ideals, whether that be spiritually or morally, and strengthening her independence by constantly refusing her feelings for him and adapting to punishing situations. Edward also opens Janes eyes to a world that is bigger than she realized due to his company at the house, wealth, and opportunities at the favorable Thornfeild manor at which she was employed by him.

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The gender roles of Jane Austen’s time, and the mirroring of them in Persuasion, are good examples of how hard it can be to resist inequality amongst sexes. Gender inequality is a social issue that recurs throughout the novel. Most of the characters that face gender inequality comply with their oppression. Moreover, the characters that are oppressed by gender inequality have come to expect such injustice. Jane Austen’s Persuasion demonstrates true-to-life examples of how both women and men accept their “role” in society, accept and expect it.

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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. V.S Naipaul’s

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- Edward is an economically independent man with a favorable status and influential connections still looking for a profitable match. Jane will be the one in charge to unmask him to the audience: “I saw he was going to marry her [Blanche Ingram] for family, perhaps political reasons, because her rank and connections suited him” (Brontë 205) This manner of conduct converts Mr. Rochester from a hero into a villain, a perpetrator and “his project of

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