The role of women in the book and that era was mainly caretaking jobs, they taught children, looked after children and looked after the house, they were thought to be cooks, cleaners and nannies by men, society, it washed to find a job for a woman as they were limited. Women were very much second class citizens and had to stay home and cook and clean.
Women were important in this novel, as the novel is based around how women were treated and how a love story develops on it, how women were giving the jobs that involved loving/caring for things and men got the ‘hard’ jobs.
At the beginning of the book, we see nineteenth century life through a child's eyes. Jane was never treated as a rich child. She was treated as a poor girl who didn't deserve to have the life that she did have. This theory about Jane's childhood portrays Mrs Reed as a very generous woman, which we, as the reader can argue against. Jane thinks of poverty as being dirty, unnourished, badly treated and basically, below her social status. Jane does not however feel she is of high social standing, as she is not treated as such and constantly told otherwise by the adults in her life. Jane is an intelligent, honest, plain-featured young girl forced to contend with oppression, inequality, and hardship with her strong attitude and fearless mind. Although she meets people who threaten her style of living, Jane repeatedly succeeds at asserting herself and maintains her principles of justice, human dignity, and morality. Her strong belief in gender and social equality challenges the Victorian prejudices against women and the poor.
As Jane is from a rich family she sees poverty as being dirty, unnourished, badly treated and basically, below her social status. Jane does not however feel she is of high social standing, as she is not treated as such and constantly told otherwise by the adults in her life. 'Poverty for me was synonymous with degradation.´ Jane sees happiness and poverty as two totally unlinked things, this side of Jane shows us she is not all good, and that she is not totally strong as she couldn’t live with herself if she went into a lifestyle of poverty. Later in the book we see Jane facing her deepest fear. Jane ends up poor and alone. She does not know how to cope with this sudden poverty as she has always had a good home, even if that was for many years her school.
The important characters in the story can include Mrs. Reed, she is a cruel lady who does not like Jane as she is only looking after her out of charity as she is family. It is here we see Jane has a strong attitude towards people who bully others. Mr Rochester is the evidence in the story of how women were treated, in the story she is expected by him to sympathise with his every problem and do any chores, and to love him if he asked, but she rebels against his demands (only to fall in love with him anyway).
The book gives us the idea of stereotypes at that era, for example, a rich girl living in the nineteenth century was expected to be 'seen and not heard'. These model girls would read the bible, obey their elders, act happy and contented at all times and never argue or answer back. Their childhood was just full of acting how it was seen fit to act at that time, much like their womanhood would be. Rich girls also would be pretty and be artistic, showing this by singing, playing the piano and painting.
A rich boy living in the nineteenth century was supposed to be quite the opposite of what was expected of a girl. Boys should have physically strong and active. And boys were thought to be cheeky or naughty, and were taught to be dominant to females, as they would be later in life.
A character in the book who is like Jane is Mrs Fairfax, she has been the governess of Thornfield for many years and has had relationships that have failed, she is a liberated woman, as she declares to Jane when she arrives that she is really the owner of the house as she controls what happens and it looked upon by the rest of the servants.
Georgiana Reed is Jane's cousin and one of Mrs. Reed's two daughters. The beautiful Georgiana treats Jane cruelly when they are children, but later in their lives she goes through a big character change and befriends her cousin and confides in her. Georgiana attempts to court and marry a man named Lord Edwin Vere, but her sister, Eliza, who is a devout Christian and is loyal to her mother, tells Mrs. Reed of the arrangement and sabotages the plan. After Mrs. Reed dies, Georgiana marries a wealthy man as she has no mother for her sister to tell.
I think Charlotte meant for this story to be a message to women, to tell them they can be free if their will is strong and are confident in their decisions, they can fulfil anything. Jane gets many problems in her life, but she keeps strong through-out the story and gets through then all by being strong, also it could be a sign to people who think they are treated cruelly to overcome their fears and accept it, and you will come out better, Jane Eyre proved to the world of the 1800's that the idea of 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 stereotype by refusing subservience, disagreeing with her superiors and standing up for her rights by rejecting her love for Rochester.
A modern reader could see women are not just cookers and cleaners of the age; that they had lives of their own and goes through a deep and thorough investigation of the lives of women in a stereotyped situation set around in those times.
In conclusion I would say this book altogether gives a vivid description and tale of life of women in the nineteenth century, how love is gained not through ‘love at first sight’ and you have to work on it. It gives a description of the stereotypical males of that age and how they see women as people to do the dirty jobs that men will not do, Charlotte portrays the woman’s dream of being the mans need rather than the woman’s need for a man in the end of the book, where Rochester welcomes Jane back with open arms, realizing that he will never possess her the way he once wanted to, but that she, in fact, will end up possessing him. Their subsequent marriage not only ends the many conflicts involved, but also fulfils every woman's wish of achieving both independence and love.
