How does Bronte explore the position of women in Victorian society in the novel Jane Eyre and how does she challenge it?
How does Bronte explore the position of women in Victorian society in the novel “Jane Eyre” and how does she challenge it? The Victorian era was a tough period for women, and Charlotte Bronte, a woman herself growing up in the Victorian times, reflects this in 'Jane Eyre', and also shows the way Jane challenges the classical stereotypes of a woman in this period in a variety of ways. Thinking of a woman in Victorian society, one may think of a woman as submissive, passive, less-educated, emotional, and obliged to serve their male spouses- somebody who should “learn their place” and slot into it. We however do not see characterises as strong as these with Jane. To call Jane a “feminist” may appear a little too extreme, however it would be fair to say that she would best fit in a society where men and women were treated as equals, living with the same lifestyle. R.B Martin however explains, that when Jane says her “Do you think I am poor, obscure, etc..” 'speech', she is not acting as a feminist, it is purely said due to emotion, and the fact that Jane never questions her limited career opportunities or her submissive-like role, shows that she is not quite the 'complete' feminist. Throughout the novel, it is clear that Jane “struggles” to fit into the established social gender classes of the Victorian era ,and that she is not willing to give up her values
How far do you agree that the character Jane Eyre challenges Victorian ideals of social class?
Thahira How far do you agree that the character Jane Eyre challenges Victorian ideals of social class Charlotte Bronte’s protagonist ‘Jane Eyre’ challenges the structure of Victorian society through the use of first person narrative, the negative construction of characters such as Mr Brocklehurst, Blanche Ingram and through the developing relationship between Jane and Rochester. Presenting Jane’s strong sense of morality, Bronte describes Jane’s challenging experiences throughout her life - simply because she was poorly connected and dependant on those in more fortunate positions than her. Social class was particularly important within this era, as this depended on how you were judged and treated. This is emphasised by the Reed family’s treatment of Jane as the Reed children were ‘clustered around their mama’ indicating their tight bond and how inseparable they are and how impenetrable their circle; Jane being the only one ‘dispensed’ from the group emphasises Jane’s loneliness and separation from them. The reasoning of Jane’s separation from the upper class children is because they have been accustomed to being disparaging towards the poor. This is even evident from Jane when she comments that “she would not like to belong” to poor relations even if they were kind, she admitted that she did not understand, “how they had the means of being
Is Catherine Earnshaw a Typical Victorian Woman or a Modern Woman?
Catherine Earnshaw’s attitudes and behaviour are more like those of a typical modern woman than a typical Victorian woman. ‘Wuthering Heights’ deals with the raw animal passion that finds no home within the walls of institutionalized society. Bronte dared to go outside of what Victorian society deemed correct, regarding the presentation of not only Catherine and Heathcliff's love but female sexual desire overall. This is why I believe that Catherine Earnshaw's attitudes and behaviours are depicted in a way that makes her to be more of a typical modern woman than of a typical Victorian one. It was widely assumed in the Victorian era that women did not have any sexual desire and were to therefore, stay chaste for their future husband. However, it is possible that Catherine had engaged in, or had expressed her desire to be in a sexual relationship with Heathcliff when she states, ‘I am Heathcliff’ as D.H. Lawrence expresses in his book, ‘The Divine Heroine’ that when two people engage in a sexual relationship they became, ‘two in one’; the same person. If Edgar Linton believed that Catherine was not chaste, it is likely he would not have married her in conformation with the Victorian society’s norms. Ultimately, it is Catherine’s intense love for Heathcliff that sets her apart from a typical Victorian woman; their love defies the status quo and is a faux-
Analysis of passages and Mr Rochester in "Jane Eyre".
ASSIGNMENT H - ENGLISH LITERATURE AS Natalie Lesley Calabrese - 28th January 2011 I looked at Mr Rochester; I made him look at me. His whole face was colourless rock; his eye was both spark and flint. He disavowed nothing; he seemed as if he would defy all things. Without speaking, without smiling, without seeming to recognise in me to his side. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The passage occurs towards the middle of chapter 26 and the events described take place on the morning of Jane Eyre and Rochester's wedding. The action takes place in the church, which is right in front of Thornfield. A place well suited for the covert nature of the ceremony. At this point, the passage emphasizes Rochester's reaction towards the interruption of the 'two shadows', who had entered the church just a few seconds before them. One of them was his brother-in-law, Mr Mason (the mad woman's brother, who is kept in the attic) and the other was a lawyer. His reaction was of complete astonishment (his face was colourless rock), when the unexpected 'intruders' revealed the existence of his previous marriage to Bertha Mason. The novel's suspense relies on the fact that the narrator is not entirely omniscient, she does not reveal key information until the point in the chronology of events when Jane herself
'Rochester is master and Jane a passive victim.' Discuss power and control in Jane and Rochester's relationship.
‘Rochester is master and Jane a passive victim.’ Discuss power and control in Jane and Rochester’s relationship. AO1 AO2, AO3, AO4 Jane Eyre struggles throughout Charlotte Bronte’s novel, ‘Jane Eyre’ for equality and equal rights for women and men. However during the social context it was a common routine for the man in the relationship to have the power and expect a faithful mistress whatever their situation. A woman’s place was in the home and to build a family and build a good family atmosphere. In this view, it is expectable in ‘Jane Eyre’ for Mr Rochester a man with a high status to be able to order Jane who can be portrayed as his victim, however Jane is heavily dependant on other people so therefore she may just be desperate for Mr Rochester’s attention. Mary Wollstonecraft’s ‘Vindication of the Rights of Women’ states Wollstonecraft describing marriage as “legal prostitution” and that women “may be convenient slaves, but slavery will have its constant effect, degrading the master and the abject dependent. Mary Wollstonecraft’s idea of a relationship such as Mr Rochester and Jane Eyre’s as “slavery” may not be entirely true, however Charlotte Bronte does portray Jane as a ‘victim’ of Mr Rochester. Even after Mr Rochester’s proposal, Jane replies to Mr Rochester, “Sir, I will marry you.” Jane is still drawing on the
Outsiders and Outcasts in "Wuthering Heights"
Geofrey Banzi Explore the presentation of outsiders and outcasts in the novels. Use ‘’Orange are not the Only Fruit’’ to illuminate your understanding of the core text. “Wuthering Heights” is a Gothic novel written by Emily Bronte in 1847. The novel revolves around the story of a dark protagonist and outsider Heathcliff. As an outsider his presence is shown to have negative consequences resulting in the demise of various members of the Earnshaw Household, including that of his star crossed love, Catherine Earnshaw. The theme of outsiders and outcasts is seen to pervade the story, highlighting the prejudice and contempt that would have been shown towards members of a lower social class in essence making them social pariahs, as well as showing the deep rooted suspicion and contempt that were shown towards outsiders. The novel has a frame narrative which includes various narrators. The incorporation of so many narrative voices especially those of outsiders like Nelly and Lockwood shows how Bronte has given the outsider a voice in a society that would have them stifled. Similarly, “Oranges are not the only fruit” is a first-person narrative that gives the outsider Jeanette a voice, expressing the prejudice and discrimination she receives as an outsider because of her evangelical background. The text also explores the extent to which she was made an outcast, often
Jane Eyre - Development of Jane's Characters as a Child.
The novel begins with the ten-year-old Jane Eyre narrating from the home of the well-off Reed family in Gateshead Hall. Mr. Reed, Jane’s uncle, took her into his home after both of her parents died of typhus fever, but he soon died himself. Mrs. Reed was particularly resentful of her husband’s favouritism toward Jane and takes every opportunity to neglect and punish her. At the beginning of the narrative, Jane is secluded behind the curtains of a window seat and reading Bewick’s “History of British Birds.” Although she attempted to join the rest of the family, she was refused permission by Mrs. Reed to play with her cousins Eliza, John, and Georgiana. Although the family mistreats her, Jane still wishes that she could have the same attention and love that her cousins receive from her Aunt. John interrupts Jane’s reading and informs her that she has no right to read their books because she is an orphan who is dependent on his family. He strikes her with the book, and Jane surprises him by fighting to defend herself. John is frightened by Jane’s re-action and blames her for the fight. As punishment for Jane’s behaviour, Mrs. Reed has two servants lock her in the “red-room,” the room in which Mr. Reed died. Bronte uses the narration of Jane’s voice, and this makes the reader feel more sympathetic character, but Bronte incorporates all of the tragic facts
'The Settings in Jane Eyre represent stages in the development of Jane's character'
'The settings in Jane Eyre represent stages in the development of Jane's character' How far do you agree with this claim? Discuss how Bronte uses setting in the novel and the impact it creates both on Jane and the reader. Bronte is a great believer in pathetic fallacy and throughout the novel we can see how the settings and the weather represent Jane's feelings and character. Even the names of the places she stays at can show this, for example, at Lowood she is at a low point in her life. The setting is also particularly important during the three proposals Jane receives and it represents how her life would be were she to accept, for example Rochester's first proposal takes place in a tempting orchard under a passionate sunset showing us that she would lead a passionate life of sin with Rochester were she to accept. However though the setting tells the reader a lot about what is happening in the book I don't feel that it shows Jane's developing character. However it is impossible to deny that we learn a lot through the settings that Bronte creates in Jane Eyre. The names themselves can show us a lot of what Jane's life and reaction will be to the place. Gateshead for example conveys the idea that Jane is shut in and trapped whilst also at the beginning, head, of life. One could even interpret it as representing the Gates of Hell and this is enhanced by the punishment that
Jane Eyre. Bront engages sympathy towards Jane because of the utilization of the first person by the narrator. I was glad of it: I never liked long walks. By using I the writer ensures that we see things and feel things from Janes point
Charlotte Brontë the third daughter of Patrick and Maria Brontë, who was born in 1816 at Thornton, a moorland village near Bradford and was almost four when the family moved to Haworth. There, she, like the rest of her family was to spend almost all her life. The family liked privacy and since Mr. Brontë was busy with work and their mother was ill with cancer and died after only 18 months at Haworth, the children spent all their time together and were extremely close. The nurse who looked after Mrs. Brontë said that they were different from any children she had ever seen because they seemed so quiet and serious. When Charlotte was eight, Mr. Brontë sent her, with Maria, Elizabeth and later Emily, to a school for the daughters of clergy at Cowan Bridge. He thought education would be useful to his girls in the future, but their experiences were all too similar to those Charlotte Brontë gives Jane Eyre at Lowood. Maria and Elizabeth both died of tuberculosis, after less than a year, and Charlotte and Emily were taken away from the school and returned to studying at home with their father. Charlotte considered herself to be very plain, even ugly, and did not really hope for marriage, although she received three proposals. Like Jane Eyre, she was always sad that she was not more obviously attractive. Beauty was something she admired and longed for. At Roe Head, she worked
From your reading of Chapters 1, 2 and 26 of Jane Eyre, as well as any previous knowledge of the novel you might have, write about the links you begin to see between that text and Charlotte Perkins Gilmans The Yellow Wallpaper
From your reading of Chapters 1, 2 and 26 of "Jane Eyre", as well as any previous knowledge of the novel you might have, write about the links you begin to see between that text and Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper". "The Yellow Wallpaper" was written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman in 1892 for a number of specific purposes, including the author's desire to raise awareness of the condition post-partum depression, from which she suffered, and to illustrate her views on the patriarchal nature and the inequality of Victorian society, particularly with relation to marriage. Perhaps most importantly, Gilman wanted to expose the flaws in the male treatments propositioned for post-partum depression and other similar conditions; treatments from which she herself ailed even more than from her 'nervous disorder' when waylaid in bed, much like the narrator of her novella - albeit to a less extreme end. By contrast, Charlotte Brontë's "Jane Eyre" has no such definite intentions, but acts most prominently as a bildungsroman and a partial autobiography, which leads to a very different treatment of characters as constructs rather than as Gilman's use of them as representations. While Brontë's characters in "Jane Eyre" cannot be labelled with much more precision than Mr. Rochester's standing as a Byronic hero, the characters in "The Yellow Wallpaper" are clearly intended for
