The Degradation Of Women In Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre, a gothic and romantic novel, was written by Charlotte Brontë and officially published in October of 1847 under her pen name “Currer Bell” (“Jane Eyre is published”). Throughout the period that her novel was published, women were stereotyped as housewives and caregivers to their children. By publishing under a pseudonym, she saved herself from verbal attacks concerning her femininity. She was bold by publishing her work. Her novel contains many instances where the degradation of women in society is directly called upon and challenged. Some readers harshly criticized her work; they were astonished by her views of feminism and societal expectations of women. Contrarily, there were also some who agreed with her opinions and promoted …show more content…
Reed, Jane Eyre, or even Bertha Mason. Mrs. Reed was able to control Jane’s life as she was defying societal norms by being the head of her house in her husband’s absence. Jane Eyre had power over countless people including Helen, Adele, and Mr. Rochester. She influenced Helen to be bolder in her beliefs before she tragically passed away, she was an example and handled her classroom and sessions with Adele with respect, and she had Mr. Rochester right under her wing- he wasn’t going anywhere. Additionally, Bertha also held power over Jane and Mr. Rochester. Once Jane learned that Bertha was Mr. Rochester’s wife, she refused to marry him, even if she was insane- she was not going to be his mistress. Also, readers can assume that Mr. Rochester still loved Bertha, but he was ready to move on; this would explain why he concentrated her in the attic, away from all others. Overall, women’s power is seen through many aspects of the novel and transforms from degrading to complete equality in Jane’s