False Names In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Many people have used fake names for a variety of reasons but one of the oldest reasons was a method used by authors to publish writing. A alternate name someone uses as an author is often called a “pen name”, an alias or a pseudonym. Authors use pen names so they can be published because for many possible reasons they wouldn’t be published under their own names. Many famous authors have used pen names because they wanted to be taken seriously or wanted to protect their name. For some people using an alias was the only way for them to be published. “When a local newspaper refused him publication, sixteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin started writing letters … under the persona of the middle-aged widow Silence Dogood…. Many female authors have to conceal their identity to get publishers to take them seriously.” Most publishers will only work with older, more experienced authors making it nearly impossible for younger writers like Ben Franklin to be published. By creating and using a pen name they can be published (should have been “Creating and using a pen name can publish them…”) as if they were more experienced. …show more content…
Charlotte Brontë wrote a novel called Jane Eyre, which portrays a woman that was different from others and didn’t comply with the current female stereotype. “Brontë’s determination to portray a plain yet passionate young women who defied the stereotype of the docile and domestic Victorian feminine ideal … There were many expectations and limitations placed on Victorian women. Considering … her desire for literary achievement … we are able to see why she felt compelled to write Jane Eyre and to publish it under the pen name Currer Bell.” If Jane Eyre had openly written by a woman it could have caused outrage; a women going out of her “place” by portraying a woman that went out of her “place”. By using a male pen name it was not viewed