Social Prejudices in Jane Eyre
Life proves itself as unfair to most, although some people have an advantage over others because of their individual standings. This unjustified reality comes to life because of the many social prejudices that exist in the world. Social prejudices capture the essence of all the different inequalities that exist in society and amplifies them into hindrances of everyday life. Social prejudices such as these are displayed in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. This story follows Jane Eyre, a young woman who suffers through an isolated and depressing childhood but grows up to become a governess in the rich household of Thornfield. There, she falls in love with her boss, Mr. Rochester, and endeavors in a difficult and complicated …show more content…
During the Victorian Era, and even somewhat today, social class greatly influenced who married each other. Ideally, people married within their class and usually for money or social ties. If a pair did not fit certain standards, they could not marry each other. Bronte believed that marriage should based on love and that what society requires should not matter. Jane Eyre experiences this prejudice in two relationships she has. First, when Jane’s cousin St. John Rivers proposes to her, he claims to want her for the sole purpose of missionary work and not love. Jane does not like the idea and thinks that a marriage without love would not be happy. She rejects him for this reason and offers to go with him as a sister instead. After some time of heated discussion, St. John states, “God and nature intended you for a missionary’s wife. It is not personal, but mental endowments they have given you: you are formed for labour, not for love. A missionary’s wife you must—shall be. You shall be mine: I claim you—not for my pleasure, but for my Sovereign’s service”(409). He does not see any interest in Jane as a lover, and simply wants to claim her as a missionary’s wife. But, as Jane has already experienced a loving proposal from Mr. Rochester, she understands that without love, a marriage would feel desolate and unsatisfying. Also, when Jane finds out that Rochester has become a cripple, her feelings towards him are not changed. She states to the reader, “And, reader, do you think I feared him in his blind ferocity?—if you do, you little know me. A soft hope blest with my sorrow that soon I should dare to drop a kiss on that brow of rock, and on those lips so sternly sealed beneath it: but not yet. I would not accost him yet” (439). Even though Rochester has become imperfect and pitied, Jane still loves him for who he is, and not just his appearance or status. Her love for him is loyal,
Life proves itself as unfair to most, although some people have an advantage over others because of their individual standings. This unjustified reality comes to life because of the many social prejudices that exist in the world. Social prejudices capture the essence of all the different inequalities that exist in society and amplifies them into hindrances of everyday life. Social prejudices such as these are displayed in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. This story follows Jane Eyre, a young woman who suffers through an isolated and depressing childhood but grows up to become a governess in the rich household of Thornfield. There, she falls in love with her boss, Mr. Rochester, and endeavors in a difficult and complicated …show more content…
During the Victorian Era, and even somewhat today, social class greatly influenced who married each other. Ideally, people married within their class and usually for money or social ties. If a pair did not fit certain standards, they could not marry each other. Bronte believed that marriage should based on love and that what society requires should not matter. Jane Eyre experiences this prejudice in two relationships she has. First, when Jane’s cousin St. John Rivers proposes to her, he claims to want her for the sole purpose of missionary work and not love. Jane does not like the idea and thinks that a marriage without love would not be happy. She rejects him for this reason and offers to go with him as a sister instead. After some time of heated discussion, St. John states, “God and nature intended you for a missionary’s wife. It is not personal, but mental endowments they have given you: you are formed for labour, not for love. A missionary’s wife you must—shall be. You shall be mine: I claim you—not for my pleasure, but for my Sovereign’s service”(409). He does not see any interest in Jane as a lover, and simply wants to claim her as a missionary’s wife. But, as Jane has already experienced a loving proposal from Mr. Rochester, she understands that without love, a marriage would feel desolate and unsatisfying. Also, when Jane finds out that Rochester has become a cripple, her feelings towards him are not changed. She states to the reader, “And, reader, do you think I feared him in his blind ferocity?—if you do, you little know me. A soft hope blest with my sorrow that soon I should dare to drop a kiss on that brow of rock, and on those lips so sternly sealed beneath it: but not yet. I would not accost him yet” (439). Even though Rochester has become imperfect and pitied, Jane still loves him for who he is, and not just his appearance or status. Her love for him is loyal,