It is often said that a writer imbues into his/her work the experiences and times in which he/she lived, and this statement couldn’t be any more true than with Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. As quoted from the introduction to the novel, “Bronte certainly understood the instability and fluidity of class status from her experiences” which is why her literature is such an accurate representation of the time period it depicts (Bronte x). Reflecting these aspects through the titular character of Jane Eyre, this perspective provides insight into the experiences of those living in Victorian England. By examining our protagonist and her journey through tumultuous times are the aspects of Victorian society revealed: among them the facets of genteel
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Among these societal groups was the gentry, composed of the aristocrats of old and the nouveau riche created through economic industrialization. For the upper class of Victorian England, association with the lower classes was seen as a taboo, represented when even Jane Eyre with her fairly egalitarian beliefs thought, “poverty looks grim to grown people; still more so to children: they have not much idea of industrious, working, respectable poverty ... poverty for me was synonymous with degradation” (Bronte 34). This disdain for the poor and their association with poverty enveloped the mind of our protagonist even at such a young age, showing the prevalence of Victorian principles and their effect on the populace. Even later in the novel despite personally suffering from social discrimination Jane felt, “degraded. I [Jane Eyre] doubted I had taken a step which sank instead of raising me in the scale of social existence. I was weakly dismayed at the ignorance, the poverty, the coarseness of all I heard and saw round me” when partaking in the act of educating the local children of Morton (Bronte 450). It wasn’t as if these stereotypes of the English masses wasn’t unwarranted as workers had, “limited leisure time and little opportunity for other pursuits” that restricted the …show more content…
Women were considered, “physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere” which was the defining principle regarding how women were treated (Hughes 1). Through this outlook women during the Victorian Era were expected to be obedient and reserved, shown through Helen who preached a philosophy of, “ it is as natural that I [Helen] should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved” (Bronte 75). In contrast however stood Jane Eyre, believing herself, “a free human being with an independent will” that was revolutionary for a woman during the Victorian Era to state out loud (Bronte 319). This aspect of Ms. Eyre would have labeled her a “blue-stocking”, or someone who was, “considered unfeminine and off-putting in the way” because of their audacity to state their mind which was considered a masculine trait (Hughes 1). Furthermore Jane expressed thoughts that, “it is thoughtless to condemn them [women], or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex” (Bronte 142). This opinion would have made Jane Eyre a feminist before her time, as such a personality, “would make themselves [women] unmarriageable” in the Victorian society where womanly autonomy was shunned to
Among these societal groups was the gentry, composed of the aristocrats of old and the nouveau riche created through economic industrialization. For the upper class of Victorian England, association with the lower classes was seen as a taboo, represented when even Jane Eyre with her fairly egalitarian beliefs thought, “poverty looks grim to grown people; still more so to children: they have not much idea of industrious, working, respectable poverty ... poverty for me was synonymous with degradation” (Bronte 34). This disdain for the poor and their association with poverty enveloped the mind of our protagonist even at such a young age, showing the prevalence of Victorian principles and their effect on the populace. Even later in the novel despite personally suffering from social discrimination Jane felt, “degraded. I [Jane Eyre] doubted I had taken a step which sank instead of raising me in the scale of social existence. I was weakly dismayed at the ignorance, the poverty, the coarseness of all I heard and saw round me” when partaking in the act of educating the local children of Morton (Bronte 450). It wasn’t as if these stereotypes of the English masses wasn’t unwarranted as workers had, “limited leisure time and little opportunity for other pursuits” that restricted the …show more content…
Women were considered, “physically weaker yet morally superior to men, which meant that they were best suited to the domestic sphere” which was the defining principle regarding how women were treated (Hughes 1). Through this outlook women during the Victorian Era were expected to be obedient and reserved, shown through Helen who preached a philosophy of, “ it is as natural that I [Helen] should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved” (Bronte 75). In contrast however stood Jane Eyre, believing herself, “a free human being with an independent will” that was revolutionary for a woman during the Victorian Era to state out loud (Bronte 319). This aspect of Ms. Eyre would have labeled her a “blue-stocking”, or someone who was, “considered unfeminine and off-putting in the way” because of their audacity to state their mind which was considered a masculine trait (Hughes 1). Furthermore Jane expressed thoughts that, “it is thoughtless to condemn them [women], or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex” (Bronte 142). This opinion would have made Jane Eyre a feminist before her time, as such a personality, “would make themselves [women] unmarriageable” in the Victorian society where womanly autonomy was shunned to