Social Issues In Jane Eyre Essay

Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, is a significantly well-known and well discussed novel. As was expected at the time and the nature of novels by the Bronte sisters, the core focus of said novel by the readers was the romantic relationship between our protagonist Jane & the surly Mr Rochester, especially upon first reading of Janes arduous journey through life. The ‘will they, wont they’ nature of their relationship and natural inclination of readers to focus on the romantic theme within the plot leave many absent-mindedly placing the novel on the ‘Romance’ shelf of the library, perhaps without much thought of the deeper messages within the book. Jane is viewed as, at heart, a girl in love with a man and the struggles that inevitably follow this, and that is the core of the story to many of us. But if we delve into the true story of Jane the girl, Jane the orphan, Jane the governess, Jane the woman, we can see the …show more content…
It is about Jane Eyre, it’s a very early commentary on social inequality between the sexes. Not only Jane’s want for independence and freedom, but her ability to acquire it for herself are compelling and important plots within the book. There are frequent referrals to the notion of being trapped and escaping, from Jane being locked in the ‘Red room’ by her aunt for lashing out at her cousin to being sent off to Lowood. Her class traps her, her gender traps her, her age traps her. Her first attempt at marriage would have trapped her as Rochester’s lesser, his young, much less wealthy wife who would rely on him as most wives did in the time of the novel. Jane isn’t alone, Rochester is trapped in his own social standing, his hyper masculine society pushing his need to dominate and not have young Jane overrule him. And most obviously trapped is Bertha Mason, the mad woman in the attic, held captive by her husband and her