Novels commonly reflect the author’s time period and conflicts that the author had encountered to shape his/her view that is evident throughout the novel. Likewise, Jane Eyre, published in 1847 by Charlotte Brontë, reflects Brontë’s contradicting views with the values of her time period. While the novel presents Jane’s harsh life and her transformation, the novel mostly consists of Brontë’s challenge to what was deemed acceptable at the time; hence the subtitle An Autobiography. Brontë’s Victorian time period and her stance on the normal values of the time play a major role in shaping the novel and its themes. Brontë’s views and time period are clearly used to develop the major themes of social classes and gender relations, and religion.
Brontë’s disapproval of the Victorian hierarchy and the degraded gender relations are recurring themes throughout the novel that create boundaries for Jane to act as an equal member of the society. Starting from Jane’s childhood, Brontë foreshadows one of Jane’s most important social setbacks, which is being a female with no inheritance. John Reed is the perfect example of the dominating Victorian male:
You have no business to take our books; you …show more content…
Jane’s first major form of religion came personated as Mr. Brocklehurst. Mr. Brocklehurst encompasses most of the wrong religious principles that cause Jane to find her own religious values.
I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world; my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety—not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off; think of the time wasted, of—
Brontë’s disapproval of the Victorian hierarchy and the degraded gender relations are recurring themes throughout the novel that create boundaries for Jane to act as an equal member of the society. Starting from Jane’s childhood, Brontë foreshadows one of Jane’s most important social setbacks, which is being a female with no inheritance. John Reed is the perfect example of the dominating Victorian male:
You have no business to take our books; you …show more content…
Jane’s first major form of religion came personated as Mr. Brocklehurst. Mr. Brocklehurst encompasses most of the wrong religious principles that cause Jane to find her own religious values.
I have a Master to serve whose kingdom is not of this world; my mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh; to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety—not with braided hair and costly apparel; and each of the young persons before us has a string of hair twisted in plaits which vanity itself might have woven; these, I repeat, must be cut off; think of the time wasted, of—