(Bronte
(Bronte
19th century critics portray Jane Eyre both as a feminist and Chartist manifesto. Through the heroine’s character, Brontë expresses how feminine power and independence are important, and they are seen especially during the moment when Rochester and Jane are married, and she becomes “her own mistress” (Brontë 246). She claims at that moment that she will not depend on him. If we look at the end of the novel, the gender roles are somewhat reversed, by Rochester depending on Jane to be his eyes and his hands. At a time when the simple word feminism was never heard, through Jane’s character Brontë expresses the notion that “women feel just as men do” (Brontë 77), and the fact that women cannot live a life that is forged into “stagnation” and “rigid…
Feminist writers thorough history have struggled to have a voice. Elizabeth Cody Stanton and Virginia Woolf both agree that women have experienced a lack of opportunity and representation. These pioneers of equal rights share their grievances in the way women were treated. Two issues that they share concern of are a woman’s right to education and the control their husbands have over their personal decisions. Stanton was a voice for women during a time in which they did not have the same rights as their male counterparts.…
In “the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions Seneca Falls Conference” society exemplifies a blind eye on the cultural, political, religious, and economic disparities between genders. Elizabeth Cady Stanton speaks to the audience of men, the government, and the patriarchal society who feel they are free and equal regardless of others around them not having the same luxury. Up to the present time in “the history of mankind,” there has been a pattern of a patriarchal society where man had “absolute tyranny over her.” Stanton exercises in her writing that there was not much notion of an “inalienable right” granted to women. Women were lesser.…
The controlling and actions from Charlotte's mother affected Charlotte mentally and physically, though, might be observed negatively it has truly benefited Charlotte for the better. For instance, Charlotte took upon her mother’s cleanliness, even when she was only 13 years old. “Knew all about cleaning tubs and wiping off countertops and sweeping up crumbs”(29). Self-discipline can be recognized throughout these teachings and could benefit her for the forthcoming. Additionally, when miss Hancock passed away charlotte's mother tried to persuade that it was not charlottes fault, “ for god sake Charlotte, don't lose perspective”(32).…
In Charlotte Bronte’s, Jane Eyre, her unexamined, culturally conditioned definitions of ‘success’ and ‘happiness’; shape the narrative through their contradicting definitions. According to Bronte, women have the same capacity for success and Independence as men. However, her subconscious cultural belief that a woman’s success is to be married is a contradiction of her first definition of success. This results in a struggle between these two beliefs in Jane Eyre. Furthermore, the culture expectations of women deeply embedded in Bronte’s novel create a parallel between the story lines of Cinderella and Jane Eyre.…
In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, a young orphan girl named Jane Eyre is unfairly and unequally treated by Mrs. Reed. Jane feels inferior compared to Mrs.Reed’s children and is spoken to as if she is a misfit child. This chapter of the novel has imagery and dialogue that expresses how Jane is being constrained and imprisoned by Mrs.Reed. Jane introduces this chapter with an imagery that describes her emotions. She describes that particular day with “the cold winter wind ...with its clouds so somber and rain so penetrating…”, which expresses her inner feelings of loneliness and helplessness.…
Sojourner Truth’s Ain’t I a Woman and Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s Declaration of Sentiments are feminist texts given and written, respectively, at Women’s Conventions around the country. Both texts demand equal rights for women. Ain’t I a Woman argues why women should be granted equal rights, while Declaration of Sentiments lists oppressions put on women by the patriarchal society. These are both some of the most influential feminist texts from the first wave feminist movement in the United States; however, their context, content, authors, and style, differ the meanings of the texts and reveal the restrictions placed on different women at the time.…
In a world where men often have power over women, it is essential that women heed Ephron’s advice: “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” According to Spivak, the person with the most power in the relationship is the “Self”, and the “Other” has little power in comparison (Spivak in Rodenburg 7th lecture). In this essay I will discuss the ways in which the roles of Other are negotiated by Jane Eyre and Jane in Jane Eyre, and “The Yellow Wallpaper” respectively. I will argue that Jane Eyre resists otherness more effectively than Jane by asserting her independence through challenging and then leaving Rochester, in comparison Jane resists otherness, but fails to separate herself from the Self, which leads to further disempowerment.…
Through a preliminary interpretation, Bewick’s image from his renowned natural history book, ‘History of British Birds’, depicts a rather sombre scene in which a demonic figure is stabbing a traveller’s sack with a spoke. In some ways, John Reed could be related to the devilish being in this depiction as he asphyxiates Jane’s imagination and hence her development as an individual. Specifically, in the opening chapter, Jane explicably refers to Bewick’s image through, “the fiend pinning down the thief’s pack behind him” thus, suggesting the profound effect that the image has had on young and hence susceptible Jane. Initially, an outsider may view the male in the image as a farmer or traveller, yet, Jane interpreted the man as a “thief”; perhaps…
During the Victorian period in England, the evangelical movement present led to an incline in the worshiping of God as a guiding figure and impacted the spread of the feminism that subsequently led to an increase in woman’s spirituality and desire for independence. The feminist ideals portrayed by women in England came about by the first wave feminism in the mid-19th and early 20th centuries. Emily Griesinger describes God as the apparent figure for the strengthening of feminism in her work, “Charlotte Brontë's Religion: Faith, Feminism, and Jane Eyre.” Griesinger explains in her article that Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre uses God to serve as prominent motivator for Jane feminist beliefs of splitting off from the traditional gender roles. Although Griesinger portrays God as a medium through which Jane can express her independence as a woman and break traditional roles, she contradicts her own argument by establishing…
In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Bronte portrays her theme of the importance of women's’ independence and gender equality by employing betrayal throughout her novel. In particular, Bronte portrays how betrayal propelled the character of Jane Eyre to attempt to find herself and how betrayal affected the character of Bertha Mason. Throughout most the novel, Jane never feels settled into where she stays. In the beginning, Jane feels tormented by her cousins and her aunt in Gateshead.…
There were bound to be women elsewhere striving to push out of the boundaries keeping them away from their dreams and aspirations. These women in the book personified a large movement, a movement that strives for equality, a movement that challenges…
Although women have garnered more rights over the years, they have not yet acquired true equality with the opposite sex. However, where Charlotte Brontë succeeds in addressing the independence of women in her novel,…
Predominance and the Patriarchy: Feminist Criticism in Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s classic novel, although published in a time period where women were very repressed, contains contemporary feminist ideas. Each of Austen’s characters possess various quirks and flaws that show women are more than their stereotypes. Women can be strong and independent, but also kind and romantic. Jane Austen’s portrayal of women creates a commentary on the stereotypical views of women and the unjust patriarchal society that controls them.…
The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte emerged in the mid-nineteenth century when women were defined by strict social and gender expectations. The novel tells the story of Jane, a young orphaned girl, who grows to be a rebellious, independent thinker that follows her heart regardless of what society expects of her. She faces multiple difficulties due to the oppression of her opinions and the Victorian era’s gender ideals, but refuses to conform or be submissive towards the men in her life. The novel is told in first person, which allows readers to see the narrator’s thoughts and feelings. Jane takes control over the novel through her influence on the reader’s perceptions of events with her direct and authoritative tone.…