Introduction
Charlotte Bronte is a legendary novelist known for her great works fighting oppression and promoting women’s empowerment in society. Jane Eyre is one of Bronte’s famous books containing the societal views and criticism against women in the Victorian Era. The book’s publication occurs in 1847, a Victorian period with the most distinct gender disparities between men and women in society. Jane Eyre is considered a reflection of Bronte’s life experiences and challenges in overcoming society’s discrimination against gender and social classes. The book revolves around Jane’s life experiences from childhood to adulthood, shaping her character as resilient, straightforward, strong, and passionate about life. Jane opposes all laws and traditions that oppress women during the Victorian era to search for independence and self-realization. Therefore, this paper discusses some of the gender-oppressing rules during the Victorian era and how Bronte uses the self-realization journey of Jane Eyre in overcoming and standing against the societal traditions to become a heroine in the age of female inferiority.
Education
Victorian society did not advocate for women to receive a formal education, which was considered a man’s domain. Society disregards formal education for women believing that women are less intelligent; therefore, educating women is a waste of time and resources (Gökçek 148). In educating the males only, the society ensures women remain inferior to men in expressing opinions and decision-making concerning family and societal affairs. Education empowers individuals to be independent, open-minded, and idealistic, hence denying education to women since their opinion did not count in society.
Victorian society defines an ideal woman as a husband’s ornament who should focus on domestic tasks and procreation to expand the family. However, Jane Eyre presents the opposite idea of a Victorian woman when she attends formal education. Although attending school is not what Jane anticipated in life, she prefers the school to her abusive family. She attends the Lowood schools and studies hard despite the challenges she faces from the school’s headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, who finds any given opportunity to punish her (Bronte 108). Through these challenges, Jane realizes the value of true friendship and self-worth and gains the strength to fight for her rightful position in society. The school enables Jane to pursue a career as a governess, giving her financial freedom and a sense of independence. Women were dependent on men in the Victorian culture; hence Jane’s independence shows her strength in fighting for freedom.
Work
In the Victorian Era, clear boundaries existed defining the role of men and women in society. The high-earning occupations were given to men since they had the best education and qualifications in handling occupational jobs. On the other hand, a woman’s role involved domestic tasks such as taking care of children, farming, and entertaining guests and their husbands (Gökçek 152). A Victorian woman was submissive and dependent on her husband regarding life, such as social freedom and financial expenditure. Additionally, women were considered weak and incompetent in performing office duties; therefore, women stayed at home to take care of less involving tasks.
Women could engage in occupations such as governesses for elite children or household servants to the middle- and high-class societies to earn a living. As an orphan, Jane struggles to find financial stability by becoming self-reliant through obtaining a job as a governess at Thornfield (Bronte 388). Jane’s dependence and liberal characteristics were very unusual in Victorian society since women were dependent on their husbands for social and financial support. Bronte creates a heroine in Jane by opposing the societal norms to live liberally in a society with gender inequalities.
Social Status
Finally, the Victorian era had significant value for social status and classes with a clear distinction between the rich, middle, and poor. Members from these three social classes could not mix or associate on the same standard because classes were determinants of individual status and lifestyle. When Jane became an orphan, she lived with abusive and cruel Mrs. Reeds, who believed Jane was a poor relative living off her riches. The social classes also determined marriages where the rich could only marry amongst themselves to afford the required dowry (Saeed et al 51). When Jane’s employer offered to marry her, Jane accepted despite their differences in social status, which challenged the societal norms that class determined marital unions. According to Jane, marital unions involve love and respect, which goes against the societal views of arranging marriages according to wealth and family status. Through her search for happiness and self-realization, Jane stuns Victorian society by finally marrying her former employer and lover after he went blind and broke, demonstrating the power of love (Bronte 382). She stood for her right to be happy, proving that class does not matter since she is an heiress while her husband is poor and blind in the end.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Victorian society portrays a culture that oppresses women limiting their rights to freedom and being content in life. According to the Victorian community, education for women is a waste of time, denying women the right to empowerment and expressing their opinions in society. Through self-realization, Jane Eyre discovered her true identity and personality, which helped her fight for freedom and liberation from the oppressive society. Therefore, Jane Eyre’s story is epic and atypical of Victorian civilization. She went against the oppressing traditions of social status, education, and freedom of expression in finding true love and happiness, which was rare for women in the Victorian period.
Works Cited
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. HarperCollins Publishers, 2011, pp. 1-390.
Gökçek, Aycan. “Social Position of Victorian Women: Villette and Emma”. Comparative Literature: East & West, vol 4, no. 2, 2020, pp. 143-155.
Saeed N, Shaikh M. A, John S and Haider K. “Thomas Hardy: A Torchbearer of Feminism Representing Sufferings of Victorian Era Women.” International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, vol. 9, no. 3, 2020, pp. 55-61. Web.