Gender in Jane Eyre Essay

All the house belongs to me, or get out do in a few years. Discuss the significance of gender in Brontes passage of the child characters in Jane Eyre. Through my study of Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre, I was quick to discover that the novel is a product of its time, but also portrays revolutionary ideas ab let on female autonomy and the right to equality for all. Jane Eyre was write in 1847, a time were a womens social standing and enormousness was significantly slight to that of her male counterpart. A womans main objective was to find a husband and steady down down. Little was made of a womans c arer choices or opportunities as it was considered daft to remember a low natural girl could grow up to be anything more than a governess. (Murphy, 2013) glad E. Weisner states that People did talk less formally roughly a womans life, however, and when they did it was her sexual broadcast and relationship to a man that mattered virtually./ A woman was a virgin, wife or widow, or alternately a daughter, wife or contract (Weisner, 1993, p51-52). Gender is a very important theme end-to-end Jane Eyre and can be noned particularly well by a study of the novels child characters.John beating-reed instrument is a prime example of how class and gender conformities supposep finished the very permeable age barrier at a young age. John Reed is not your typical high born Victorian gentleman and this can be noted offshoot through with(predicate) his image, John Reed was a school boy of fourteen years old/ large and stout for his age, with a sinister and unwholesome skin thick lineaments in a spacious visage, heavy limbs and large extremities. He gorged himself habitually at table, which made him bilious and gave him a dim and bleared eye and flabby cheeks (Bronte, p4). We see him bully Jane relentlessly at the start of the novel and this can be deducted to a number of reasons. John is indulged by his mother and thus has a feeling of self-importance and superio rity. To some degree he probably takes a demand from her (who also dis equivalents Jane). As the precisely man of the house John believes he is head and shoulders above a lowly orphan girl. He does not believe that she is worthy of what he, (by way of birth right), provides for her, and thus takes it upon himself to visit her accordingly, you have no money, your father left you none you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemens children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mamas expense(Bronte, 6)As the only high born male in the house he feels that he has the authority to dish out verbal and physical abuse as he sees appropriate. Sostrong is his sense of self importance that he never feels as though he is on the losing end of an argument. A young Jane is conscious(predicate) of this and as a female in his household, feels like she has to do what he says, even though she knows it will not end well. We see this when she allows him to throw a co ncord at her after she takes one to examine behind the curtain, the volume was flung, it hit me, and I fell, striking my head against the door and cutting it. (Bronte, 6). Although it is from this incident that Jane commencement finds her voice against an oppressive male figure, its still an insight into the psyche of a young boy in the earliest 1800s, and one that certainly portrays how gender could shape a society in the early 19th century. (Hesse, 2013, 1) Helen Burns is a girl who suffers greatly from the wrath of Mr Brocklehurst and Mrs Scatcherd. Brocklehurst believes that all girls are intrinsically born indulgent and that they want the luxuries of life that only men can offer them and thus aims to humble the girls of Lowood through food deprivation and the cutting of their hair, i.e., taking away their femininity. (Capes, 2013, 1)The conflict between Brocklehurst and Helen can on the surface, look like a religious one, but as you delve deeper into the mind of Bronte at t he time of writing, you short find out that it has a lot more to do with gender than you might have thought. In the early 1800s, it was men who had all the power in the church and woman were expected to serve the clergymen and on occasion help out at Sunday school. The history of Christianity is full of male martyrs who upon death are given hero status. Helen Burns serves as paradox to this idea. Helen dies of consumption, which is largely down to poor conditions she has to put up with as a result of Brocklehursts pious, self-righteous quest to humble the girls of Lowood. She is the epitome of healthy Christian values. Her turn the other cheek outlook on life is what defines her in the novel and ultimately what Jane finds most interesting about her. Her death is beautiful, and marchs a deep, sophisticated insight into what it meant to be a good Christian in the early 1800s. Ironically, Brocklehursts pious crusade sees Helen, the better Christian, die.Helen is the martyr character in Jane Eyre. She is in that respect to portray that it doesnt matter how good a Christian you are, women will always be coadjutor to their male counterparts. Even her name Burns signifies both the hellish life she has suffered, and also how she was damned from the start. (Creelman, 2005) Bronte uses her to showthe gender conflict at the time of her writing and also as a way in which to progress Janes character. Jane is an average looking, intelligent, and brutally honest girl. She has been an orphan from a young age and as a lowly born, orphan female, she has faced oppression all her life. Although she has faced oppression and threats to her autonomy, she continually pull throughs in showing she can be a free thinking, independent female (Murphy, 2013) The first time we see Jane stand up to male authority is through an outburst she directs towards John after he throws the book at her, Wicked and cruel boy I said. You are like a murdereryou are like a slave-driveryou are like th e Roman emperors (Bronte, p6) It is after this she gets sent to the red room and we in truth see the nature of how unfairly she is treated.Later we see her rebuke Mrs Reeds claim that she is double-tongued and should be brought up in a manner which best suits her prospects. I am not dishonorable if I were, I should say I loved you but I declare I do not love you I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed and this book about the liar, you may give to your girl, Georgiana, for it is she who tells lies, not I (Bronte, 1847). It is through these comments that we see Janes first verbal victory against an oppressor and it marks an important point in Janes discovery for autonomy. Mr Brocklehurst forms an opinion about Jane because of the fact that she is a lowly female girl and also because of the account he received from Mrs Reed. Jane is soul looking to break the mould. She has her own ideas of autonomy and gender inequality. Along the way she has gained inspirat ion from women who have managed to succeed in one way or another. Mrs Fairfax is the authority of Lowood when Mr Brocklehurst isnt around. She is a powerful woman, a somebody Jane can look up to. Not only is she powerful but she is also kind, and makes a good impression on Jane. Other examples of this include Miss Temple and Helen Burns.On a more innate level, Celine Varens is a woman who is at the mercy of men, but can manipulate her lovers into indulging her. She treats them badly as a result. (crossref-it.info) A young Jane soon finds out that although she is female, as long as she keeps her morals, she can succeed. general Jane Eyre offers us valuable insight into gender roles in the early 1800s. Whether its the patriarchal way in which a 14 year old John Reed finds power, the submissive way in which a young Christian girl turns the other cheek in the face of oppression, or how one half-size girl withrevolutionary self-worth gains autonomy in a male dominated world, Jane Eyre remains a spotless novel, and one which will remain so for many years to come.BibliographyCrossref-it.info/Jane-Eyre/9/1082 6/11/2013Kristycaper.co.uk/post/19688269684/gender-and-sexism-in-charlotte-brontes-jane-eyre 7/11/2013 Jane Eyre, 1847, Penguin Books, EnglandKamia Creelman, July 2005, Department of English University of New Brunswick, www.lib.unb.ca/texts/jsv/number27/creelman.htm Merry E. Wiesner- Women and Gender in Early modern font Europe, first published 1993, second edition 2000, Cambridge University Press Sharon Murphy, Lecture Notes, 2013Suzanne Hesse- www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/hesse1.htm