Jane An Educated Woman example essay topic

In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte portrays one woman's desperate struggle to attain her identity in the mist of temptation, isolation, and impossible odds. Although she processes a strong soul she must fight not only the forces of passion and reason within herself, but other's wills constantly imposed on her. In its first publication, it outraged many for its realistic portrayal of life during that time. Ultimately, the controversy of Bronte's novel lied in its realism, challenging the role of women, religion, and mortality in the Victorian society.

In essence, Bronte's novel became a direct assault on Victorian morality. Controversy based in its realistic exposure of thoughts once considered improper for a lady of the 19th century. Emotions any respectable girl would repress. Women at this time were not to feel passion, nor were they considered sexual beings. To conceive the thought of women expressing rage and blatantly retaliating against authority was a defiance against the traditional role of women. Jane Eyre sent controversy through the literary community.

For not only was it written by a woman but marked the first use of realistic characters. Jane's complexity lied in her being neither holy good nor evil. She was poor and plain in a time when society considered "an ugly woman a blot on the face of creation". It challenged Victorian class structure in a strictly hierarchal society. A relationship between a lowly governess and a wealthy nobleman was simply unheard of. Bronte drew criticism for her attack on the aristocracy who she deemed as hypocritical "showy but... not genuine".

She assaulted individual's already established morals by presenting a plausible case for bigamy. Notions which should have evoked disgust and outrage from its reader. Yet its most scandals aspect was its open treatment of love. Passionate love scenes which were for their day extremely explicit but by today's standards are less than tame. Bronte's choice of a strong independent heroine depicted feminist ideals that would later lead to the overhaul of Victorian culture. By making Jane an educated woman, Bronte gave her impower ment in a patriarchal society that denied women education.

However, Jane became a woman who demanded a say in her own destiny. During her courtship, she refutes Rochester's need to "clasp... bracelets on her wrists" and "fasten a diamond chain around her neck". These become symbols of female enslavement within a male dominated world. Jane's will power and integrity prevent her from succumbing to Rochester and becoming just another of his possessions. For if she can not preserve her individuality, she "shall not be... Jane Eyre any longer, but an ape in a harlequins jacket".

With her refusal to become Rochester's mistress, she demonstrates her inner strength. Strength that will enable her to face the possibility of hunger, poverty, and even death. It is in her decision to not marry St. John that Jane finally liberates herself from the bonds of male suppression. All this has been in effort to maintain some semblance of self- worth.

"Who in the world cares for you"I care for myself. The more friendless... the more I will respect myself". Even in her ultimate marriage to Rochester, she is in no way surrendering to convention, for she has entered their union not only with independence but emotional equality. If anything her actions resemble a feminist adaptation of Sleeping Beauty, one in which the woman rescues the prince.

Essentially Jane has sacrificed nothing, rather gaining a loving marriage in which they are equals; equality.