English Education

Expectations of 19th Century Women

Jane Eyre is a novel that touches on the position of women in the 19th century, from those of the higher class like Mrs.Reed to those with no prospects like Jane Eyre and to those who are shunned or ostracized like Bertha Mason. The novel focuses on how Jane has to temper her own passionate temperament to succeed through school at Lowood. After she leaves Lowood and enters Thornfield Hall, she meets in Mr.Rochester the part of her nature that wants to live more passionately and spiritually. Jane goes through the rest of her story in a violent conflict with her own temperament through almost succumbing to passion when almost marrying Mr.Rochester and suppressing what makes her feel alive when almost marrying St.John. Charlotte Bronte uses the Cinderella-like story of a happy ending with rich Mr.Rochester as a social criticism of her society expecting women not to be able to pursue things that make them happy in life.

The novel of Jane Eyre opens up with Jane being excluded from sitting next to her aunt on the account of hearing form Bessie that Jane was "endeavouring in good earnest to acquire a more sociable and childlike disposition, a more attractive and sprightly manner – something lighter, franker, more natural" (Bronte 5). Aunt Reed puts an enormous amount of expectation on Bessie to look after Jane's behavior because she is young, cannot question her authority and in her struggle to keep Jane under control – would never end up having to be near her niece. Her cousin John takes Jane's book away from her because he knew of his own superiority and wanted to not treat his own cousin with kindness. After attacking her cousin in retaliation for his words, she overhears from Abbot "I told Missis often my opinion about the child, and the Missis agreed with me" (Bronte 10) which shows that Abbot is critical of Jane in order to keep in favor of Mrs. Reed. We understand through Jane being locked up in the Red Room as well as afterwards and wondering how she can gain their favor back that there is no way she can do so, which prompts her to decide to go to school.

Jane finds Mr.Brocklehust and Aunt Reed downstairs. Aunt Reed claims that Jane has not been a good child. Through questioning Jane's religiosity, he confirms "you have a wicked heart; and you must pray to change it" (Bronte 27). Jane expresses she felt Mrs.Reed were "sowing aversion and unkindess along my future path... transformed under Brocklehurst's eye into an artful noxious child" (Bronte 28). Mr.Brocklehurst describes his school as getting rid of "the worldly sentiment of pride" (Bronte 28) and confirming to Mrs.Reed of them "being trained in conformity to... positions and prospects" (Bronte 29). We learn from their exchange that Jane is entering a life of young governesses where the women are being trained to accept forever being in poverty and are treated as being evil – in need of the salvation of wealthy families.

Jane assert to Aunt Reed "I will never come to see you... you are hard-hearted. You are deceitful!" (Bronte 30) but instantly feels reproach because she knows she isn't supposed to question authority as a child. Jane is then sent off to Lowood school, where the girls are ordered about as if they were an army. She notices a girl that stands strong in the face of punishment and questions "I wonder what sort of girl she is – whether good or naughty?" (Bronte 44). The girl being punished feels the same passionate feelings of injustice that Jane feels but having already been in Lowood Institution, she forced to judge the girl before her as she herself had been judged. We notice then that Lowood has succeeded in making Jane feel inferior about her own gender even though she could otherwise be mindful of the injustice that other girls like herself face.

She meets Helen Burns who is being constantly judged by Miss Scatcherd. Jane questions why Helen does not stand up for herself, saying "if I were in your place, I would dislike her; I should resist her" (Bronte 47). Helen knows she would "do nothing of the sort" (Bronte 46). She believes in "enduring patiently a smart which no one feels but yourself" (Bronte 47) because she is comforted by the idea that she should someday be in heaven. Then she proceeds to justify Miss Scatcherd's treatment of her "I am seldom put... I am careless... I cannot bear to be subjected to systematic arrangements" (Bronte 47) and "I should be listening to Miss Scatcherd, and collecting all she says with assiduity" (Bronte 47). We learn that Helen too had the passion that Jane had when she entered Lowood but has internalized the criticism she has faced there and turned it inwards to herself.