Representation of Gender in Books

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte (1847) follows the journey of Jane as an orphan, from her childhood to her adulthood as rich wife and heiress, while exploring the position of women in Victorian Society. It explores the social stratification of Victorian society and the nature of human freedom and equality.

Charlotte Bronte first published the book under the male name, Currer Bell. During this time, male writers were more praised and respected than female writers. The book ended up becoming a key text in the analysis of earlier women's writing.

The book shocked and horrified Victorian viewers, mostly because of Jane's anger. Some people were disturbed by how unfeminine, and self-willed Jane is. "I am no bird, and no net ensnares me. I am a free human being with an independent will."

Throughout Jane Eyre, Bronte used extracts from her own life. Like the fact that she went away to school, just like Jane. Also, she worked as a Governess.

The first-person perspective of the novel allows the reader to become indulged more with the story and the character of Jane. It enables a deeper emotional connection for the reader to understand what Bronte is trying to convey.

Jane Eyre speaks to the readers very own cultural and social position as well as addressing ethics, power, morality and gender. It can be read as a discussion of kinship structures, gender definition, and to some extent, the relation between these and social class.

The Feminist Lens views how women characters are portrayed in books, and whether or not they are placed in a stereotype. Through the feminist lens, Jane Eyre examines the limited opportunities and prospects provided to educated young women. "It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for sex."

Jane Eyre is a young woman who struggles for self-definition in a society that too often dismisses her that right. She uses her imagination as a way to escape the realities of everyday life. Jane feels the need to belong somewhere, which intensifies her intense need for freedom and autonomy. But she also questions what type of freedom that she wants. Jane is an assertive feminist heroine who defies class and gender to live life by her own terms. "Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! I have as much soul as you, and full as much heart!"

Jane forms her own ideas about faith and principle. She speaks the truth against powerful figures such as her Aunt. The strange, in-between social status of a governess is clear through Jane's experience of being one. This was based on Bronte's own experience working as a governess.

Jane speaks out against class prejudice at certain moments in the book. "Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you—and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you." - Ch. 23, Jane to Rochester.

Jane suffers from the realities of orphanhood, confinement and starvation, which fuels her rage against the customs and standards of society. We see this clearly in the first chapter of the book. "Take her away to the red room and lock her in there." She must fight against those who believe women to be inferior to men.

One notable quote from Jane Eyre that highlights aspects of the strict social class structure: "I learned, for the first time, from Miss Abbot's communications to Bessie, that my father had been a poor clergyman; that my mother had married him against the wishes of her friends, who considered the match beneath her; that my grandfather Reed was so irritated at her disobedience, he cut her off without a shilling; that after my mother and father had been married a year, the latter caught the typhus fever...that my mother took the infection from him, and both died within a month of each other."

In Jane Eyre, male dominance is seen through the characters of John Reed and Mr Brocklehurst. Jane's cousin Jonh makes her do whatever he says. Furthermore, at Lowood School, Jane and the other female students have to deal with Mr Brockelhurst, who is a hypocrite.