The book Jane Eyre relates to the Victorian era in many ways. One of the first examples would be when Jane meets with Mr. Brocklehurst at Gateshead and she states her opinion over the book of Psalms. In this scene Mr. Brocklehurst seems very disturbed at Jane's response to this part of The Bible and it shows just how important it was to openly praise God in this era. When Jane arrived at Lowood and witnessed Helen punished for such unfair things, she was furious. Jane asked Helen why she would allow Ms. Scatcherd to punish her like she does and Helen explained that she thought punishment was needed to show that she accepted the faults she had made. In this scene the reader learns how important it was to listen to and respect the adults around you and how harsh they were back then. The book also shows how women were labeled in the Victorian times. They were seen as only able or worthy to do housewife jobs and nothing more and men were seen as the tough and smart humans that do the "hard" work. The reader can also learn just how fast people turned to marriage in these times from reading about how quick Mr. Rochester is to think about marrying Miss Ingram and then Jane. Classification is a big part throughout this book and is referred to a great deal. Jane grew up in the lower class and later meets Mr. Rochester who has always been higher class. Readers learn how big of a part ranking played in the Victorian era through reading about the characters jobs, the money they have, and how they are seen by society.
Charlotte Brontë and Victorian Psychology by Sally Shuttleworth:
Victorian Theatrical by Sara Hudson:
I love how your examples give amazing support as to why Jane Eyre connects to the Victorian Era. The details you give about the events help to paint the picture of each scene and support your reasoning as well. I also like how you chose examples from all throughout the book, not just choosing examples from a couple chapters. It really shows how the book as a whole connects to the Victorian Era.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your thought on how quickly Mr. Rochester moved from planning to marry Ingram and then switched to Jane. I think in the Victorian Age, there was a heavy focus on getting married. Mr. Rochester didn't marry someone who could give him more money, but he did marry a young girl who actually loved him. It is hard to tell now if he really loves her too since you brought up the point of him switching women so fast.
ReplyDeleteThe examples you choose in connecting Jane Eyre to the Victorian Era do a great job of proving that Jane Eyre is a Victorian novel. I think you could also say something about how women in this time period are just accessories to the man's success in life, as well as only allowed to do house chores. I think you might also want to add how Bronte and Jane hated the culture and believed that something should be done about changing how the rich treated the poor people.
ReplyDeleteYour examples are great and I feel that how strict and hard adults were on children, especially girls, is very apparent in the beginning part of this book. It is exactly what happened during the Victorian era. Girls were forced to grow up to be all like each other and become elegant women. I also love your example of how marriages were quickly thought about back then, instead of love and time, it was about class rank and money when people chose who they were going to marry.
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