Class-consciousness in Jane Eyre by Charlote Bront During the 19th century the British had a very rigid social

stratification. At this time in their history the class structure did not allow much mobility between the ranks of the lower class middle class and u!!er class and !eo!le ty!ically stayed in the class into which they were born. "he novel #ane $yre by Charlote e%amines the situation of middle class women in the early 1&''s. "he industrial revolution had o!ened u! a wide range of work for working class women yet in those days the career of governess was considered one of the few res!ectable !ositions for middle class women like #ane to take u!. (ike the other )ictorian novelists Charlote Bront was fascinated by the lonely !ersecuted child. "he dis!ro!otion between the child*s means of defence and the o!!ressor*s cynism and material su!remacy is a source of !owerful !athetic effects. +n the first !art of the novel #ane lives in the house of ,rs. -eed. .ere she is being told very clearly that she is a member of the lower class and her cousin #ohn -eed in !articular serves to illustrate the dehumani/ing of members from the lower class because of their social !osition. "he -eed family does not show any affection to #ane. +nstead they use her social standing as a reason to treat her !oorly. #ohn -eed her first male o!!ressor is also the first to delineate her eccentricity and to warn her against the danger of being !erceived as a nonstandard e%!ression of femininity that is customarily disci!lined violently0 12ou have no business to take our books3 you are a de!endant mamma says3 you have no money3 your father left you none3 you ought to beg and not live here with gentlemen*s children like us and eat the same meals as we do and wear clothes at your mamma*s e%!ense. 4ow +*ll teach you to rummage my book-shelves3 fot they are mine3 all the house belongs to me or will do in a few years.5 #ohn like many others of his era believs that because #ane is an or!han she is not worthy to live in the same house as the -eeds and any abuse given to her is still better than she deserves. Because #ane is a 1de!endant5 #ohn sees no fault in constantly beating #ane. $arlier in cha!ter one when #ohn is initially unsuccessful in finding #ane he calls to her sisters0 1#oan is not here0 tell ,ama she run out into the rain 6bad animal.5 #ohn*s statement to his sisters

demonstrated the subhuman !osition that #ane held in the -eed house. Because she is an or!han #ohn refers to #ane not as ashe was a !erson but as though she was a misbehaving !et. "he humiliations she suffers in the -eed family the harsh treatment meant to break down her s!iritual and !sysical e%istence reach a clima% in cha!ter two when #ane $yre is loked u! in the 1red room5. Although #ane is mistreated and mis7udged in the -eed house because of her social class she also dis!lays !re7udice against those of lower class. 8hen asked if she would like to leave the -eeds and live with !oor !eo!le that would treat her with kindness #ane firmly re!lies no. 9he imagines a life of !overty to be an even worse fate that living with the -eeds. Because she has grown u! in an aristocratic household #ane has !icked u! some of the !red7udices against her own class. 1:overty looks grim to grown !eo!le3 still more so to children0 they have not much idea of industrious working res!ectable !overty3 they think of the word only as connected with ragged clothes scanty food fireless grates rude manners and debasing vices0 !overty for me was synonymous with degradation.5 "he second !art of the novel describes #ane $yre*s life at (owood a charity school for !oor and or!han girls. "he second !art unlike the first !art which contains a remarkable analysis of a terrified soul the second !art describes the mood of rebellion. #ane $yre is a rebel against o!!ression un7ust accusation and inhuman conditions of life. 1,s. Blocklehurst re!resents the most un!leasant incarnation of a religious fake his indoctrination in hy!ocrisy turning into a grotes;ue and sadistic clowning. +n their first discussion at <ateshead .all he terrori/es the little girl with the menace of the fate of naughty girls being thrown into 1a !itiful of fire5 where the wicked are condemned burning forever. (ater on at (owood his angry mysticism highlights the institutionalised vicious and ruthless disci!line !ractised in the so-called 1charity schools5 of the age. "he brutality of Blocklehurst*s religious vision is made a!!arent in the momorable scene when #ane is being e%!osed as 1a liar5. -eluctant to listen to the girl*s account of events and relying on ,rs. -eed*s story alone Blocklehurst denigrates #ane in !ublic at (owood then delivers a lecture on the sin of dishonesty in the same fanatic vein as that in which he condemns the refusal of the schoolgirls to eat the burnt !orridge. .is im!assioned sermon on the divine remuneration of self-abnegation is set in
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contrast to he !ortrait of his light-hearted vain and beautifully dressed daughters that mimic a !ious attitude while standing by their father thus mutely bearing witness to their family*s double standards. 1 ="urcu >''? !.&@ A "he idea of self-!rivation and endurance is embodied almost com!letely by .elen Burns. 8hile ,r. Blocklehurst is knowledgeable of the word of <od he does not !ractice the !olicy he !reaches. By contrast .elen sets strict standards for herself and does her best to live by them. 8hile ,r. Brocklehurst embodies an evangelical form of religion that seeks to stri! others of their e%cessive !ride or of their ability to take !leasure in worldly things .elen re!resents a mode of Christianity that stresses tolerance and acce!tance. Brocklehurst uses religion to gain !ower and to control others3 .elen ascetically trusts her own faith and turns the other cheek to (owood*s harsh !olicies. #ane will later on conduct herself in accord with .elen*s wisdom. .elen !rovides #ane and the reader an e%am!le of what true Christian love is. Another e%am!le of class !red7udice in #ane*s life is in the third !art of her story when she is em!loyed as a gouverness in the house of $dward -ochester. 9ocial !re7udices toward governesses are !ortrayed in the attitudes of Blanche +ngram !articularly in her remark0 B+ have 7ust one word to say of the whole tribe0 they are a nuisanceB Blanche +ngram*s characteri/ation of gouvernesses demonstrates more unfair 7udgement of those in the lower class. Because Blanche and her sisters were rich they were !ermitted to act horribly towards their gouverness. "heir acts were tolerated because they belonged to the u!!er class. "he u!!er class in the novel is associated with names such as0 $li/a <eorgina ,iss +ngram or the 9ym!sons. All these names immediately convey the idea of !ride vanity selfishness co;uetry silliness and lack of culture. (ater in the novel even if #ane is engaged to ,r. -ochester they are still from different social backgrounds. #ane has worked for everything she has received by far and she is uncomfortable with receiving things she has not earned. #ane does not wish to be de!endent on ,r. -ochester. .er fear of losing her autonomy motivates her refusal of -ochester*s marriage !ro!osal. #ane believes that 1marrying5 -ochester while he remains legally tied to Bertha would mean rendering herself a mistress and sacrificing her own integrity for the sake of emotional
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gratification. Cn the other hand her life at ,oor .ouse tests her in the o!!osite manner. "here she en7oys economic inde!endence and engages in worthwhile and useful work teaching the !oor3 yet she lacks emotional sustenance. Although 9t. #ohn !ro!oses marriage offering her a !artnershi! built around a common !ur!ose #ane knows their marriage would remain loveless. #ane herself s!eaks out against class !re7udice at certain moments in the book. Dor e%am!le in Cha!ter >? she chastises -ochester0 1Do you think because + am !oor obscure !lain and little + am soulless and heartlessE 2ou think wrongFG+ have as much soul as youG and full as much heartF And if <od had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth + should have made it as hard for you to leave me as it is now for me to leave you.5 .owever it is also im!ortant to note that nowhere in Jane Eyre are society*s boundaries bent. Hltimately #ane is only able to marry -ochester as his e;ual because she has almost magically come into her own inheritance from her uncle. +n the beginning of Jane Eyre the !rotagonist #ane is downtrodden girl who does not undestand why she is continually !unished for ;ualities she does not !osses. As the novel !rogesses #ane !erceives various !eo!le in their believe that walth indicates goodness and those in !overty also have bad morality. #ane also witnesses !eo!le who defy their !reconce!tion and !rove that virtue e%ist regardless of class. "he !eo!le who encounters hel! to mold #ane into an inde!endent woman who values character over all else.

Bibliogra!hy <alea +leana. Victorianism and Literature. Clu7-4a!oca0 Dacia :ublishing .ouse0 199I 9J7ournJ :hili!!e. The Feminine Tradition in English Fiction. +asi0 +nstitutul $uro!ean0 1999 "urcu (uminita $lena. The Victorian Novel. 9uceava0 $ditura Hniversitatii0 >''? htt!0KKwww.literature.orgKauthorsKBront-charlotteK7ane-eyreK

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