FEMINISM SQUARED – CHARLOTTE BRONTË’S JANE EYRE

Tutoveanu Andreea-Miruna

Faculty of Letters, Second Year, Group 5

 Most of us grew up with the notion that literature in the Victorian Age was mostly
confined to men, and that women, even when they could read, certainly did not compose
books. Recently, however, scholars have begun reassesing notions of how history is
perceived and written, resulting in our clearer understanding of women’s role in society.
According to R. B. Martin, Jane Eyre is ‚the first major feminist novel’ .

Feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and
opportunities. This thesis seemed uncomplicated for lots of heroines which managed to
change the standards imposed by society. One of them is, surely, Jane Eyre.

In that period, girls were educated in order to be beautiful housewifes – to know French, to
play an instrument (especially piano) and to give birth to many pretty heirs and heiresses.
Well, Jane is not the case. Growing up as an orphan with no fortune, far from being pretty or
attractive, she cannot be compared with the other young women of her age. For her, marriage
is not the main aim in life as she points out: ‚They generally run on the same theme –
courtship; and promise to end in the same catastrophe – marriage.’ She does not want to get
married, but to preserve her identity and her freedom in a society governed by males. Despite
her social statute, she has the corage to stand up and to speak out when she feels like she is
poorly treated; it does not matter if it’s her aunt, her bulling cousin (Jane was abused in
childhood because she was not ‚one of them’) or the headmaster of the school. Jane does not
let go of her free spirit and feminist ideals not even in the relationship with the man she loves.
Even if she is a governess, she does not consider herself inferior to Rochester in terms of
spiritual qualities. It is important that Jane knows well her role in the marriage with Rochester
so that she functions as a full partner – without having to look up because of any feeling of
inferiority, or look down because of any feeling of superiority, but look across into the eyes of
an equally prepared mate. It is a significant thing for her that both sexes should be equal not
only in political, social or economic terms, but also in terms of heart and spirit. She defines
herself as a spiritual human being, refusing and rejecting the idea of being objectified; when
Rochester buys her all kinds of expensive clothes and jewels she says: ‚the more he bought
me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation’. When Rochester
suggests her to move with him to France, where no one knows or cares that he is already
married, she refuses not only the tempting offer, but also the luxurious trap.
 When Jane Eyre was published by Charlotte Brontë under the masculin pseudonym Currer
Bell, it was both received with great acclaim and harsh criticism. If the book was presented as
written by a woman, it could have probably been rejected. Talking about fields like art,
literature, philosophy, psychology, science females were seen as weak because they never
wrote great books, very few of them made huge discoveries or invented brilliant things. They
kinda lacked a sort of freedom of expression which was only find in men’s workings. ꞌIt is
when we compare the woman of achievement with the few rare male artists who deserve to be
called ‘great men’ that she seems mediocre.ꞌ It is already known that a woman have to
remove her subjectivity in order to be considered ‘true’ by males. This supports the idea that
women could not or were not confident enough to be objective and only when they became
like that can we say that women gained liberty.

Brontë’s novel was meant to show women how they should act and behave in a society
which, at that time, was governed by men. While Brontë did not approve of women voting,
she did believe they should be allowed to work. In the novel, Jane makes a passionate plea for
women to be allowed to use their talents, and not to be confined to the home ‘making
puddings and knitting stocking, playing on the piano and embroidering bags'. Charlotte
Brontë herself had worked as a governess and a teacher, but had hated it. Struggling to make a
living out of this, she clearly suggested that women who take on the role of a live-in
governess can never be happy. Charlotte approved of ‚action’ and believed that even wealthy
girls should be brought up to be independent so they could avoid the shallow and ‚piteously
degrading’ marriage market. 
Being able to combine a gothic, psychological, romance novel in one and hoping to
escape through writing, she gave an outlook into the depths of her soul: “Do you think I am an
automaton? — a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched
from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? 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. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even
of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the
grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!”
G. H. Lewes wrote that it was ‚an utterance from the depths of a struggling, suffering,
much-enduring spirit’, and that it consisted of ‚suspiria de profundis!’ (‚sighs from the
depths’).
Jane Eyre will surely remain one of the world’s masterpieces as feminist issues are by no
means resolved and continue to give  rise to many debates and controversies. 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Brontë, Charlotte, Jane Eyre, Penguin Classics, 2006.

2. Budeanu, Cristina, A Feminist approach to Jane Eyre. Victorian
character made relevant to postemodern women, rate.org.ro, 2015.
3. Butcher, Emma, The secret history of Jane Eyre: Charlotte Brontë’s
private fantasy stories, theguardian.com, 2016.
4. Harman, Claire, Author Charlotte Brontë was an uncompromising
feminist trailblazer, independent.co.uk, 2015.