Can certain characteristics mold an event to help a character mature and furthermore succeed? In Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, difficult events in Jane Eyre’s life promote, rather than hinder, her success. Through her unique personality traits, which are far more advanced than the typical Marxist view of women in the Victorian era, Jane molds these fateful events to help her achieve success in her oppressive world. Marxism states that all societies contain economic bases and everything else around these bases is the social structure. Thus, the social structure, represented through artwork such as Jane Eyre, is dependent on the economic base and changes along with changes in the base. The hardships of the Victorian era are brought about by the divisions between the extremely poor and the extremely rich aristocracy, who represent the economic base of the society. Along with these economic hardships, the limitations placed upon women of the time create the social structure and furthermore the character Jane Eyre. Jane’s courage, boldness, and curiosity all help her succeed in the Victorian era.
First, Jane overcomes her hardship, as a poor orphaned female, through her uncommon courage, which helps her succeed over other women of her time. Jane talks to Georgiana, when Mrs. Reed comes to scold her for talking. “What would uncle Reed say to you, if he were alive?…My uncle Reed is in heaven, and can see all you do and think; and so can papa and mama: they know how you shut me up all day, and how you wish me dead” (27).
The Essay on Economic, Political, And Social Change Effect In American Revolution
Although the colonists’ lives changed significantly in many ways after the American Revolution, the economic, political, and social conversions are viewed to be the most dramatic. The American Revolution was the war between the American colonies and Great Britain from 1775-1783 . Most consider this war not to be a nationalist revolution, in which the aim of the revolutionaries was to ...
Jane’s courage finally overcomes her fear of Mrs. Reed. Mrs. Reed is a god fearing woman, and when Jane informs her that God is watching, Mrs. Reed is fearful of her jealousy taking over, and more of these atrocious activities taking place, such as locking Jane in the Red Room. Mrs. Reed has no other choice than to rid herself of Jane. When Jane chastises Mrs. Reed it seals her fate of going to Lowood. Jane’s stay at Gateshead is imprisoning, and unhealthy. The shock of the red room almost killed Jane. Surely Jane would have never achieved emotional and physical success in such an environment. A women of the Victorian Era would have never disrespected a person of higher class. This went against the Marxist philosophy that the social structure of the time was created by the economic base. Economically Mrs. Reed is higher than Jane, thus in social structure Mrs. Reed would be higher too. For Jane to respond to someone of a higher class with such a tone and such strong words was completely atypical of women of the time, but this outburst of rage ends up in a change of setting for Jane which helps her flourish, therefore, in a Marxist point of view, Jane overcomes odds which an average woman of her time could not.
Jane’s unusual courage not only helps her face great odds, but also helps her form unusually strong relationships. Jane’s unique boldness helps her capture the attention of important people in her life, which leads to her success over the average woman in the Victorian era. The relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester is a game of intense emotions throughout the book, until Jane’s bold proposal of love to Mr. Rochester. Jane is talking with Mr. Rochester of the possible voyage she will take when he gets married:
‘Not the voyage, but the distance: and then the sea is a barrier-‘
The Essay on Jane Eyre Mrs Reed
Passion and Responsibility In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses Jane Eyre as her base to find out how a character confronts the demands of a private passion that conflicts with her responsibilities... Mistreated abused and deprived of a normal childhood, Jane Eyre creates an enemy early in her childhood with her Aunt Mrs. Reed. Just as Mrs. Reeds life is coming to an end, she writes to ...
‘From what, Jane?’
‘From England and from Thornfield: and-‘
‘Well?’
‘From you, sir.’ (255)
In the Victorian era women would not form the relationships, rather a relationship was arranged by wealth and class. For Jane to express such emotion to her employer would be unacceptable, especially since she was in a lower class than Mr. Rochester. But it is this atypical characteristic of boldness that helps her succeed over all the other women Mr. Rochester has seen in winning his heart. In a Marxist point of view Jane was a separate entity from her social structure, and the economic base of her time. She made no distinction between classes and ignored the social boundaries, which were created by the economic base. These uncommon traits may have been her savior in the eyes of a Marxist. With out this unique boldness Jane would not be able to capture the hearts of Rochester. The average woman of the time would have never attempted such a risk, and would have been content with her accomplishments. Jane’s independence could have been considered a huge accomplishment, but Jane wanted more. If Jane had stayed at Lowood she could have never met Rochester or any other man. In a Marxist point of view Jane’s separation from her social structure, marked by her unique boldness, help her succeed over the average woman in the Victorian era.
Boldness has proven Jane successful in forging strong bonds, but it is Jane’s atypical strong will which helps achieve her ideal success, emotional success. Jane’s strong will is shown when she seeks a governess position. Jane is teaching at Lowood and is tired of the monotonous life:
A new servitude! There is something in that…I have served here eight years; now all I want is to serve elsewhere. Can I not get so much of my own will? Is not the thing feasible? Yes-Yes- the end is not so difficult; if I had only a brain active enough to ferret out the means of attaining it. (87)
Jane would have never met her emotional success in a dull place such as Lowood. Jane is searching for the strong bonds between a family she never had. Her entire life has been like a play with drama around every corner. Jane naturally can not be confined to such a dull place as Lowood. In a Marxist point of view the average woman in Jane’s situation would be content with her position in life. She had food and a roof over her head. Before this she was an orphan and had nothing. But this was not Jane’s idea of success, and Jane’s perseverance to seek a better life leads her to Rochester and the love she never had.
The Essay on “Jane Eyre” as a bildungsroman novel
Bildungsroman is a novel genre that narrates a hero or heroine’s process of psychological maturation and focuses on experiences and changes that accompanies the growth of the character from youth to adulthood. “The term “Bildungsroman” was introduced to the critical vocabulary by the German philosopher and sociologist Wilhelm Dilthey (1833-1941), who first employed it in an ...
Jane’s unique traits of courage, boldness, and strong will, all help her succeed in her time period. But what is Bronte trying express in Jane Eyre, and can the reader learn anything from a story, which is almost two centuries old? Charlotte Bronte uses Jane Eyre to express the restrictions upon women during the era of her protagonist, Jane Eyre. By expressing these hardships she writes a literary work of art and defines the hardship of her social structure due to the unique economic base of its time. Even though the Victorian era has long since passed, Jane Eyre’s character traits have not. This book has been criticized by many for not applying to the reader. In a way Jane Eyre represents every successful leader, and businessman of today. In each person we can find courage, boldness and strong will. Though her story is centuries old, her traits still live on, and still lead to success.
Works Cited
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: New American Library, 1997.
