Bronte’s development of the main character Jane Eyre reflects and fosters the development of women as a whole in

the Victorian society in which Jane Eyre takes place inside of, through political and social points of view. Deblock
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Lindsey Deblock

Ms. Bradshaw

AP Literature and Composition 4th hour

28 Mar. 2021

Feminism As We Know It

Feminism is a rather controversial topic that grips every corner of the world in various

shapes or forms for countless decades. Women have created a variety of movements to achieve

their main objective: equal rights for men and women in all spheres of life. Throughout history,

women have created and shaped these movements through a variety of means such as political

activism, music, sports and literature. One piece of literature in particular, Charlotte Bronte’s

Jane Eyre, has contributed much to the development of women’s rights from social and political

implications in the time period in which it was created. Bronte’s development of the main

character Jane Eyre reflects and fosters the development of women as a whole in the Victorian

society in which Jane Eyre takes place inside of, through political and social points of view.

Feminism as a whole can be defined as “...the belief in the full economic, political, and

social equality of males and females…” (Mankiller), but can be broken down into two distinct

schools of thought: egalitarian and conservative feminism. Egalitarian feminism supports the

notion that women are independent beings with all of the same capabilities of men, not limited to

being housewives and mothers. Conversely, conservative feminism supports the idea of keeping

stereotypical household roles but expanding them by leaving the house and being involved in

social spheres and politics through charity (Sommers). Both of these forms differ in their

execution and offshooting philosophies, but come together with the central belief that women are

important facets of society and should have more rights than what they are initially given.
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the Victorian society in which Jane Eyre takes place inside of, through political and social points of view.
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Culture typically recognizes women such as Mary Wollstonecraft, who is widely considered the

founder of egalitarian feminism; Jane Austen, one of the first female authors who tried to break

gender barriers through literature; and Hannah More, who is considered the founder of

conservative feminism, as highly important women who represent their respective feminist cause

and helped to foster feminist ideas (Sommers). Of course, there were thousands of other women

who contributed to gaining the female vote and boosting the cause as a whole. These women,

stemming from a variety of different races, nationalities, social statuses, and economic statuses

all contributed in unique and equally powerful ways that produced history as we know it today.

For example, in Iroquois Confederacy culture, women played an important and expansive role in

politics and social issues, one that is not always recognized in regard to feminism. The Iroquois

had a system of self-government that encompassed six major northeastern tribes. Women in the

tribe nominated the Chief who then served on the Grand Council of all of the tribes. These

women served as advisors to those chiefs and acted in the best interest of future generations: they

decided when men should go into battle, determine the fate of captives, and decide terms of

peace agreements. They also controlled the food production, were able to participate in meetings

and were always consulted in tribal matters (Mankiller). These gender roles in Iroquois society

inspired American suffragists in many of their beliefs, an unexpected contribution to feminist.

Along with this, women of working-class economic status also contributed to the feminism

movement. Women of this standing challenged beliefs by doing the jobs few men would ever

take or hiding their identities to get male jobs take at the bottom of the employment ladder such

as filing legal suits, cross-dressing, and even going so far as to hide their marital status, sexual

orientation and/or pregnancies (Mankiller). This dedication and the fact that they clung to such

stigmatized, often exhausting jobs, speaks volumes about the strength and drive these women
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had and how it moved down through the generations, writing history as we know it. That can be

likened to Jane’s dedication to achieve social freedom and desire to work for herself and those

she loves. This and many other fictional representations of feminism shows its presence in

society, and how those actions of strength, endurance, and self-reliance have gone through the

generations and ended up as we know feminism today. During that time period, authors such as

the Bronte sisters moved onto the scene and further introduced feminism to literature. Charlotte

Bronte, also known by her gender neutral pen name Currer Bell, initially published Jane Eyre in

1847 under this pseudonym. The novel was met with positive reviews and much curiosity over

the sex of Currer Bell (Regis and Wynne). Jane Eyre discusses themes of social and gender

equality, as well as breaking the stereotype of beauty and charm that Victorian heroines often

had, as Jane is not concerned with superficial ideas. The novel grew quite popular and is widely

considered to be one of gothic literature’s most powerful classic works (Charlotte Bronte’s).

Charlotte’s impact on literature as a whole, which in turn helped to influence history and

women’s involvement in politics due to the main theme of Jane Eyre is just one example of

feminism and how it affected history to come, and will be expanded upon in the following

paragraphs.

Historically speaking, the feminism and women’s history referenced above has been

largely sugarcoated. Women and their history in real life, in literature, in television and movies

and even in music have been altered to fit the ideal, optomistic image. Stories such as the tale of

Boudicca, a warrior queen who valliantly ransacked the legions of Rome who was described to

be a strong, beautiful woman with an extravagant chariot have proved to be untrue. In actuality,

Boudicca ransacked Rome because they had stolen her kingdom, physically assaulted her and

sexually assaulted her daughters (Penny). This mistelling of Boudicca’s story makes it difficult
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for the history of women to be accurately described and retold, and also shows how countless

women were treated in the period leading up to the twentieth century. Women were beaten,

bruised, and even killed to be denied the vote, the entrance into politics and even the workforce.

History has struggled to show the painful, tiring truth that thousands of women have faced. That

slight diversion to make a story sound more appealing to a young female audience has continued

to snowball and has created a false portrayal of women throughout history, without all of the

struggle. However, many ideas that womanhood is not as joyful as it seems begin to spring up in

the twentieth century as more women gain the ability to read and write. These ideas often

manifested themselves in the form of literature. This is where the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte

Bronte helps to show the true image of women in society. Jane Eyre is centered around a young

Victorian woman named Jane and her struggle for equality and to marry her true love on her own

free will. It also makes light of women and individual beings that can be fierce and stubborn.

Growing up as an unwanted orphan living in her aunt’s home, she learns to be individualistic in

nature and this continues to be this way through her time at Lowood, the girls school she is sent

to, and beyond. In one particular instance, Jane’s aunt, Mrs. Reed accuses her of being a

pathological liar in the company of the headmaster of Lowood. As it was hardly the first time

Jane had been patronized by her aunt, she lost her patience on her. “How dare I, Mrs. Reed? How

dare I? Because it is the truth. You think I have no feelings, and that I can live without one bit of

love or kindness; but I cannot live so; and you have no pity. I shall remember how you thrust me

back - roughly and violently thrust me back into the red-room and locked me up there - to my

dying day; though I was in agony…” (Bronte 45). Jane’s words are scathing, especially for a

female child during her time period. Her negative experiences with her aunt, and her confidence

to refuse to back down to her helps to illustrate Jane as a person. In addition, Jane establishing
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that she will not stay with Rochester after she finds out he is currently married is a testament to

how she values herself. Jane and Rochester’s relationship is also an interesting aspect of Jane’s

personality, as he seems to respect and value her as an individual. He wishes to become equals

with Jane, an uncommon occurrence for the time period. Conversely, St. John does not wish to

establish this equality with her. He also wishes to marry her, but wishes for her to become

submissive, someone who merely travels and takes care of him throughout his travels, something

Jane is not willing to do and has the willpower to say no to. These traits and actions show the

difference between Jane and other Victorian heroines written in literature at the time. Most

heroines were beautiful and cunning, using their grace, status and looks to navigate through life.

On the other hand, Jane is not especially beautiful and is not concerned with superficial ideas

such as the normal. She is more concerned with her independence, where she will get her income

from, and how to keep her pride and individuality ifin she gets married. Throughout the novel,

Jane is narrating her experience in hindsight and at the end tells her audience that she married

him and they have a child: “Reader, I married him…” (Charlotte Bronte’s). This growth, to say

that she chose it on her own free will, was another area that Jane felt was necessary to have and

she achieved it (Kelchner 399). This parallel and it's reflection into the novel had a profound

effect on the readers and history to come. By establishing that that personality can be shown in

novels, without straying too far from regular Victorian social standards, was a groundbreaking

idea that will be further explored in the following paragraph.

Jane Eyre served as an inspiration for many other literary works, televisions shows,

movies, and more because of its impactive content. For example, themes and structures present

in Jane Eyre have paved the way for novels such as Barbara Comyns’ novel The Juniper Tree

and Jeanette Winterson’s novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (Regis and Wynne). Both of
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these novels show strong examples of modern feminism, with the ideas Jane Eyre has carried

down. As for television, Jane Eyre has been referenced in popular television shows such as Star

Trek: Voyager, alongside other famous Victorian novels (Regis and Wynne). Finally, the novel

has had countless film adaptations and films heavily inspired by it, such as South Riding directed

by Victor Saville (Regis and Wynne). The aim of listing all of these adaptations into various

forms of media is to show how one novel can spread ideas regarding feminism and equality

through a vast scope. The more those ideas spread, the more awareness is achieved, the more

women can get involved, and the more history is altered from its path. Other forms of media are

not the only way Jane Eyre was able to amplify its message - its genre also factors into it. Jane

Eyre is a bildungsroman, “a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main

character” (Bildungsroman) and a genre that was typically written in regards to the growth of

boys into young men in the Victorian era. Women were typically not involved in this genre due

to the fact that women were usually not raised in the same way as men. When this novel was

published, the fact that it was of this genre was revolutionary, and broke down gender barriers

that limited the genre to men. The novel portrays Jane as a hardworking, educated young woman

filled with drive and determination that was seemingly unbreakable no matter the situation she

was faced with, and relied off of her own will, rather than that of others. Her personality as a

whole served as a beacon for young women around the world, showing that women too can have

those traits. As author Elayne Rapping states, “... all these heroines make for fine role models:

intelligent, strong, mature, and admirable in many ways, especially for their time” (Rapping).

Her character greatly challenged Victorian society’s expectations of women, and helped to

spread feminism through the society. Though a mere novel may seem insignificant, it greatly
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helped to foster the development of women’s rights as we know them, and how history has

played out.

Jane Eyre is an important piece of literature that contributed to the expansion of women’s

rights and made more people aware of societal expectations of women and how women can and

should be able to have the same rights as a man by using the heroine Jane as an example of this.

Bronte’s development of the main character Jane Eyre reflects upon and fosters the development

of women rights in the Victorian society in which Jane Eyre takes place inside of with regard to

its political and social implications. Modern feminism, although it works towards new causes

and expands to new frontiers of social causes and political ventures, continues to be supported by

various works in literature and will likely always be this way. By drawing its inspiration from

Jane Eyre, society can alter history as we know it.

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Works Cited

Amber K Regis, and Deborah Wynne. Charlotte Brontë : Legacies and Afterlives. Manchester

University Press, 2017. EBSCOhost,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=e000xna&AN=1571507&site=ehost-li

ve, pp. 1-3, 5-6, 280-284.

“Bildungsroman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster,

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bildungsroman. Accessed 25 Feb. 2021.

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Barnes & Noble Books, New York, 2003.

Charlotte Bronte's "Jane Eyre". , 2004. SIRS Issues Researcher,

https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2249906215?accountid=6704

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Kelchner, Heidi. Jane Eyre. By Charlotte Bronte, Masterpieces of Women’s Literature, Edited by

Frank N. Magill, Harper Collins Publishers, 1996, pp. 298-300.

Mankiller, Wilma. Feminism and Feminisms. , 1998. SIRS Issues Researcher,

https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2265475798?accountid=6704

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Penny, Laurie. "Let's Finally Tell the Truth about Women's History." Washington Post, 10 Mar

2019. SIRS Issues Researcher,

https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2265912015?accountid=6704

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Rapping, Elayne. "The Jane Austen Thing." Progressive, 07 1996. SIRS Issues Researcher,
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