JANE EYRE

I decided to write about my favorite book. Though this is probably not exactly what you are talking about I figured I'm much more better at writing essays about things I like and enjoy rather than things I'm unsure about.  Human society has come a long way since the Victorian Era, which is where my favoring book is set.  Life was a different place than and it is good to see how society has changed.

During the Victorian Era it was uncommon to see two people from different ranks in society fall in love, and then to walk among those who would not deem it appropriate. It is also extraordinary how an independent woman such as Jane Eyre can give into such a dominant male figure such as Mr. Rochester. Love among a couple who will go against society and their own differences, must be strong and healthy and will always find a way to complete itself. In Jane Eyre, two people give into temptation during a time when social class determined everything and men held the upper hand over women.

Jane and Mr. Rochester’s love is scorned by society and has consequences neither expects. Jane tries to fight temptation at all costs, even leaving her love behind as to not commit sin. Mr. Rochester is a prime example that no matter where we stand, we can still be trapped and feel as though we will never find a way out. He was tricked into marrying a woman that the devil himself would hesitate to bring to hell, and thus was trapped. Is he not allowed to finally be happy? Can he not have someone that he can love? Jane feels an inner conflict between reason and desire, rationality and passion, restraint and emotion.She wants to give in to Rochester’s lure with everything she has, but doesn’t want to go against God. She wants to be Rochester’s savior, not just from the world but from himself. She knows that if she leaves, it might result in the destruction of Rochester by his own hand. Jane is ashamed in a way because she feels that she has nothing to bring into a marriage between them but herself. In the end, Jane inherits money from her dead uncle, but all Rochester cares about is Jane. Jane knows that her affection for Mr. Rochester would still exist regardless of customs and conventionalities which stand in the way of desire. When love is strong and holds us bound to someone, we will break many rules and standards to keep it. It’s an addiction that must be satisfied and will eat at us until we satisfy the hunger, which is what Jane does. In the end, she throws caution to the wind and lets her heart sore among the clouds alongside Mr. Rochester’s. We can then compare Jane Eyre to The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne. In The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne like Jane Eyre gives into temptation with the man she loves. Hester Prynne commits adultery with Arthur Dimmesdale, a minister well respected among the Puritans, and faces consequences that also affect their daughter.

Lastly, in lieu of these shifting scenes, came back the rude market place of the Puritan settlement, with all the townspeople assembled and leveling their stern regards at Hester Prynne—yes, at herself—who stood on the scaffold of the pillory, an infant on her arm, and the letter “A” in scarlet, fantastically embroidered with gold thread, upon her bosom!

This goes to show that Social status is something taken very seriously in this time and in the Victorian Era, and that giving into something society deems intolerable will have consequences. For every action there is a reaction. The rank Jane and Mr. Rochester hold in society was just one conflict in Jane Eyre. The role men played in society by being superior to women was another conflict that must be satisfied before happiness can be absolute.

In the time of Jane and Mr. Rochester, status wasn’t the only problem. Just like with status, men pulled rank over women, just as the upper class was superior to the lower class. Women were not allowed to own property or do many things that the men in that time could. Not only do men have authority, Mr. Rochester flaunts his around. He believes because Jane is a woman that she must need a man in her life to make all her decisions. Jane isn’t some meek little girl, she knows the way of the world and how cruel it can be and she has all the more passion locked inside ready to burst out. Ironically, knowing the way of the world in this time, Charlotte Bronte not only writes the novel narrated by a woman, but a governess who is no better then the lower class. In a time before the independence of woman, this was a big step toward it in giving a woman a voice as well as a governess. For Jane and Rochester’s love to survive, Rochester accepts she is a woman who can think for herself and can take care of herself. At the end of the novel, the roles are switched when Jane must care for Rochester after finding him at one of his secluded estates. She learns that after she had fled temptation, Rochester’s mad wife, Bertha, set fire to the house and nearly killed everyone inside. Bertha then climbed upon the roof and fell to her death after Rochester tried to save her. Rochester was injured on the way out, and lost an eye as well as the sight of the other eye. Rochester is willing to adjust to his new life if Jane promises to stay and take care of him as his wife. The roles of provider are then switched, which was rare in this period of history. Again, we can compare our heroic Jane Eyre to the proud Hester Prynne. Hester also had to play an uncommon role as mother and father to her daughter, Pearl. She was shunned by society and had to provide for both of them. She did this by using her skill as a seamstress, and in the end earned the townspeople’s respect. In The Scarlet Letter, gender moreover played a big part in the time that the novel takes place. Women were limited in what they were allowed to do, and were in most cases lived under the roof of a male who provided for them. Women were vessels to be sailed and that was their one true purpose. Consequently, in Jane Eyre, gender role plays a major part as it is reversed in the end from male dominant to female dominant.

The harsh criticism of Society and the role of men superior to women were two very important aspects of Jane Eyre. Without them, the heartrending story of an unloved little girl and a much loved woman would not be the same. They make up two key arguments for the time period in which the novel takes place, and uses them to tell Jane’s journey through poverty and loneliness, toward happiness and love.