The 1847 novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, is a bildungsroman tale of the title character, Jane Eyre, that matures from childhood to womanhood in Victorian England. On her journey to adulthood she must overcome impediments, and her social status which is imperative in her world. As her fundamental quest for love lingers, she realizes that it is not her ability to love and have her love reciprocated that defines her as a woman. Instead Jane learns how to maintain her autonomy in a world dominated by men and a high class society. As a result of this coming of age novel, Jane emerges as an early feminist willing to stand her ground, and firm in her beliefs.
From a bildungsroman aspect, the novel encapsulates Jane’s experiences and emotions as she grows into adulthood. She is first portrayed as a fiery orphan, which is tormented and shunned by her cousins and aunt. By being enrolled at a boarding school at age ten, Jane exemplifies character building, and manages to keep some of her psychological demons and scaring at bay due to the caring people that she meets. As she becomes a governess as Thornwood, she enters yet another phase of her life, which is the search for true love, without sacrificing her autonomy. Her life at Thornwood serves as an important milestone in the life of Jane because it exposes her to vulnerability, social threats, and the loss of a beloved. Post Thornwood, and her abrupt sacrificial marriage termination, the new Jane emerges as a more analytical woman, sure of her position in society, and able to forgive the torture she had suffered at the hands of the Reed household. By the end of the novel, Jane emerges as an early feminist, by accepting her newfound social role, and is no longer the once needy and penniless orphan.
By incorporating Jane’s search for autonomy in her novel, Bronte helped welcome in a new genre of literature, which subtly condemned the Victorian era of her time. This era was dominated by women who were trapped in their “subservient housewives” roles, and “proper ladies” positions. Jane Eyre however defied this stereotype on multiple occasions, which also happen to display her coming of age persona. Whether it was rebelling against authority at the Reed house or at the Lowood school, Jane was not afraid of pushing her limits as a child and then as a woman. Her defining moment of staying true to herself and her autonomy comes when she refuses Mr. Rochester’s love and marriage proposal, after finding out he was still married to another. She refuses to simply give up her own honor and dignity, in exchange for the sense of being needed, or emotionally fulfilled. This whole idea was revolutionary in the Victorian era, because it helped establish a new sense of womanhood; in terms of making one’s own decisions, and proclaiming independence from male authority.
Finally, coming to terms with herself and her role amongst the upper social classes of the Victorian era helps solidify Jane’s journey in this bildungsroman novel. Bronte’s use of the social class theme in the novel at imperative times in Jane’s life displays her progression as a character. The two most crucial times when Jane deals directly with the burdens of the upper social class are at Thornfield; first when she has to compete for the love of the man she loves, and the other when she has to make the decision to let him go. Jane receives competition for Mr. Rochester’s heart from the rich and beautiful Miss Ingram. Though Jane is by far more intelligent and more than Miss Ingram, she still serves as a hindrance and is frowned upon when in her aristocratic presence. Equality also manifests itself when Jane refuses to marry Mr. Rochester due to their different social standing; and prior seems to reject many of the articles of wealth that he tries to bestow upon her.
By realizing that poverty does not define a person’s character, Jane is able to emerge as a headstrong independent woman, and unlike her Victorian counterparts, does not need a man to provide for her and reinforce her position in life. Thus by means of this idea, Jane also takes on the role of a modern feminist.
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