Jane Eyre hypocrisy

In the novel Jane Eyre, author Charlotte Bronte critiques the beliefs of her time, at they pertain to appearance and hypocrisy. This idea manifests itself best through Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre. A product of his times and position, Mr. Rochester believes in bestowing his beloved with only the finest items after his engagement to Jane. However when considering which aspect drew Rochester to “plain Jane” in the first place, one could see that Mr. Rochester becomes an accidental hypocrite. Through this, Bronte tries to convey the idea that one’s social position in life correlates to one’s own hypocritical idea of what defines appearances.

Mr. Rochester falls in love with the self proclaimed “Quakerish governess” not because of her impeccable looks. Rather he is smitten with her simplicity, personality, and humility. Mr. Rochester proclaimed to Jane with conviction that "You are a beauty in my eyes.” Nevertheless he planned to shower her with fine clothes, diamonds, and bracelets. If Mr. Rochester did in fact love Jane for her plainness and thought of her as “beautiful”, he wouldn’t find the need to dress her up as a high-class marionette, which she clearly didn’t intend to be. Thus Mr. Rochester’s true love for Jane and all that she is comes into question, as he stands blind sighted by his perception of what a lady is to look like.

Being of a wealthy social class, and constantly surrounded by beautiful and privileged women like Blanche Ingram, Mr. Rochester had developed a certain idea of how money can be reflective in a woman’s appearance. Proper Victorian society stressed a certain look, and Mr. Rochester was more than obliged to craft Jane in that image. This would require her to change who she is, which tenacious Jane would never agree to. Selfishly and hypocritically, Mr. Rochester’s and Jane’s shopping experience is reflective of this. When Mr. Rochester wants to buy six new fancy dresses, Jane manages to persuade to only get two both of simple color. When he buys Jane jewels, she likewise begins to feel dishonored.

Instead of making Mr. Rochester’s society love Jane for who she is, he exaggerates that he would make the world acknowledge Jane’s beauty, by means of fancy things. By not allowing hypocritical Mr. Rochester to buy her luxuries that would make her accepted and beautiful, she shows that beauty and decency are exclusive. This rejection on Jane’s part offers a new feminist perspective on the hypocritical Victorian world she lives in, which declares that she won’t fall victim to the generalized and accepted mindset of beauty.