For my last Passion blog post, I have picked one of my favorite novels to discuss: Jane Eyre. You may recognize the name as the title of a recent (and might I say disastrous) movie that was released in the United States in 2011. While I certainly do not condone watching the film, I highly recommend the novel. In one of her finest works of classic English literature, Charlotte Bronte recounts the story of brazenly independent Jane Eyre while simultaneously critiquing the oppressive nature of 19^th century Victorian England.

To better appreciate the context in which the novel was conceived, we can first learn more about the author. The early life and development of Charlotte Bronte, the author of Jane Eyre, is a story so interesting that it has inspired novels of its own. Born in 1816, Charlotte became the eldest of four sisters (two of whom would not survive childhood) and a brother. As was fairly typical at the time, the sisters received a smattering of schooling from various sources before gaining employment as teachers and governesses. The three sisters collectively published a poetry volume in 1846; they had all began writing stories at an early age. Under pseudonyms (Charlotte’s was Currer Bell), the sisters would go on to publish a multitude of novels.

A watercolor portrait of the Bronte sisters, a trio of classic English literature authors.

While many of the sisters’ novels would earn notoriety as classic works, Charlotte’s Jane Eyre was successful from the start. The novel can be classified as a Bildungsroman, a novel that focuses on the experiences and emotional growth that mark the main character’s transition from childhood into adulthood. Specifically, the novel depicts conflicts between the protagonist, Jane Eyre, and societal values and beliefs. Born an orphan, Jane endures a childhood that is far from happy. From an abusive aunt to a harsh school where she loses her sole friend to typhus, Jane confronts the injustices that are inseparable from her lowly position in society. She later accepts a governess position at Thornfield manor, where she falls in love with owner Mr. Rochester.

As Jane finds out, Mr. Rochester has some sizable ghosts in his closet. However, their social positions make their union even more unlikely. As a scorned and pitiable governess, making advances toward an aristocrat like Mr. Rochester was viewed as completely inappropriate. Not only did she face strict social class standards, but she also struggled to attain equality in the eyes of the novel’s male figures—even her beloved Mr. Rochester. While Jane was his intellectual equal, she could not match his social position and therefore, could not always express her thoughts and feelings.

A famous quote from Charlotte Bronte’s most successful novel, Jane Eyre.

Through Jane’s character, Bronte addresses the injustice inherent in Victorian England’s social class customs and gender standings. She uses the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester to highlight the divide that could easily be bridged were it not for strict social order. Bronte’s original creation of Jane, a strong-willed and highly intellectual feminine character, makes her novel an enduring classic. Although the novel was largely popular at the time of its publishing, early critics argued that the novel painted an unrealistic and even shocking portrait by giving a female protagonist and governess such a strong voice—an intellectual and social independence that ran contrary to common views of what was proper behavior for a woman at that time. In addition to being a classic work, Jane Eyre serves as a poignant reminder of the progress that has been made in a fight for gender equality that has spanned centuries.