Alienation during the Victorian Era
Alienation
Many characters during the Victorian to early Modern literature era were alienated. Causes of alienation during this time period included familial separation, social class or gender restrictions, and self-isolation from society. These characters may display the common causes of alienation, but ared still connected to their families and society. Some characters may alienate themselves, yet find that they can never truly separate from family and/or society. While on the surface many characters may seem to be alienated, it is clear that every character is not alienated and is connected through familial ties, love, or money.
Characters were alienated during this time period due to four main causes: family, social class, gender, or self-isolation which leads to discovery of oneself. A character that appeared to be alienated because of family problems and social class restrictions included Jane Eyre, the protagonist in Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. She is alienated as she is a young orphan and taken in by extended family members. Jane is mistreated by her cousins, especially John Reed as she continuously receives hits from him as he “bullied and punished” her and “every morsel of flesh in [her] bones shrank” when he came near her (Bronte 7). Mrs. Reed, her aunt, puts Jane in the red room as a punishment for hurting John and she becomes mentally scarred by this as she believes it is haunted by her dead uncle and is never fully healed by this. Jane is never able to experience a source of love and sense of belonging while staying with her relatives displaying her alienation in her childhood. Jane is sent away to a girls’ school, Lowood, where she is soon singled out by Mr. Brocklehurst for lying. She feels alone at boarding school with no source of comfort. Jane soon befriends another student, Helen Burns and finds comfort in her but she soon dies of tuberculosis. Jane is alone and alienated once again. Jane chooses to follow the occupation of a governess,
Many characters during the Victorian to early Modern literature era were alienated. Causes of alienation during this time period included familial separation, social class or gender restrictions, and self-isolation from society. These characters may display the common causes of alienation, but ared still connected to their families and society. Some characters may alienate themselves, yet find that they can never truly separate from family and/or society. While on the surface many characters may seem to be alienated, it is clear that every character is not alienated and is connected through familial ties, love, or money.
Characters were alienated during this time period due to four main causes: family, social class, gender, or self-isolation which leads to discovery of oneself. A character that appeared to be alienated because of family problems and social class restrictions included Jane Eyre, the protagonist in Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. She is alienated as she is a young orphan and taken in by extended family members. Jane is mistreated by her cousins, especially John Reed as she continuously receives hits from him as he “bullied and punished” her and “every morsel of flesh in [her] bones shrank” when he came near her (Bronte 7). Mrs. Reed, her aunt, puts Jane in the red room as a punishment for hurting John and she becomes mentally scarred by this as she believes it is haunted by her dead uncle and is never fully healed by this. Jane is never able to experience a source of love and sense of belonging while staying with her relatives displaying her alienation in her childhood. Jane is sent away to a girls’ school, Lowood, where she is soon singled out by Mr. Brocklehurst for lying. She feels alone at boarding school with no source of comfort. Jane soon befriends another student, Helen Burns and finds comfort in her but she soon dies of tuberculosis. Jane is alone and alienated once again. Jane chooses to follow the occupation of a governess,
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