Is Jane Eyre Still Relevant Essay
Classic literature is often defined as quality, excellence and timeless. The novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a superior piece of literature that is truly ageless. Today’s modern society could learn a lot from Jane because of the various lessons she teaches from the experiences she goes through. With the lessons learned, women working for their success, and the conflict between classes, the novel Jane Eyre is still very relevant today.
“Jane Eyre is an unusual heroine” (Triska"). This is because she is considered “plain” looking rather than beautiful. She somehow overcomes her troubled, impoverished past. She does the right thing for herself. She teaches the readers many things throughout her life story. First of all, she proves that you can overcome your …show more content…
past no matter how bad it is.
Jane is tortured and made miserable as a child by her horrible relatives.Her cousin, John, is the worst, constantly reminding her that she is an orphan. The children do not let her play their games, and she is punished by being locked in the room that her own uncle died in. At first, Jane holds grudges as she confronts her aunt before she leaves for boarding school, and essentially cuts that family out of her life. She learns a lot about letting go when she is sent to boarding school and becomes good friends with a girl named Helen. As Helen tells Jane, "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs” (Brontë 59). The second thing she teaches is to not be afraid to speak your mind. Jane Eyre is not very shy. She confronts her horribly evil aunt who mistreated her as a child as well Mr.Rochester after finding out he is married to another woman. She turns down a marriage proposal from another man. She is not scared to voice her opinions when necessary. Jane tells Mr.Rochester, “I do not think, sir, you have any right to command
me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.” (144 Brontë) He was explaining that he has a bad attitude towards her because he feels superior as he is much older and more experienced than her. Lastly, she teaches to not let anyone say that someone cannot do something just because they’re a woman. Jane states,
Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex. (Brontë 117)
The quotation highlights Jane’s feelings of imprisonment, and her wishes for freedom and equality as she describes her first weeks at Thornfield.
Bronte's novel shows women acting independently and working for their success. Jane Eyre was a feminist. The word "feminist" is defined as "one who advocates equal rights for women" (Feminism. Merriam-Webster). Jane expressed her feminism opinion through her word and deed. She lived in a "world that measured the likelihood of her success by the degree of her marriageability," (Nessa) which would have included her family and extended family connections as well as her beauty and status. Jane has shown that she doesn’t want her ‘life goal’ to be to marry someone. Mr. Rochester's betrayal to Jane does make her feel that all hope is lost, but she explains that she would be just as content being a teacher in her own school teaching a few students. Jane has two different actions that proves she is a feminist. The first way is her reaction to Mr.Rochester when he tries to impress her by how wealthy he is. She states "the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation" (Bronte 236). Secondly, Jane left Mr. Rochester, which shows her courage. By doing this, she both goes against being Mr. Rochester's mistress and shows that she can let go from the feelings that Rochester has given her. Even though she finds it hard to leave, she has the courage to throw away the life she has with him. In addition, her refusing to become mistress shows that she’s kept dignity in herself that shows she will not go back to her emotional feelings and desires that would be a wrong look from society in that time period. The last example of Jane being a feminist is that she definitely disagrees with this statement. "It is narrow-minded...To say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags." Within this entire novel, I feel that Charlotte Brontë really tries to make it clear to the reader that women were not treated the right way. Jane is expected to only be a governess or a housemaid; nothing higher up in society. She feels that she would never be asked to become a business woman or any higher class job simply because she is a woman. This is still relevant because feminism is still going on today.
“Jane Eyre is an unusual heroine” (Triska"). This is because she is considered “plain” looking rather than beautiful. She somehow overcomes her troubled, impoverished past. She does the right thing for herself. She teaches the readers many things throughout her life story. First of all, she proves that you can overcome your …show more content…
past no matter how bad it is.
Jane is tortured and made miserable as a child by her horrible relatives.Her cousin, John, is the worst, constantly reminding her that she is an orphan. The children do not let her play their games, and she is punished by being locked in the room that her own uncle died in. At first, Jane holds grudges as she confronts her aunt before she leaves for boarding school, and essentially cuts that family out of her life. She learns a lot about letting go when she is sent to boarding school and becomes good friends with a girl named Helen. As Helen tells Jane, "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs” (Brontë 59). The second thing she teaches is to not be afraid to speak your mind. Jane Eyre is not very shy. She confronts her horribly evil aunt who mistreated her as a child as well Mr.Rochester after finding out he is married to another woman. She turns down a marriage proposal from another man. She is not scared to voice her opinions when necessary. Jane tells Mr.Rochester, “I do not think, sir, you have any right to command
me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.” (144 Brontë) He was explaining that he has a bad attitude towards her because he feels superior as he is much older and more experienced than her. Lastly, she teaches to not let anyone say that someone cannot do something just because they’re a woman. Jane states,
Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex. (Brontë 117)
The quotation highlights Jane’s feelings of imprisonment, and her wishes for freedom and equality as she describes her first weeks at Thornfield.
Bronte's novel shows women acting independently and working for their success. Jane Eyre was a feminist. The word "feminist" is defined as "one who advocates equal rights for women" (Feminism. Merriam-Webster). Jane expressed her feminism opinion through her word and deed. She lived in a "world that measured the likelihood of her success by the degree of her marriageability," (Nessa) which would have included her family and extended family connections as well as her beauty and status. Jane has shown that she doesn’t want her ‘life goal’ to be to marry someone. Mr. Rochester's betrayal to Jane does make her feel that all hope is lost, but she explains that she would be just as content being a teacher in her own school teaching a few students. Jane has two different actions that proves she is a feminist. The first way is her reaction to Mr.Rochester when he tries to impress her by how wealthy he is. She states "the more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation" (Bronte 236). Secondly, Jane left Mr. Rochester, which shows her courage. By doing this, she both goes against being Mr. Rochester's mistress and shows that she can let go from the feelings that Rochester has given her. Even though she finds it hard to leave, she has the courage to throw away the life she has with him. In addition, her refusing to become mistress shows that she’s kept dignity in herself that shows she will not go back to her emotional feelings and desires that would be a wrong look from society in that time period. The last example of Jane being a feminist is that she definitely disagrees with this statement. "It is narrow-minded...To say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags." Within this entire novel, I feel that Charlotte Brontë really tries to make it clear to the reader that women were not treated the right way. Jane is expected to only be a governess or a housemaid; nothing higher up in society. She feels that she would never be asked to become a business woman or any higher class job simply because she is a woman. This is still relevant because feminism is still going on today.