Jane Eyre Gender Roles Essay
In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, gender roles play a large part in the development of the story. Using a gender lens of criticism, James Phillips in his article “Marriage in Jane Eyre: From Contract to Conversation,” adequately analyzes and contrasts Jane Eyre and Edward Rochester’s relationship to typical Victorian Era relationships. He also shows the effect that Rochester’s previous marriage to Bertha Antoinette has on his approach with Jane Eyre. The shift in responsibilities of a particular gender stemmed from their desire to be on equal intellectual levels, which eventually brought them to equal levels in all other aspects as well, including status and wealth. Their equality, therefore, was worth more than the formality of marriage, but
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She was to grow up, possibly go to a few years of school if she was fortuitous, get married, and have and take care of the children. Phillips argued that equality in a marriage was virtually impossible to achieve in the Victorian Era because, “her property is his, but not vice versa. She is subject in her behavior to his control, but not vice versa. She has no right to vote, whereas he does so long as he meets the property requirements of the franchise” (Phillips 205). However, while there were very set, conventional roles for women, there were also strict rules for men, especially those with wealth. With regards to Rochester, Phillips argued that his status, which forced him into an abhorrent first marriage, helped in his relationship with Jane (Phillips 206). Rochester’s marriage to Berth Antoinette was forced upon him by his relatives, specifically for wealth (Bronte 260). Bertha and Rochester barely knew each other and although Bertha was “ a charming partner-pure, wise, modest” (Bronte 297), the two would never talk and were not in love with each other. This supports Phillips argument because it shows that men also have specific things that they had to marry for, and none of those things was love (Philips 206). Avarice played a key role in the choosing of one’s spouse, no matter male or female, in the Victorian Era. However, when approaching his marriage with Jane, Rochester seemed to be a new man.
She was to grow up, possibly go to a few years of school if she was fortuitous, get married, and have and take care of the children. Phillips argued that equality in a marriage was virtually impossible to achieve in the Victorian Era because, “her property is his, but not vice versa. She is subject in her behavior to his control, but not vice versa. She has no right to vote, whereas he does so long as he meets the property requirements of the franchise” (Phillips 205). However, while there were very set, conventional roles for women, there were also strict rules for men, especially those with wealth. With regards to Rochester, Phillips argued that his status, which forced him into an abhorrent first marriage, helped in his relationship with Jane (Phillips 206). Rochester’s marriage to Berth Antoinette was forced upon him by his relatives, specifically for wealth (Bronte 260). Bertha and Rochester barely knew each other and although Bertha was “ a charming partner-pure, wise, modest” (Bronte 297), the two would never talk and were not in love with each other. This supports Phillips argument because it shows that men also have specific things that they had to marry for, and none of those things was love (Philips 206). Avarice played a key role in the choosing of one’s spouse, no matter male or female, in the Victorian Era. However, when approaching his marriage with Jane, Rochester seemed to be a new man.