Jane Eyre Marriage Essay
Jessica Sherwood
"As he moved ,a chain clanked to his wrists were attached fetters. "Bridewell!" exclaimed
Colonel Dent, and the charade was solved." ● How far and in what ways do you agree that Bronte presents marriage as a largely negative experience?
To a great extent Bronte presents marriage as a negative experience for both parties. In the
Victorian era, marriage for love amongst the upper classes was largely unheard of, people instead marrying to make strong family ties or to better themselves in status or financially.
Bronte accurately presents this in Jane Eyre, with a particular focus on how marriage affects women through the first person narrative of Jane whom is very independent and opinionated on the topic of marriage. Furthermore Bronte explores the hierarchy of marriage and the negative and repressive effect it has on women in particular. Despite a number of novels originating from the Victorian era romanticizing marriage as a fairytale passionate union, it was in fact quite the opposite, love playing a very minor if not insignificant role, particularly amongst the upper class. Bronte explores the negativity of marriage through marrying for wealth, particularly in the union of Mr Rochester and his late wife Bertha, presenting their marriage as highly negative and repressive, despite making
Rochester a wealthy man. Rochester confesses to Jane that his father “little could he endure that a son of his should be a poor man” and “sought” him a partner, this suggests that
Victorians placed a lot of emphasis on financial well being. The verb “endure” meaning suffering and pain further emphasizes, that the idea of his son being poor was torturous to him, even at the expense of the happiness of his own son. Rochester’s father “makes inquiries” into the Mason family, finding out their fortune of around “thirtythousand pounds”,
Rochester was then “sent out to Jamaica to espouse already courted for me”, the description he gives
"As he moved ,a chain clanked to his wrists were attached fetters. "Bridewell!" exclaimed
Colonel Dent, and the charade was solved." ● How far and in what ways do you agree that Bronte presents marriage as a largely negative experience?
To a great extent Bronte presents marriage as a negative experience for both parties. In the
Victorian era, marriage for love amongst the upper classes was largely unheard of, people instead marrying to make strong family ties or to better themselves in status or financially.
Bronte accurately presents this in Jane Eyre, with a particular focus on how marriage affects women through the first person narrative of Jane whom is very independent and opinionated on the topic of marriage. Furthermore Bronte explores the hierarchy of marriage and the negative and repressive effect it has on women in particular. Despite a number of novels originating from the Victorian era romanticizing marriage as a fairytale passionate union, it was in fact quite the opposite, love playing a very minor if not insignificant role, particularly amongst the upper class. Bronte explores the negativity of marriage through marrying for wealth, particularly in the union of Mr Rochester and his late wife Bertha, presenting their marriage as highly negative and repressive, despite making
Rochester a wealthy man. Rochester confesses to Jane that his father “little could he endure that a son of his should be a poor man” and “sought” him a partner, this suggests that
Victorians placed a lot of emphasis on financial well being. The verb “endure” meaning suffering and pain further emphasizes, that the idea of his son being poor was torturous to him, even at the expense of the happiness of his own son. Rochester’s father “makes inquiries” into the Mason family, finding out their fortune of around “thirtythousand pounds”,
Rochester was then “sent out to Jamaica to espouse already courted for me”, the description he gives