'Equal we are' - Jane Eyre Versus the Victorian Woman

Seminar paper from the year 2008 in the subject Didactics - English - Literature, Works, grade: 14/20, University of Louvain, language: English, abstract: 'Jane Eyre' (1847), one of Charlotte Brontë's most famous novels, is a Victorian fictional autobiography that depicts the life of an independent young woman. At the time scores of critics were convinced that Jane Eyre's ambitions were improper for a young woman, moreover, it was regarded as a violent book about a passionate woman. On the other hand, bildungsromans about women were not widespread and it was a real success in the early nineteenth century. But how can we explain it? Whether people were only curious or not, Brontë found a good compromise between her own outlook on women and that of most other people. In this essay I will try to demonstrate that although frequent critical in it, Brontë adhered to the morality of her time. I will first describe the context of Jane Eyre and especially the status of women during the Victorian age to explain why the novel was considered unusual. Secondly I will point out some feminist elements in the book then I will try to outline Brontë's opinion about feminism and her real intentions in writing Jane Eyre.