Jane

Women in the 19^th century were given very little to no rights at all. Females were basically only there to give birth and raise children; take care of the sickly and do the household chores. When a woman got married she lost her “identity” and becomes the property of her husband. So if the woman does acquire a job then her wages automatically go to the husband. Women were low in the social classes. They were mainly thought of as merely property. Women did not receive education unless they were in the higher class.

In the book Jane Eyre written by Bronte, the heroin Jane was a governess for a little girl named Adelle and her father, Mr. Rochester, was in the in the classification of the elite. Therefore Mr. Rochester hired Jane to teach Adelle to be at an intellectual level as the elite. The role of a governess was just to educate the high class’s children which meant the governess would have to be well educated to the level of the elite. Even though the governesses were well educated they were still at the status of a slave. They were talked down to and they were supposed to be submissive.

Bronte made her heroin, Jane very strong willed and independent. These attributes are not characteristics of a respectable lady. A woman in the 19^th century that was “proper” was supposed to be soft spoken and obedient to orders that are given to her and the male figures in her life. Women were also not supposed to vocalize their thoughts. With a heroin with these characteristics bring to light the position of all governesses with Jane’s traits. Jane had the intellect of the elite and yet she was trapped in the social roles of her time. She could not communicate what she thought to the people of her own intellect.

In my opinion Bonte wanted her heroin to convey what women of her time could achieve with the act of taking her own life into her own hands. In the sense that Jane begins to make her own decisions that in turn change her life more towards to what she wants.