Jane Eyre Written Exercise

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre novel of 1847 was set in the beginning of the Victorian time, a period of a very diverse and complex society referred to as a time of racism, corporal punishment, prudery and double standards. Slavery and entrapment also played an important role in the Victorian society and this is clear not only for the character of Jane Eyre but also in the actions of Rochester. A big part of it plays off in the argument between Rochester and Jane in chapter 24 while they are in town in preparation for their wedding.

“I’ll be preparing myself to go out as a missionary to preach liberty to them that are enslaved – your harem inmates amongst the rest. I’ll get admitted there, and I’ll stir up mutiny; and you, three-tailed bashaw as you are, sir, shall in a trice find yourself fettered amongst our hands: nor will, for one, consent to cut your bonds till you have signed a charter, the most liberal that despot ever yet conferred” (Chapter 24) 

What Jane means by it is that if Rochester goes out to purchase slaves she will sacrifice her self-preservation and go out and teach religion to spread the word, through sermons, of freedom from captivity and slavery to them that are slaves, even to those that are part of the Muslim house occupied with women. She will be allowed to enter and she will encourage them to refuse to obey their masters and to take the persons of importance, like Rochester, and chain them by the feet like prisoners and refuse to let them go until they initialise a document that will allow the slaves to have rights and privileges equal to that of their rulers.

Jane says this when she got terrified as soon as Rochester started planning to buy her dresses and jewellery because she feels as if he wants to befit her for her new social status. She feels as if Rochester wants to turn her into a fantasy figure, which she feels she is not. Everything quickly starts feeling like a day-dream to Jane and she starts getting the feeling that the wedding will not happen, her reason mostly being that she is not his equal and will never be able to share in his status. Jane also realises that getting married will tie her down as the freedom of a marriage could also mean entrapment, she feels this marriage will influence her self-worth and dignity as she already feels dependant on Rochester.

“By positioning herself as a missionary, Jane empowers herself with the moral superiority of British civilisers at the precise moment that her own morality is undermined. In other words, an assertion of racial superiority discursively revolves Jane’s class and gender inferiority in relation to Rochester.” (Sharpe, 49) 

Brontë uses this as a type of symbolism to increase and strengthen the argument between Jane and Rochester, the image of the slaves which will be purchased by Rochester is symbolic to the emotion that Jane has towards the power he will have over her in their marriage. The slavery is thereby placed as an example of the idea of the slavery of marriage Jane will soon enter into. Jane feels that, like the slaves, she will not be able to have any rights or privileges until she is on an equal footing with Rochester which will also allow her to feel less uncomfortable.

“Although Jane expresses sympathy for harem women, she does not identify herself as one but positions herself as a missionary woman who will save them. But more than that she distinguishes herself from Hindu women by declaring her refusal to burn on her husband’s pyre.” (Sharpe, 52) 

Slavery in the Victorian time was strongly based on the paterfamilias of the early Roman society. The slaves, wives and children were only seen as property and the head of the family, which mostly consisted of the father, had full legal rights over the whole family and the dependants had no legal rights. The head of the family could sell, exchange and even condemn them to death if he pleased. In the Victorian time the slaves were also seen as a racial impurity even though they were regarded as “white”. They slaves could be purchased and even though those who did purchase them had to depend themselves as it was something that was starting to be frowned upon. 

“You will give up your governessing slavery at once.” “Indeed! Begging your pardon, sir, I shall not. I shall just go on with it as usual...as I have been accustomed to do” (Bronte, 230)

Jane still feels that she will not be comfortable to enter into this marriage with Rochester until she is of a more equal status and this is why she has the thoughts of writing to her uncle which could adopt her and thereby guarantee her a higher social footing. It will allow Jane to feel more valued as an individual in the marriage with Rochester. She feels that it is important to still do as she has done to prove to Rochester that she is not the fairy-tale he is expecting, therefore to the end of the chapter she continuously acts unkind and stern towards him to make him understand that she is maybe not what he wanted and fell in love with, especially due to the inequality of their class and gender.

Discrimination based on racial superiority, class and gender are strong features of the society of the Victorian time. Charlotte Brontë clearly introduces these principles into Jane Eyre through various arguments and activities in the novel, she creates an image with the reader through the eyes of Jane which allows the reader to feel more emotionally involved and understanding of the situations. Slavery is very cleverly used by Brontë to enlighten the differences between Jane and Rochester which is an important aspect of the reasoning behind Jane’s emotions and therefore it is one of the most important features of the success of Jane Eyre.