Gender Roles in Jane Eyre free essay sample

To varying degrees, Charlotte Brontes Jane Eyre addresses the expectations of gender roles presently common in Victorian novels during the nineteenth century. Even in modern day society, the view of man tends to be aggressive, dominative, and ambitious, while women are portrayed as emotional, subservient, and sometimes passive. Brontes depiction of the stereotypical male and female roles are accurate, but she also displays how ones gender can be altered. Jane, the novels protagonist, is a cookie-cutout of what was expected of women in Victorian times. She dresses simply, is submissive, and longs for a male counterpart. As the story progresses, Jane shys away from conformities, but her willfulness to remain abnormal is tested when she endures heart-wrenching situations. The novel opens, revealing the spirit and personality of Jane, as it experiences suppression when she questions why she is being punished. Mrs. Reed answers to Jane and tells her that it is unacceptable for a child to speak to an elder in that manner. We will write a custom essay sample on Gender Roles in Jane Eyre or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The verbal attacks continue when Mrs. Reeds son, John Reed, angrily tells Jane that she is dependent and undeserving of the food and clothes that are provided at the expense of his mother. John Reed, then physcially attacks her, and Jane is locked away in the red room. She goes on to make an apparent point as to the unfairness of how she is being treated. Unjust! unjust! said my reason, forced by the agonizing stimulus into precocious though transitory power; and Resolve, equally wrought up, instigated some strange expedient to achieve escape from insupportable oppression- as running away, or, if that could not be effected, never eating or drinking more, and letting myself die (Bronte 21 ). In this case, Janes gender is not the reason she is being punished, it is more her childish nature. As she grows older, the same treatment remains for Jane, making this a prominent portion of the novel. It also is the setting stone for how women are made inferior, and that they do not deserve any more respect than a child does. Being of lower class and minimal beauty, it is unlikely Jane would ever become part of a high social status. Jane does possess an admirable education which grants her a governess position at Thornfield. This stage in the book is an important developmental period for her character, because governesses acted as a divider for the lower and middle class. Jane takes on the role as a middle class women, educating Adele, while still living and earning a payment under her master. As a female, starting from merely nothing and earning an eductional position at Thornfield was unlikely to be achieved, but Jane defies this assumption. Upon meeting her master, Mr. Rochester, Jane is quick to fall for him. She longs to become his wife, even though she is aware that Rochester, being of high social standing, could not marry her because society would look down upon this. Jane experiences internal conflict when she realizes that he is too good for her, and she is solely nothing in his eyes. She thinks, Dont make [Mr. Rochester] the object of your fine feelings, your raptures, agonies, and so forth. He is not of your order: keep to your caste; and be too self respecting to lavish the love of the whole heart, soul, and strength, where such a gift is not wanted and would be despised (Bronte 218). By Jane expressing these feelings, she is giving us an insight on the mindsets of lower class woman during the Victorian era. All thoughts of true happiness are to be suppressed by keeping in mind their lower class lifestyles and telling themselves they are unworthy. These thoughts do not exist to Rochester, for if he were to make the decision to be with Jane, his prerogative would not be questioned by society. We are aware that men of this day were driven by ambition and the wealth that would dress their name if associated with it. Before Rochester professes his love to Jane, he speaks of a woman named Blanch with whom he has had relations with. He only takes a liking for her due to her social status and later tells Jane that he only spoke of her to be of assurance that she truly liked him. Rochester displays what a man of this time would do; putting to use his ability to control the emotions of a woman, only causing Jane to desire him more. Janes discovery of self respect helps her to flee from Rochester after she discovers that the insane woman who resides in the top rooms of Thornfield is actually his wife, Bertha. Janes behavior is unheard of for women at this time, yet demands some respect. The roles reverse, and Rochester is the one who is left to clean up the shards of a heartbreak, while Jane abandons her position as a governess without any idea of what she will do. She looks back on her life momentarily before she leaves her fate in her own hands, stating, No reflection was to be allowed now: nit one glance was to be cast back; not even one forward. Not one thought was to be given either to the past or the future. The first was a page so heavenly sweet so deadly sad that to read one line of it would dissolve my courage and break down my energy. The last was an awful blank: something like the world when the deluge was gone bye (Bronte 428). With this, Jane shares how women are expected to find a meaning to their lives, yet proves that she does not need to conform with the standards and guidance of men. Through struggles with her newly found independence and lashing out on those who surround her, she returns to Rochester. The act of leaving Rochester was done simply because she knew what would be best for herself, but at the same time she knew that she still loved him. By no means did this make her weak upon returning, for any other woman would have never left in the first place to discover herself. At this point, the fire has occurred, leaving Rochester blind. Despite still working under him, Jane has technically taken on a more dominant role in caring and providing for Rochester. She now has money that she has inherited from her deceased uncle, which she selflessly shares with her cousins. ? Brontes character portrayal, regarding the gender roles fits the expectations of Victorian times, while bending them as the story continues. In the beginning, both Jane and Rochester fit the mold of how the typical man and woman lived. Janes character becomes more admirable as she journeys to self-discovery and returns to Rochester when she felt it was morally right. The story displays the prominent theme of all Victorian novels, while Bronte adds her own twist, making it interesting and insightful.

Old English, Parvus sed Potens

Old English, Parvus sed Potens Old English, Parvus sed Potens Old English, Parvus sed Potens By Maeve Maddox Since I am currently participating in an Old English seminarwere translating BeowulfIm especially sensitive to anything that may seem like a slur on Old English, the fascinating language that was the origin of modern English. Todays post is inspired by a readers comment taken out of context. (See Sues remarks in context at Among/Amongst. Theyre really quite amusing.) Reflect on the fact that 50% of the words were using here were stolen from other languages and the other 50% were invented by Shakespeare to plug the gaps. The remark, taken literally, implies that Modern English vocabulary owes nothing to that of Old English and this is the idea that I want to address. True, its estimated that surviving native forms make up only about one-sixth of the enormous vocabulary of modern Englishalthough how this percentage is arrived at is not clear to me since no one seems to be able to agree as to how many words make up the vocabulary of Modern English. According to Michael Quinion at Worldwide Words, estimates of Shakespeare’s vocabulary vary from about 18,000 to 25,000 in various books, because writers have different views about what constitutes a distinct wordyou’d think it would be easy to assess [Shakespeares] vocabulary But estimatesvary from about 18,000 to 25,000because writers have different views about what constitutes a distinct word. Writing on this subject in Slate in 2006, Jesse Sheidlower mentions an entity called the Global Language Monitor. GLM claimed then that the English vocabulary consisted of 988,968 words. GLM is still counting. As of September 9, 2008, the total given on their website is 996,444. The point that Id like to make is that although the native OE vocabulary may be small compared to the Latinate words that came into the language during Shakespeares time, and the deluge of words from every language of the earth weve adopted since that time, the fact remains that wed be unable to say much without them. Take the comment quoted above as an example of our reliance on Old English vocabulary. The comment contains 33 words. Im counting 50% (fifty percent), were (we are), and Shakespeare (shake+spear) as two words each. Take out the repeated words and that leaves 27. Result: 70% of Sues vocabulary in this comment relies on good old Old English! Words of Old English origin: on, the, that, fifty, of, words, we, are, here, were, stolen, from, other, and, other, by, shake, spear, to Words derived from other languages: Latin: reflect, fact, percent, invented Old French: using, languages Dutch: plug Old Norse: gaps Here is Sues comment shorn of its Old English vocabulary. Reflectfact%usinglanguagesinventedpluggaps One of my favorite Latin expressions is Parvus sed potens (small but mighty). Old English vocabulary may have dwindled in proportion to the new words, but it remains the most useful and important part of the modern language. One of my favorite English quotations is this one from the Old English poem The Battle of Maldon: Hige sceal à ¾e heardra, heorte à ¾e cenre, / mod sceal à ¾e mare, à ¾e ure mà ¦gen lytlaà °. The poem describes the last stand of some English warriors fighting invading Danes in CE 991. Its an Alamo situation. The English lose, but they dont run. Freely translated it says: Our resolution will be the firmer, our hearts will be the keener, our spirits will be stronger as our power lessens. If words could be said to have attitude, Id say thats the attitude of Old English vocabulary in modern English. Vive Old English! Quinion article Sheidlower article Global Language Monitor Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictGrammar Quiz #21: Restrictive and Nonrestrictive Clauses50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†