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Jane Eyre
The story about Jane Eyre is about her life when she was a young girl until when she got her own family. Her life is full of predicaments until she finally lives happily with her family. She lost her parents at a tender age and had to live with an abusive aunt and her cousin was a bully. She is even imprisoned in her own home because of petty issues. She said when she was locked there she saw her uncle’s ghost because he also died in the same room. It could be her uncle ghost had come to comfort her (Hoeveler, Diane & Beth, 22). To her it was a family because they treated her like an outcast. Therefore, whether she lived in a wealthy family or not, she did not recognize it. Living among wealthy people is not good enough for one to consider herself high social class. It is experiencing and enjoying the wealth as well as good treatment and respect. This was not Jane’s case because she led a miserable childhood. There are situations in Jane’s story that show social class status during the Victorian regime (Gerver & Charlotte, 14).
Jane was considered to be in a lower social status because she was an orphan. Although she lived with her wealthy aunt, she was maltreated and never considered herself wealthy. “I am glad you are no relation of mine. I will never call you aunt again as long as I live.” (Michie, 11) These words were from Jane to her aunt before leaving for school. They show how she loathed her for mistreating her. When her uncle died, she left her a fortune but she was not aware. Due to her lack of knowledge, she remained poor. Her aunt sent her to a bad school, which was headed by an unreasonable principal. He made the children suffer to the extent of dying. Jane taught for two years after she completed her school. At this time, she would still be considered as a low class person because she did not earn much. This is the reason she prefers to seek new experiences and she becomes a governess. “Feeling… clamored wildly. Oh, comply, it said…. Soothe him, save him; tell him you love him….” (Gerver & Charlotte, 35). Jane thought about this when she was contemplating to run away from Rochester. She went away and suffered in the streets. She had to beg for survival. All these are indications that she has lived a low class life until her mid life.
After Jane was through with her education, she became a teacher in Lowood for two years. She then considered that she could improve her status by having other experiences. She became a governess in a manor called Thornfield. She teaches a girl who was lively called Adele. Her employer is a man called Mr. Rochester who they later fall in love. It is obvious that this promotion made Jane to move from a low class to a higher class. She lived in a better neighborhood and interacted with people of class (Hoeveler, Diane & Beth, 37). The French girl she teaches seems to be from a wealthy family because she lively and her parents pay quality education for her. “I could not help it; the restlessness was in my nature; it agitated me to pain sometimes.” “Then my sole relief was to walk along the corridor of the third story, backwards and forwards, safe in the silence and solitude of the spot, and allow my mind’s eye to dwell on whatever bright visions rose before it” (Michie, 43). These two quotations express her first time at Thornfield where she was employed to be a governess. She was glad to be liberated after a long time of suffering.
It is evident that during these years, low class people never interacted with high-class people. This is why Mr. Rochester fell in love with Jane because she considered her a woman of his class. On the other hand, Jane considered that she had upgraded her social status and she could comfortably interact with people of the same class. This was unlike how her wealthy aunt maltreated her. She did not identify with her because Jane felt she was not part of that family. In this case, she is very comfortable because she is receiving kind treatment from her employer. The relationship between Jane and Rochester end up in marriage. Before they got married they was so much trouble they experienced but eventually they got married and they now have children. “I have now been married ten years. I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest—blest beyond what language can express; because I am my husband’s life as fully as he is mine” (Michie, 115). Jane makes this statement at the concluding pages of the book. She is happy that after all she went through she has finally ended with a lovely family. “No woman was ever nearer to her mate than I am: ever more absolutely bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh. I know no weariness of my Edward’s society: he knows none of mine, any more than we each do of the pulsation of the heart that beats in our separate bosoms; consequently, we are ever together” (Gerver & Charlotte, 77).
Jane’s story has many themes and one of the main ones is social status and class. Karl Max theory of social class was against having capitalism. He preached socialism and eventually people should eliminate social classes in the society. It is evident that during the Victorian era, there was a lot of discrimination concerning social class issues (Gerver & Charlotte, 35). People of high class could not mingle with those of lower classes. This is why Jane’s aunt mistreats her because she considers her a lower class person. She is an orphan and does not have wealth of her own. This attitude is also seen when Jane starts a new life in Thornfield. His employer expresses interest in him because she is equally of the same class as his. Jane happens to be a victim of discrimination towards the low social class people as it is according to her story (Michie, 80). Her life only changed to a happy one after she upgraded her status and she got married to a wealthy man. It is sad to realize that during this era, life was only a happy one to those who were wealthy.
Works Cited
Gerver, Jane E, and Charlotte Brontë. Jane Eyre. New York: Random House, 1997. Print.
Hoeveler, Diane L, and Beth Lau. Approaches to Teaching Brontë’s Jane Eyre. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1993. Print.
Michie, Elsie B. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre: A Casebook. Oxford, England: OxfordUniversity Press, 2006. Print.
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