Blog Post #40

Jane Eyre... Such an interesting gal for sure!  She challenges the class structure of British society in various ways such as, switching of gender roles and defying the proper Victorian woman's attitude and way of life. Victorian women are expected to keep to themselves and be very proper. Jane challenges these roles because she is a powerful character, she defies these expectations. The switching of gender roles becomes apparent when Jane is accosiated with Mr. Rochester. When there is a fire in Rochesters room Jane is the one who saves him, which somewhat represents a gender switch between the two because generally speaking the male comes to a heroic rescue for the "helpless female".(Bronte 120) Again, Jane takes on the masculine role when Rochestor and Jane are to be married, Rochestor becomes the wedding and wardrobe planner while Jane stays unworried about it and wants simplicity. (Bronte 268)

The use of a governess as a protagonist allows the novel to criticize class structures because it challenges the traditional thinking of what a women's role was in society during this era. In the book Jane receives an education and later on goes to teach. She has grown from a broken household to become independent. Bronte's use of this strong independent interpretation of Jane challenges traditional thinking about the social role of Victorian women, and creates a thought in the audiences head about rethinking the role of women in this time era.