Education In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre provided victorian England with a new kind of women who represented a shift in the common view of what Mary Wollstonecraft asserted was a limited education for women. Their education kept them childlike and superficial, with most of their attention going toward appearance and with being satisfied mostly with the matters at home. These social pressures prevented women from becoming more interesting by using reason and substance, which were confined to the masculine sphere. Wollstonecraft’s observations of women’s education is both proved and disproved in the characters of Jane Eyre and Blanche Ingram.

Another contrasting difference between these two women are their personality traits. While Jane is

In fact, their lives are complete opposites. For example: Jane’s parents died while she was very young. Therefore, she lived with Mrs. Reed and her horrendous children. Jane was yelled at, beaten, bullied, and terrorized. Jane explained her living conditions. She said: “He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in the day, but continually: every nerve I feared him, and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrank when he came near.” (Bronte 8) When Jane is giving us a description of her childhood, you can’t help but feel concerned for her safety. After Mrs. Reed had enough of her, Jane was sent to an orphanage that was erupting with sickness. There, she got her education, and became a diligent governess. She had no family, no friends, and no money. This is the complete opposite of Blanche’s life. Blanche received her education from the comfort of her own home and had a governess. Blanche also has a lot of money. When Jane first described Blanche, she said that her clothing was magnificent. “Her purple riding-habit almost swept the ground, her veil streamed long on the breeze; mingling with it’s transparent folds, and gleaming through them shone rich raven ringlets. (Bronte 168)” Blanche couldn’t have worn that extravagant outfit without having some money. Just based on this information, we know that Blanche didn’t have hardships like

While one is rich and popular, the other is poor and hidden. While one is conscientious, the other is idle. While one is a perfect example of Mary Wollstonecraft 's beliefs, the other is the complete opposite of her ideas. Blanche Ingram and Jane Eyre are as different as night and day; and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Their conflicting personalities gives us excitement, and creates life in the novel. Their feelings for Rochester creates drama and tension, their personalities makes us go insane, and their backgrounds are as different as can be. Both women, their personalities, their backgrounds, their appearance, and other differences, play a vital role in the novel, Jane