The Victorian era was an era which saw the belittlement of women in an overwhelming patriarchal society; such belittlement was a result of a “sharp category distinction of gender and sexuality” (Tosh 330). Due to stereotypical gender roles, the ideal Victorian woman was dubbed as ‘the moral guardian of the society’ (Burstyn 99). This stereotype was incorporated into the schooling system for girls which was characterized by their social class. Charlotte Brontë experienced this school system which would make her a governess causing her to feel strongly about ‘the woman question’ therefore she would use her career in writing as a front to address this question. Brontë would define the ideal independence of an unmarried woman as “‘someone making her own way through life quietly …show more content…
One of Brontë’s work that addressed ‘the woman question’ is Jane Eyre which is written as bildungsroman and a travelogue. Through Jane’s search for self-independence, Brontë exposes the struggles a Victorian woman faced in terms of her social state, economic status, emotional state and personal identity (self-esteem).
The social status of a Victorian woman’s family is an important factor in outcome of her future. Wealthier families saw to it that their daughters attended intellectual-based schools or were taught by a governess to be focused on becoming accomplished whereas poor families could only opt for industrial-based schools which molded the girls to fit the stereotypical gender role of a Victorian woman. In Brontë’s travelogue novel, Jane Eyre, the reader witnesses Jane’s ascension in social status during this Victorian Era. This causes Jane to become one of “the most remarkable voices against the traditional Victorian gender ideology” (Yildrim 48). Jane’s journey for self-independence begins at the Gateshead Hall where she is a “parentless infant” in the care of Mrs. Reed (Brontë 13). At the Reed’s