Jane Eyre, a novel written in the 19th century by Charlotte Bronte, is seemingly a traditional Victorian book that is currently greatly admired because of its unusual viewpoint, but had initially been heavily accused of being too liberal. Much of the composition contains controversial topics of various taboo topics of its time period. Unlike the accustomed portrayal of women in most literary pieces of the Victorian era, Jane Eyre’s contemporary free mind and spirit shaped the novel’s revolutionary view of women as self-dependent heroines.
During this time period, many well-known fairy tales have been written, all with a common idea that linked them together: women being saved by a hero– a male figure to obtain her happy ending, which was frequently concluding with a marriage. As events continue to bypass Jane, she is approached with a tempting offer. “A missionary’s wife you must– shall be. You shall be mine.” (468) St. John proposes, painting the
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Discordantly, Jane Eyre uses an unorthodox speech and way of thinking, essentially defying social norms of women, especially of her status. As a mere governess, Jane refutes her employer, Mr. Rochester’s comment, “I don’t think, sir, you have a right to command me merely because you are older than I, nor because you have seen more of the world than I have…”(p. 153). Jane’s “coarse” language is justifiable and ordinary today, but at that time her speech mirrored that of an uneducated, rambunctious adolescent. Even as a child, Jane refused her thoughts to be hindered of being heard. “I was conscious that a moment’s mutiny had already rendered me liable to strange penalties, and, like any other rebel slave, I felt resolved, in my desperation, to go all lengths.”(p. 6) Her frank and spontaneous mind may have resulted in cruel punishments, but modern culture would applaud Jane for speaking her thoughts instead of conforming to the