Jane Eyre, after reflecting on the past eight years she has spent at Lowood, is eager to start a new chapter in her life outside of where she has grown up. After staring at the beautiful horizon of mountains from her window, Jane recognizes how much there is for her in the world. Her unfortunate upbringing, combined with difficulties such as the death of Helen Burns, Mr. Brocklehurst's negligent care of the Lowood girls, and the departure of Miss Temple, leave Jane longing for a livelier, happier lifestyle. In this passage, Jane exclaims, "I desired liberty; for liberty I gasped; for liberty I uttered a prayer," as a result of her ongoing feelings of imprisonment. Originally, Jane was trapped under the rule of Mrs. Reed at Gateshead, resulting in melancholy and anger that caused her to act out. Years later, Jane continues …show more content…
Despite many women's desires to change these social constructs, Jane explains, "that petition too, seemed swept off into vague space." This statement exemplifies how equality between both genders is an aspiration that is ignored, solely because of the way social constructs have formed society. By the end of the passage, Jane is simply requesting, "at least a new servitude," because her standards for what she deserves have plummeted. She slowly begins to ask for less and less, because each of her previous ambitions have been pursued unsuccessfully. This illustrates how society's constructs not only create a degrading public environment for women, but also force them to discredit themselves and their self-worth. This ties back into the theme of imprisonment, because the inequality demonstrated between women and men is inescapable. Women, just like Jane Eyre, must confine themselves to serve the purpose assigned to them, rather than working to their full potential and living their lives