We will analyse, in this essay, the differences as well as the similarities which exist between Jane Eyre and Incidents in the life of a slave girl written by herself. We will see that they differ in terms of genre, the period of history in which they find themselves, the way the characters are presented and so forth. However, they share some of the main values concerning womanhood, race and some other aspects of life which they both treat in different ways and yet they do so in a specific aim. Charlotte Brontë and Harriet Jacobs present to us two texts which are both based in totally opposite moments in history. While many differences exist between the two texts, they have several aspects in common.
Divisions of class are obstacles to relationships of love. Mrs Fairfax seeks company, “I’m glad your come… In winter one can feel a little dreary and alone.” Although, “John and Martha are good people,” she is constrained by society to remain their acquaintance rather than friend for, “they are servants. One cannot talk to them in terms of equality.”
Examine how either text represents either class or gender. Are these representations problematic or contradictory? How do they relate to the plot and structure of the novel? Jane Eyre is a female Bildungsroman written by Charlotte Brontë in 1848.
Tragedies have intrigued audiences since Grecian times. The plots of these tragic tales often captivate viewers with outcomes that stray from the audience’s expectations. Many famous love stories are tragedies at their core: Romeo and Juliet, Titanic, Orpheus and Eurydice, and Wuthering Heights. Due to the devastating outcomes, Emily Bronte’s classic novel Wuthering Heights inevitably provokes questions, enabling the theme’s emergence. On the one hand, many argue that the book is about social class differences.
In The Awakening, Kate Chopin’s protagonist Edna Pontellier possesses “that outward existence which conforms, the inward life that questions.” Similarly, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and its titular character obeys social norms of the time period, while questioning those social norms as she grows up in a middle to upperclassmen-like society in 1830’s England. Jane Eyre conforms and adapts to society while inwardly questioning it in the many periods in her life, including her childhood with the Reeds, her education at Lowood, and her relationship with Rochester at Thornfield, teaching her important values in life as she progresses and grows in the novel. In the beginning of the novel, readers are shown that Jane Eyre has a very critical viewpoint
Elegance and upper class society is a concept very well revealed in Pride and Prejudice. The Bennet’s extravagant lifestyles included fancy dresses and immaculate estates. Jane Austen’s inspiration began when her cousin Eliza de Feuillide familiarized her with the more refined world (Juda 17). Similarly to the Bennet’s, Jane Austen’s family was “also in a highly unstable social position” (17). Their
In Pride and Prejudice, social classes divided the country of England into wealthy and poor, and each class was to abide by certain social rules. Usually, the poor and the wealthy were not meant to intertwine in marriage but they could speak and dance at balls that were hosted. In the famous English romance novel by Jane Austen, five girls must marry off before their father dies and lose their house to their cousin, Mr. Collins. The plot of the novel is set between the second-born daughter, Elizabeth Bennet and a wealthy man by the name of Mr. Darcy. Both of them come off as prejudicial to each other at the beginning, with Mr. Darcy telling Mr. Bingley that he won’t dance with a woman that has been eyed by another man.
The above passage from Pride and Prejudice depicts a major turning point in the novel. This passage follows Mr. Darcy’s marriage proposal to Elizabeth. Before this passage, Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth and then follows by explaining to her all the reasons he tried to stop himself from falling for, claiming that Elizabeth’s low social class would degrade his own social standing and the problem with her family were reasons he tried to resist his feelings for her, which emphasizes the theme of social class because it shows how social class means something different for everyone and is more important to some people than to others. What Mr. Darcy says to Elizabeth before the passage above illustrates a justification to Elizabeth’s anger towards Mr. Darcy and is a reason Elizabeth was so angry and frustrated towards Mr. Darcy in this passage, compared to when she rejected Mr. Collin’s marriage proposal.
The gender roles of Jane Austen’s time, and the mirroring of them in Persuasion, are good examples of how hard it can be to resist inequality amongst sexes. Gender inequality is a social issue that recurs throughout the novel. Most of the characters that face gender inequality comply with their oppression. Moreover, the characters that are oppressed by gender inequality have come to expect such injustice. Jane Austen’s Persuasion demonstrates true-to-life examples of how both women and men accept their “role” in society, accept and expect it.
Jane Austen lived in a period at the turn from the eighteenth century to the nineteenth century, which was a period of mixed thoughts, which conflicted all the times. Among all the conflicts, the most important one was the disparity in social status between men and women. Not only men’s status was in the center of the society but also common people thought it was right that men were much more important than women were. In those days girls were neither allowed nor expected to study much because they did not have to work for a living. They were supposed to stay at home and look beautiful in order to get suitable husbands.
In addition, class is complex, it is a way to label everyone. Class is portrayed in this novel by the wealth and standing one were in at this time there were the high class and the middle class standings. The difference between these social classes creates tension and prejudice. Those in the same social classes would interact and soon get married. They kept their boundarie, while families in the middle class could communicate with those in the higher class but would not be treated with the same respect as those of the higher class.
Social Class Social class assumed a significant part in the general public portrayed in Charles Dickens ' Great Expectations. Social class decided the way in which an individual was dealt with and their right to gain entrance to instruction. Yet, social class did not characterize the character of the single person. Numerous characters were dealt with contrastingly on account of their social class in Great Expectations. Seeing the difference between how the poor and the rich were dealt with will give a clearer understanding of the amount of social class mattered.
The culture portrayed through Jane Austen’s “Emma” shows the values and nature of the social classes. Each social class was distinguished by their values. The social classes also developed respect and manners as part of the Romantic Period. Lastly, the values of truth and reason were some of the more important values of the culture. All together, these aspects make up the culture of the social classes during the eighteen hundreds.
Society and Marriage 2. Mistress or Wife 3. Wealth, Power and Equality: from Governess to Heiress 1. Society and Marriage - Victorian period: marrying out of interest with no regards for affection. Brontë exploits this issue in “Jane Eyre” by showing this darker side of society through the enigmatic Edward Rochester and his lustful family.
Social class is a hierarchy based on wealth, living standards, education level and occupation which impact people’s lives for better or worse. In this essay, I have chosen to explore the idea of how social classes affect the way we treat people. The four texts To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Me Before You by Jojo Moyes, The Help by Kathryn Stockett, and Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen all capture the idea in which social class can affect our lives. In each text, we see how social classes divide people from another, that most characters are aware of where they stand in their society because of social status, and how relationships across different social classes can be formed.
