There’s a quote from this book that I like, Jane Eyre, that I thought was just lovely. The quote speaks to me in a lot of ways because it makes a nod to something that burns me up when I think of it. The quote goes, “I can live alone, if self-respect, and circumstances require me so to do. I need not sell my soul to buy bliss. I have an inward treasure born with me, which can keep me alive if all extraneous delights should be withheld, or offered only at a price I cannot afford to give.”. There’s something that is so powerful about this quote to me because it shows something that is in direct opposition to how society views us women, which is that we cannot be independent in any real and substantial ways. It’s a widely accepted stance that we women are just supporters of our husbands. We exist to make their lives easier essentially but we can’t be our own people. But that's exactly why I love this quote so much. It throws out all of these toxic expectations and is real and genuine without worry. I feel like I relate quite a bit to this quote actually, all though I might be hesitant to ever proclaim such a thing to the world. It is quite an inspiring thing for me. What exactly makes people think they’re in any position to tell me what is and what isn’t lady-like? I’m a lady, aren’t I? Doesn’t that constitute that how I act is inherently ladylike? I just want to know how they got the power to decide that.
Editorial Commentary: The young woman from the first entry went on to describe another item of interest to her. This item, being a quote from a book she liked. From the quote, we get an idea of just why this was important enough to her to include. She expresses frustration with the societal standards that she views as being unfair. Her main topic of interest is that of how society acts like women are supporters of men. There is quite a bit to say about these statements and what really goes into that but, to put it simply, this is how society viewed the relationship between men and women. It was essentially expected that a woman would marry a man and then live her life helping her husband however he needed it. Whether it be financially or whatever else, this is what a woman would have to spend her time doing. The woman who wrote this commentary is very frustrated with this. She talks about how much she loves this quote from a book called Jane Eyre where a woman essentially declares that she can be independent and an individual. This quote excites the woman because this is exactly how she wants her life to be. She even stated that she “relates” to the quote which tells us that this is, in fact, most likely how she wishes she could have lived. If there was ever a question about what separates a New Woman from that of an “old-fashioned” woman it would probably be this. This seems like the biggest distinction because the main thing “New Women” typically seemed to want was to be free and independent, not absolutely separated from the idea of marriage but just enough to be their own people.
Citation: Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Smith, Elder & Co., 1847. goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10210.Jane_Eyre. Accessed 10 November 2020.