The Ideal Woman in the Victorian Era
During the Victorian era, women were expected to embrace their role as wives and mothers and exist quietly and neatly within their domicile, with few hobbies or interests outside of their domestic duties. Modesty, purity, passivity, and patience were just a few of the traits that characterized an ideal woman in the Victorian era. It is posited that the image of the ideal woman was modeled after Queen Victoria, the most powerful figure in England, who reinforced the importance of marriage, motherhood, and domesticity (Murray).
Age of Consent in Victorian England
Jane Eyre was written in 1847, but age of consent laws did not come under intense public discussion in England until the late 1800’s, particularly after an expose on the so-called "White Slave-Trade." In 1885, The Law Amendment Act was passed which raised the age of consent for sex outside marriage from 13 to 16 years of age. However, girls who were perceived as "older than their age." were excluded from the benefits of these laws and many men were not persecuted for breaking this law if they made such claims about her age and appearance.
Brontë writes a letter before publishing Jane Eyre
Brontë writes a letter expressing her anxeities that surround the production of Jane Eyre. She fears it will not be succseful and a century and a half later, it is being studied in Universities! An ecerpt from the letter states:
Ireland
(image by Jonjobaker)
Ireland is only mentioned three times within the book (Gaskell). The first time was on page 146 and the context was Mr. Thornton was talking about getting hired hands from Ireland to replace the workers that were on strike at the time (Gaskell). This event caused a cascade of events that led to an impromptu strike against the wishes of the Worker's Union (Gaskell).
Greece
In Gaskell's North and South, Wales is talked about as a place to settle down, pictured as a farm house in the wild that would have been preferrable over Margaret's current situation.