Charlotte Bronte's Life and Her Experiences Mirrored in Jane Eyre
How do the events of Charolette Bronte's early life influence the content within her novel, Jane Eyre? Are there similarities between Charlotte Bronte's life and the events in Jane Eyre?
Hoeveler, Diane Long, and Lisa Jadwin. "Chronology." Charlotte Brontë, Twayne Publishers, 1988, pp. xi-xii. Twayne's English Authors Series 541. Gale eBooks, link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX2328600010/GVRL?u=viva_vcu&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=4e9a2a09. Accessed 21 Oct. 2021.
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: