Jane Eyre s The Rigid Class System - 1504 Words

The 19th century strict victorian hierarchy places a colossal importance on one’s social standing. Wealth and status prevail over one’s virtue, as an aristocrat is taught to associate poverty and the lower class with inferiority and ignorance. As she grows up a penniless orphan in a wealthy estate, Jane Eyre’s social mobility between classes allows her to endure prejudice as well as display it. Jane lives with her affluent cousins and aunt, and despite her own lack of wealth, Jane is taught that the poor are despicable and unworthy people. As Jane grows and matures throughout her lifetime, she must make her own judgements regarding caste. Throughout her novel, Charlotte Bronte of Jane Eyre criticizes the rigid class system and exposes†¦show more content†¦Jane’s lack of wealth results in her lack of human identity, and categorizes her in the most demeaning manner possible. Jane once again faces this same lack of respect later in life when he r employer, Mr Rochester, entertains a group of aristocratic guests who are prejudiced against her due to her position as a governess. Blanche Ingram, a wealthy friend of Rochester’s, makes it evident that she cares little for the governess position when she says, â€Å"Mary and I have had, I should think, a dozen at least in our day; haf of them detestable and the rest ridiculous, and all incubi–were they not, mamma† (209). Although Ingram depicts her staff as being loathsome, it becomes apparent that her judgment is flawed; she and her brother mistreated their governesses with detestable behavior. However, they did not view this as problematic given their higher social status. Essentially, Blanche Ingram reveals that in the victorian era, wealth triumphs over character. Although Jane herself endures prejudice because of her low position in the social hierarchy, she also displays intolerance for her own class as she has been taught that the poor are repreh ensible. Jane admits she would prefer to live with the Reeds despite the mistreatment she endures, than a kind but poor family. Jane’s perception of the lower class has been warped by the narrow-minded people she has grown up around. She imagines that life in poverty isShow MoreRelatedEssay on Jane Eyre - Challenging Victorian Beliefs1028 Words   |  5 PagesJane Eyre - Challenging Victorian Beliefs Charlotte Brontà « challenges the view that men are emotionally, socially and intellectually superior to women. Just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at Gods feet, equal - as we are! The 19th century was a period of oppression for women. The patriarchal system that dominated the Victorian period in Englands history, was one during which Charlotte Brontà « wrote and set the novel, Jane Eyre. Brontà « denounces the persecutionRead MoreThe Great Gatsby, And Huckleberry Finn?1759 Words   |  8 PagesTaylor Term Paper: How Does Class Effect the Moral Integrity of Character in The Great Gatsby, Jane Eyre, and Huckleberry Finn? Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby, and Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn all explore the effects of wealth and class on society. On closer inspection, a common strand seems to form between these three classic novels. The idea that wealth (and the social class that comes with it) determines a person is refuted via the use of deep characterizationRead MoreJane Eyre : A Critique Of Strict Social Class Hierarchy1991 Words   |  8 Pages ‘Jane Eyre’ highlights the ways in which the proletariat is oppressed by the bourgeoisie. As such, the novel could be regarded as a critique of the strict social class hierarchy in Victorian England, particularly in terms of the despicable mistreatment of Jane at the hands of her supposed â€Å"social superior† John Reed. Reed violently torments and oppresses Jane, reminds her constantly of being an ‘orphan’,a ‘dependent’ of the Reed family. Thus, Reed exemplifies the upper class oppressingRead MoreStatement of Purpose23848 Words   |  96 PagesPage 1 and used the statement of purpose for borderline decisions. However, of liberal arts faculty who responded, approximately half valued the essays as much as other parts of the application package. ï‚ · Determine the importance of the mentor system. The importance of the statement of purpose increases, as Robert M. Brown notes, at institutions with strong mentoring programs ―because it is the only place where an applicant can elaborate a research interest to the extent that faculty members can