JANE EYRE AS A REFLECTION OF THE TIMES

By: Rishabh Jain, Erik Loewen, Sagar Mulchandani,

Angelene Superable, and Kenneth Nguyen

3rd Period

October 23, 2012

FIRST AND FOREMOST…

What does that even mean?

How does Jane Eyre actually

relate to the time period it’s set

in?

SCARCITY OF FOOD

“Breakfast-time came at last,

and this morning the porridge

was not burnt… the quantity

small; how small my portion

seemed!” (Bronte 45)

SCARCITY OF FOOD

During the Victorian times, there

were widespread instances of

malnourishment and of children being

underfed.

This is exemplified by Jane’s life

during her stay at the Lowood School,

because she wasn’t fed very much.

STRUGGLE OF EQUALITY

“Women are supposed to be very calm

generally; but women feel just as men feel; they

need exercise for their faculties and a field for

their efforts as much as their brothers do; they

suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a

stagnation” (Bronte 101).

STRUGGLE OF EQUALITY

Throughout the Victorian era woman were looked

down upon constantly, because of this women

become aware of their situation and slowly started

to take action for equality.

In the novel, Mr. Brocklehurst, Rochester, and St.

John all attempted to command women. Bronte’s

use of marriage in the novel portrays the struggle

for gender equality. Jane shuns marriage proposals

that she seems might expunge her identity and she

strives for equality in her relationships.

TYPHUS EPIDEMIC

“Inquiry was made into the origin of the

scourge [Typhus]… The unhealthy nature

of the site; the quantity and quality of the

children’s food; the brackish, fetid water…

all these things were discovered; and the

discovery produced a result mortifying to

Mr. Brocklehurst” (Bronte 75).

TYPHUS EPIDEMIC

There was a lower standard of living back

in the Victorian Times: lack of running

water, plumbing, and feed was often

prepared in unsafe conditions.

The clothes the girls wore at Lowood did

not protect them from the cold, and this

made them more susceptible to disease.

MARRIAGE FOR MONEY

“Yet as little could [my father] endure

that a son of his should be a poor man.

I must be provided for by a wealthy

marriage” (Bronte 290).

MARRIAGE FOR MONEY

During the Victorian Times, marriage

was commonly used as a way to “get-

rich-quick”.

Although religion was important

during these times, people didn’t

usually marry for love or God.

VIDEO

MONEY MATTERS

WORKS CITED

“Literary Ananlysis of Jane Eyre – Victorian Era.” Literary Analysis of Jane Eyre-

Victorian Era. N.p., n.d. Web. Oct. 2012.

<https://sites.google.com/a/cheshire.k12.ct.us/victorian- era/influential-

authors/the-bronte-sisters/biography/jane-eyre-analysis-of-jane-eyre>

Bronte, Charlotte, Fritz Eichenberg, and Bruce Rogers. Jane Eyre. New York:

Random House, 1943. Print.

“Jane Eyre: Money Matters & Flirting.” YouTube. YouTube, 12 Nov. 2007. Web.

24 Oct. 2012. <http://youtube.com/watch?v=bSrpvMSuhPM>.