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A short summary of Renaissance poetry.

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Gender roles are a theme which is explored in a number of ways in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre. Bertens discusses how gender roles are culturally assigned, with women traditionally portrayed as weak and passive, whilst men are dominant and independent[1]. Bronte tackles these ideas in her novel, subverting the stereotypical Victorian gender roles and demonstrating groundbreaking new attitudes towards gender roles in society, making her arguably one of the first proponents of the feminist movement. Jane Eyre deals with the entrapment of women, both physically and emotionally; and the links between sex and power, and the possibilities of women’s sexuality being repressed for a subliminal fear of women gaining power in a male-dominated society.

H. Bertens discusses the gender roles that are stereotypical of Victorian society and can oftentimes still be seen in modern society. Women are traditionally described as “dependent” and “Self-pitying”, whilst masculinity holds connotations of “strength” and “self-reliance” [2]. For the majority of Jane Eyre this is true of the male and female protagonists, Jane and Mr Rochester. Rochester is wealthy, independent and both physically and mentally strong, “My master’s colourless, olive face, square, massive brow, broad and jetty eyebrows, deep eyes, strong features, firm, grim mouth,- all energy, decision, will,- […] were full of an interest, an influence that quite mastered me”[3]. Here words like “square”, “broad” and “firm” connote an appearance of physical and mental strength which also contribute to Rochester’s masculinity, making him appear attractive to the reader, although Jane comments that he is “ugly” and “not beautiful”. Her use of the word “mastered” also shows the power that Rochester holds over her, demonstrating that he is her “master”, emotionally as well as in her occupation as a “plain, Quakerish governess” in his house. She repeatedly calls him her “master” and talks about “serving”, demonstrating the unequal power balance in their relationship, also her dependence on him as her master. Jane’s description of Rochester is not just a focus on his physical attributes, but she also talks about his “energy, decision, will”, something which she respects about him. With Rochester being unattractive in Jane’s eyes, and Jane describing herself as “plain”, they appear to be equal in appearance, and her respect for his sense (“decision”) shows that they are also equal on an intellectual level. However, Victorian society would have disapproved of a relationship between a wealthy man of standing in society and his governess. As a working woman, Jane would be expected to remain unmarried, or leave her job if she did decide to marry, and marry a man of a similar social status to herself, such as a clergyman like St John Rivers. One of Jane’s problems with her relationship with Rochester is this inequality and this is one of the reasons she refuses to marry him.

Jane’s search for independence from the men in her life is a continuing theme in the novel.  Mr Brocklehurst, who “buys all our food and clothes”, is domineering and attempts to make the girls at the Lowood school “humble” through the means of food deprivation, cutting off their hair, and allowing them no luxuries or comforts: “You are aware that my plan in bringing up these girls is, not to accustom them to habits of luxury and indulgence, but to render them hardy, patient, self-denying”. Brocklehurst makes assumptions that females are automatically and intrinsically inclined to luxury and indulgence, and that they need to be “tamed”, thinking that it is his religious duty to deny the girls of food and freedom, basically treating them like animals. By comparison, his own children wear “silk and fur”. Brocklehurst’s attempts to “render them hardy” could be construed as robbing the girls of their female attributes (like cutting off their hair), and furthermore their feminine sexuality. Indeed, Bertens describes how “thinking in terms of gender stereotypes” has brought about men with female - and therefore “weak” - attributes, “whom everybody automatically assumed to be ‘masculine’, to positions of great power”[4]. This can be seen in Brocklehurst’s actions. His attempts to render the girls sexless in order to ameliorate his own position as a powerful masculine authoritative figure mask the actual fact that he is weak and sinful (something which a 1800s audience would perhaps not comprehend in a man of power, and would reject). The consequences are the downfall of the school and of Brocklehurst himself, as he loses all of his power and status. By asserting that the girls are sexually immoral Brocklehurst could be masking his own sexual immorality and “sinful” thoughts. It also shows Brocklehurst’s fear of loss of power over the girls (Millet finds a relationship between sex and power in both society at large and in male and female partnerships “in which the distribution of power over the male and female partners mirrors the distribution of power over males and females in society at large”[5]), demonstrating that Brocklehurst, as a representative of men in positions of power over women, knows that powerful women should be feared and attempts to repress their sexuality and grasp for power in order to maintain “the continued social and cultural domination of males”[6]. Men are afraid that when women are given the ability to thrive, they will dominate. This is true in the case of Jane, although it is necessary for Rochester to become physically disabled (loss of sexual appeal) and lose his property (loss of wealth and status) before she feels necessarily equal or superior to him – reflecting the attitudes of Victorian society of what connotes and what makes women powerful, also the significant extent to which men must deteriorate before women can be seen as superior or equal.

Jane’s resolve to have an equal relationship with a man reflects a perhaps feminist attitude, which is also furthered by her view of women. Interestingly, when she is first introduced to Mrs Fairfax she preconceives that she is a rich widow rather than the housekeeper for a man – her first conclusion is to assume that the woman is in a position of power. Mrs Fairfax’s actual position shows that she is far from it – “this affable and kind little widow was no great dame, but a dependant like myself”. Uses of the words “kind” and “affable” in this quotation shows Jane’s respect for Mrs Fairfax despite her low position in society, and her use of the words “like myself” shows that she identifies with Mrs Fairfax’s position in society and her situation as an inferior single employed woman in Victorian Britain. Interestingly the more likeable women in the novel are in positions of servitude (Mrs Fairfax, Mrs Temple, the Rivers sisters), whilst the women with money and status (Blanche Ingram) are disliked by the protagonist and therefore the audience. The presentation of Blanche also demonstrates her to be a negative character, “Blanche, an accomplished lady of rank”  (spoken by Jane with resentment). Her name is associated with the colour white which connotes purity and innocence but also coldness and emptiness, suggesting that unlike Jane, who is a very fiery character, Blanche has little personality or character to offer to Rochester, with an explicit focus on her physical attributes and “accomplishments” rather than her personality, “Tall, fine bust, sloping shoulders; long, graceful neck:  olive complexion, dark and clear; noble features”. Jane describes her as having an air of “haughty listlessness” which adds to the idea of her having little personality or individuality.

The theme of oppression of women in the novel is a continuous one. Women are confined and contained in order to repress their sexuality and supposed deviance. Bertha Mason is not normal and feared because she is mad and represents the unknown in the realms of science and medicine – again here there is a link to the repression of female sexuality. Bertha is mad so she has no regard for social etiquette and therefore is unpredictable in her behaviour, “the lunatic sprang and grappled his throat viciously, and laid her teeth to his cheek”. The description of her actions here show a feral and disturbing quality, for example with “laid her teeth to his cheek”, reminiscent of a vampire. Bertha is also half-Jamaican, adding to the exoticness and unknown surrounding her (interestingly, Blanche, Jane’s other rival, could be seen as exotic due to her description as being “oriental”). Bertha’s confinement parallels Jane’s own entrapment in the red room as a child and her mild breakdown, and both women’s experiences with being imprisoned are reflective of Bronte’s strict upbringing, having been confined to her father’s Yorkshire house for most of her life. Gilbert and Gubar[7] suggested that Bertha’s entrapment is symbolic of the attitudes of and towards female writers of the time period, “the intensely powerful, passionate, and talented woman who is seen as crazy and in need of confinement by the world represents the nineteenth-century woman writer”[8]. Indeed, R W Dixon, considered “male quality to be the creative gift”[9]. The fact that women were becoming successful writers made men feel threatened and inclined to suppress female writers, causing many woman writers to write under male pseudonyms (Charlotte Bronte’s own was Currer Bell).

Millet discusses an intrinsic link between sex and power and this suggests that women’s sexuality needs to be repressed in order to keep males in power[10]. Applying this to Jane Eyre, Bertha is confined to the attic and dies in a fire (symbolic of hell) unredeemed, symbolic of a punishment for her madness and her rebuttal of the social norms and expectations of women.

Ultimately, Bronte shows in her novel that gender roles are a significant means of entrapment of women and male dominance is used as a method of controlling potentially powerful women, as can be seen with Brocklehurst. Entrapment of women can also be seen in Jane’s attitudes towards marriage. She will not marry for money or status as Miss Temple, or even for simply a comfortable life (hence the rejection of St John Rivers’ proposal). By the same token, she refuses to degrade herself when she marries, even if she is in love. This can be seen with Rochester. Even though she loves him, she will not become his mistress due to the existence of Bertha, running away (demonstrating independence). She can only marry him when Bertha is dead and she feels equal to him in wealth (due to her inheritance of her fortune and the fire at Thornfield Hall rendering Rochester penniless), appearance and mutual unconditional love. Bronte thus shows the drastic difference in power between genders, the extent to which a man must deteriorate to become a woman’s equal and therefore the significantly and embarrassingly inferior position of women in Victorian society.

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