Charlotte Bronte´s Jane Eyre A Victorian Criticism

The Victorian Era, lasting from 1832 until 1901, was a period of British history during the reign of Queen Victoria. This era contained the industrial revolution, which aided in the creation of a large middle class. It is well known for its many injustices, such as its rigid social class structure, mistreatment of the poor, and strict gender roles. Victorian authors, such as Charles Dickens, Matthew Arnold, George Elliot, and the Bronte sisters criticized these injustices in their works. Charlotte Bronte, who lived during the Victorian Era, wrote about the society’s injustices in her novels Jane Eyre, Shirley, and The Professor. The novel Jane Eyre is Charlotte Bronte’s response to the injustices of the Victorian Era. One major injustice of the Victorian Era was its very rigid social classes. Victorian people have to follow rules specific to their social class, such as, a person cannot marry a member of another class. Bronte displays this with Jane’s mother, who was in the aristocracy, but was disowned by her father for marrying a poor minister. Bronte perfectly captures the way the people of the aristocracy viewed lower class people when John Reed says to Jane, â€Å"you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemens children like us, and eat the same meals we do, and wear clothes at our mamas expense† (Bronte 11). Another example of this injustice can be seen in Mrs. Fairfax’s disapproval ofShow MoreRelatedVictorian Schools Using Hard Times And Jane Eyre916 Words   |  4 PagesUnfair Treatment (An analysis of Victorian schools using Hard Times and Jane Eyre) The Victorian Era was a time of much turmoil. Through the reign of Queen Victoria there were many aspects of society that took a standstill and some may say, declined. 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