Could Jane Eyre Have Been Written In The Nineteen ? Nineties Essay, Research Paper
????????? I do not think that Jane Eyre could
have been written in this decade. This is because views on moral issues and
society that are the driving force of the book do not have as much power or
influence on society today. ????????? In the
book, one of the main messages that Charlotte Bronte is attempting to get
across is religious beliefs, and the difference between faith and superficial
religion. She is trying to show that although everyone in Victorian times has
to go to church at least once a week, and many believe themselves to be
extremely religious, not everyone realises the true meaning of Christianity –
to help others and forgive them, not to punish them. In the time that Jane Eyre
was written, it was also thought that if you prayed to God for what you truly
wanted, he would guide you and help you through your troubles. Faith helped
Jane in the book. It is God that tells her that she must leave Thornfield after
she finds out that Mr. Rochester is already married, and that brings her to the
steps of her own cousins’ house. He also brings Jane and Mr. Rochester back
together:“As I exclaimed ‘Jane! Jane! Jane!’ a voice – I cannot
tell whence the voice was – replied, ’I am coming, wait for me’; and a moment after,
went whispering on the wind the words, ‘Where are You?’” (Chapter 37)Jane
hears Mr. Rochester’s cries of Jane in the wind, and this is why she returns to
him. It is meant to show that it is God’s will that they should be together. Now,
religion does not play such an important role in society, so this message would
not mean as much to people today. To us, it would just be thought of as a
coincidence that Jane happens to hear this, as well as the fact that she ended
up on the door of her cousins’ house. People would think that it is ridiculous
to say that God had brought them together. ????????? Following
on from Religion is the fact that people do not have the same views on moral
issues today as they did in Victorian times. People in general are much
broader-minded now than people in Jane’s time. You could not base a book on
whether something was wrong or right in God’s eyes nowadays. All the problems
that Jane incurs could be easily solved. If Jane wanted to marry a man that was
already married to a mentally ill woman today, there would not be a problem, he
could just divorce her. This would not be seen as wrong. In the book, however,
Jane is faced with a terrible decision to make; should she remain at
Thornfield, and live in sin as Mr. Rochester’s mistress, or should she flee,
and live a Christian life:?“I would not
ascribe vice to [Mr Rochester]; I would not say he had betrayed me; but the
attribute of a stainless truth was gone from his idea, and from his presence I
must go: that I perceived well.”(Chapter
26)This is indeed a drastic measure to take if you
really love someone, and Jane is devastated that she has to chose to do this:“That bitter hour cannot be described: in truth, ‘the
waters came into my soul, I sank in deep mire: I felt no standing; I came into
deep waters; the floods overflowed me."” (Chapter 26) ?Although
people can sympathise with Jane, we cannot understand the strain on her to make
this decision. In the nineties, if you loved someone as much as Jane loves Mr
Rochester, you would be able to stick by them no matter what they had done. Some
people today, however, may still think that if someone committed bigamy, it
would not be wise to stay with them, although the majority of people would
stick by you if you did decide to marry that person. Jane, however, would not
be accepted by anyone if she did this, as it would be seen as a religious
conviction. It would have been hard enough for her to fit in with Mr Rochester’s
friend even if they were properly married, let alone if she was living as his
mistress. All this means that if the book was written in the nineties, many
people would not even be able to sympathise with Jane, as there is no reason as
to why she would have to flee Thornfield. You could, however, focus on the fact
that Mr Rochester had tried to commit bigamy, and Jane felt betrayed, so had to
leave. This, however, would not be as effective. ????????? This
brings in the issue of social classes, and peoples’ views on different matters.
In the nineteen nineties, if a middle-class nanny wanted to marry a wealthy
man, people would not sneer at the idea. This would have been totally different
in Victorian times, however. Mr Rochester would have been expected to marry a
beautiful and rich lady, such as Miss Ingram, not be “wed to one inferior to
[him]”, as Jane is. It would never be expected that Jane would marry Mr
Rochester, she would only live as his mistress. This is shown by the reaction
of Mrs Fairfax when Jane tells her that she is going to wed Mr Rochester.“ ‘It passes me!’ [Mrs Fairfax] continued; ‘but no
doubt it is true since you say so. How it will answer I cannot tell: I really
don’t know. Equality of position and fortune is often advisable in such cases’”
(Chapter 24)In the book, Mr Rochester is only married to Bertha
Mason for convenience, and because she had a huge dowry:“Mr Mason, [my father] found, had a son and
daughter; and he had learned from him that he could and would give the latter a
fortune of thirty thousand pounds: that sufficed.”( Chapter 27)In
today’s society, Mr Rochester would have never been married to the mad woman,
or if he…
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