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  • Essay / A Critique of the Social Hierarchies of Victorian England in Jane Eyre

    In 19th-century Victorian England, class structures and rigid hierarchies alongside societal mores defined the social landscape. A wide and uncaring chasm separated the rich from the poor while long-held customs solidified both eternal prosperity and generational misery. Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre plays a critical role in its exploration of the complex and strict social hierarchies of Victorian England. Jane Eyre, an unclassifiable person, is suspended between the upper and lower classes. She is a separated orphan, but she is raised in a wealthy family. She is a governess, but she works for the rich and attends social gatherings with aristocrats. Despite “the narrow scope of Jane’s life canvas,” she assumes a continuum of class obligations; she “extends it to the outer limits, transcending social class with the vitality of her imaginative intellect.” Seen from the perspective of this astute young woman, Brontë highlights the societal differences of the time. Jane's ambiguous class status generates considerable tension in her personal affairs while granting her a position of great insight into the nature of society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Throughout the novel, Jane experiences tension and conflict due to her dynamic social position. Her family history is a vivid example of the conflict she endured due to deeply ingrained social mores. Jane's parents married into different social classes and as a result, they were disowned by their family. Therefore, Jane was not to inherit money from her grandfather simply because of her father's perceived lower class position. Furthermore, the parents' later fatal onset of typhoid appears to be attributed to their decision to marry; their death occurred only two years after the marriage. Jane continues to be pained later in the novel by society's superficial values ​​and traditions surrounding marriage. She desires a union with her master, Mr. Rochester; however, she has difficulty accepting the societal repercussions of this possible marriage. She is reluctant to consider marrying Rochester because she fears feeling helpless and tied to him for "condescending" to marry her. Rochester appears to have chosen another woman, Miss Ingram, because "her rank and connections suited her." Her prestige and outward beauty contrast with Jane's frugality, obscure origins, and ingrained servitude. Although Rochester ultimately dislikes Ingram's character, the ordeal continues to torment Jane emotionally. In this way, Brontë's account of cross-class interactions in the Victorian era is a warning about the inevitable conflicts one encounters when violating the cherished traditions of English society. In addition to enduring great emotional distress due to her fluid and undesirable social status, Jane also gains valuable insight into the nature of society. His understanding of class structures begins with preconceived ideas, naturally biased but ironic, about what it means to be poor. As a young girl, Jane refused to be offered a place to live with her poor relatives because she was made to believe that “poverty is synonymous with degradation.” Jane will learn later in the novel that similar degradation can also be experienced by the rich and that poverty is not degrading but rather humiliating. During her time at the Lowood Institution, Jane comes to understand the flaws of.