We Stood At God's Feet, Equels

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is a fantastic example of the characteristics that dominated the Romantic era of the 19th century, especially the stereotypes of women. Bronte, a prominent author, perhaps best known for Jane Eyre – becoming famous only after her death at the age of thirty-nine , uses a first-person narrative rich with gothic, supernatural, and romantic themes, to tell the story of Jane, a young orphan who has much to overcome in her life.

After a horrible run-in with her cousin John that leaves the then ten-year-old Jane locked in the room that her uncle died in, she is sent to a boarding school for orphaned girls, because her aunt labels her a liar, and there is nobody who will believe the poor girl. In a display of true anger, the last thing Jane says to her aunt before being sent away to the school is, "I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed; and this book about the liar, you may give to your girl, Georgiana, for it is she who tells lies, and not I.” Once she arrives at the school, it becomes apparent that she will be forced to submit to their authority, and will be educated to be submissive and meek, which though she is passionate, were seen as good characteristics to have to the 19th century Romantics.

In her first days at the school, Lowood, Jane meets Helen Burns, a young girl who befriends Jane, making her time at the school bearable – but Helen falls sick. During the Romantic period, people often believed that romantic love (heterosexual and homosexual), religious love, and friendship were tied together and were signs of “an ecstatic harmony of souls”. When Helen is dying, she and Jane share a bed together, and Helen tells Jane that she loves having her near, and kisses her hand, a show of their true friendship. She explains that she is going home to Heaven and that one day, Jane will be there to join her in Paradise. Helen’s true and wonderful friendship is important to the story because it shapes the way Jane loves her friends and future lover.

While attending Lowood, Jane is given an education, but ultimately her experience there, besides her fleeting friendship with Helen, is quite miserable. The title of Liar is held over her head by some of the staff, and the rod is used on her to beat her into compliance. When she finally gets to leave the school, it is to go to Mr. Rochester’s estate as his ward’s governess, a French girl named Adele. This is seen as a wonderful opportunity, and she is freed from the awful establishment.

At first, Jane and Mr. Rochester have an awkward and strained relationship, made worse by the fact that he is to marry a woman of his equal status – but he confides in Jane that he will not marry the woman, as he doesn’t love her. This is where Jane utters the line that makes the whole book; “Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings? And can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!” This quote embodies the Romantic era’s thoughts of love so very completely. After this declaration, the two begin a relationship and eventually are to be married.

Once her love for Rochester seems to be reaching a wonderful conclusion, something, of course, gets in the way of Jane’s happiness; Rochester is actually already married, and Jane finds out on the day of their wedding. Rochester, ever the Romantic hero, tries to convince Jane that it means nothing to him. The poor woman, Bertha, is locked away, out of her mind, and though Rochester doesn’t love her, he looks after her because of guilt. This is still so very upsetting to Jane, and she flees, running until she can no longer – and she ends up being taken in by St. John, a clergyman, and his two sisters.

The thing that inevitably brings Jane back to her true love, Mr. Rochester, is news of a horrible fire at Thornfield Hall. Jane goes back to Thornfield, finding that Mr. Rochester has been blinded by the fire – due to the fact that he heroically rescued everybody in the house before leaving himself – and as they re-unite, a whole new dynamic to their relationship, Jane, the chaste, stereotypically meek and Eve-like girl, comes out on top. This hints at their star-crossed and destined love, a popular Romantic trope in the 19th century. In the end, Jane Eyre romanticized the predicament of governesses in the 19th century and to end this paragraph with a quote, “The plight of the governess was one which was drawing considerable social attention at that time. It was virtually the only occupation that was considered respectable for a middle-class woman who had no family to support her, but the experience was often wretched.”

In summation, Jane Eyre is a quintessential story that, while holding hints of gothic undertones, encompasses the Romantic 19th-century ideals of women.

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte, is a fantastic example of the characteristics that dominated the Romantic era of the 19th century, especially the stereotypes of women. Bronte, a prominent author, perhaps best known for Jane Eyre – becoming famous only after her death at the age of thirty-nine , uses a first-person narrative rich with gothic, supernatural, and romantic themes, to tell the story of Jane, a young orphan who has much to overcome in her life.

After a horrible run-in with her cousin John that leaves the then ten-year-old Jane locked in the room that her uncle died in, she is sent to a boarding school for orphaned girls, because her aunt labels her a liar, and there is nobody who will believe the poor girl. In a display of true anger, the last thing Jane says to her aunt before being sent away to the school is, "I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed; and this book about the liar, you may give to your girl, Georgiana, for it is she who tells lies, and not I.” Once she arrives at the school, it becomes apparent that she will be forced to submit to their authority, and will be educated to be submissive and meek, which though she is passionate, were seen as good characteristics to have to the 19th century Romantics.

In her first days at the school, Lowood, Jane meets Helen Burns, a young girl who befriends Jane, making her time at the school bearable – but Helen falls sick. During the Romantic period, people often believed that romantic love (heterosexual and homosexual), religious love, and friendship were tied together and were signs of “an ecstatic harmony of souls”. When Helen is dying, she and Jane share a bed together, and Helen tells Jane that she loves having her near, and kisses her hand, a show of their true friendship. She explains that she is going home to Heaven and that one day, Jane will be there to join her in Paradise. Helen’s true and wonderful friendship is important to the story because it shapes the way Jane loves her friends and future lover.

While attending Lowood, Jane is given an education, but ultimately her experience there, besides her fleeting friendship with Helen, is quite miserable. The title of Liar is held over her head by some of the staff, and the rod is used on her to beat her into compliance. When she finally gets to leave the school, it is to go to Mr. Rochester’s estate as his ward’s governess, a French girl named Adele. This is seen as a wonderful opportunity, and she is freed from the awful establishment.

At first, Jane and Mr. Rochester have an awkward and strained relationship, made worse by the fact that he is to marry a woman of his equal status – but he confides in Jane that he will not marry the woman, as he doesn’t love her. This is where Jane utters the line that makes the whole book; “Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings? And can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!” This quote embodies the Romantic era’s thoughts of love so very completely. After this declaration, the two begin a relationship and eventually are to be married.

Once her love for Rochester seems to be reaching a wonderful conclusion, something, of course, gets in the way of Jane’s happiness; Rochester is actually already married, and Jane finds out on the day of their wedding. Rochester, ever the Romantic hero, tries to convince Jane that it means nothing to him. The poor woman, Bertha, is locked away, out of her mind, and though Rochester doesn’t love her, he looks after her because of guilt. This is still so very upsetting to Jane, and she flees, running until she can no longer – and she ends up being taken in by St. John, a clergyman, and his two sisters.

The thing that inevitably brings Jane back to her true love, Mr. Rochester, is news of a horrible fire at Thornfield Hall. Jane goes back to Thornfield, finding that Mr. Rochester has been blinded by the fire – due to the fact that he heroically rescued everybody in the house before leaving himself – and as they re-unite, a whole new dynamic to their relationship, Jane, the chaste, stereotypically meek and Eve-like girl, comes out on top. This hints at their star-crossed and destined love, a popular Romantic trope in the 19th century. In the end, Jane Eyre romanticized the predicament of governesses in the 19th century and to end this paragraph with a quote, “The plight of the governess was one which was drawing considerable social attention at that time. It was virtually the only occupation that was considered respectable for a middle-class woman who had no family to support her, but the experience was often wretched.”

In summation, Jane Eyre is a quintessential story that, while holding hints of gothic undertones, encompasses the Romantic 19th-century ideals of women.

Annotated Bibliography – Stereotypes of the 19th-century woman

. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 1996. Print.

"Jane Eyre" is about the passions and experiences of its titular character, including her growth to adulthood, and her love for Mr. Rochester, the mysterious master of Thornfield Hall. I used this book as an example of the 19th-century Romantic mindset pertaining to women, as it was written by a woman in that era, and it talks about many of the ideals of the time, such as love being between two souls inexorably intertwined by fate, be it homosexual love, heterosexual love, friendship, etc.

. Fiero, Gloria K. "28." The Humanistic Tradition. 6th ed. Vol. 5. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2011. Print.

The Humanistic Tradition examines the political, economic, and social contexts out of which history's most memorable achievements emerged. It very clearly outlines the stereotypes of 19th century women, and these are what I used to base my assessment of Jane Eyre.

. http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/bronte.html

In specific – the whole page is dedicated to analyzing Jane Eyre – I looked at the section on “Conflicts and Struggles”, which talks in depth about the issues that Jane faces. The article states that according to Charles Burkhart, "Love is a religion in Jane Eyre” and I very much agree with that, and think that it very much shows the 19th-century ideals.

. http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/jane-eyre-and-the-19th-century-woman

This article is about the connection between Jane Eyre and the ideals of the 19th century pertaining to women, which is what I did in my own analysis.