Analysis of Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice in the Context of Anti-female Sexism in Society and the Economy - Research Paper Example

NOVELS Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice are both books steeped in the traditions of their times, which were primarily anti-feminist, anti-liberation, and patriarchal in explicit and overt nature. Although the men and women characters in these books show traits of empowerment and independence, the societies in which they are part of historical fiction are sexist in a way that it is difficult to really understand today. Society was much more sexist in the times of these characters, and their relationships and gender dynamics show this in both novels. Through the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy in Austen’s work, and the relationship between Jane and Rochester in Bronte’s, one can see the sexist gender dynamics of the time, as well as the possibility shown by both authors for a less oppressive future. In Jane Eyre, Jane’s focus moves from the mystery of the house, to which she devotes little mental energy, to the mystery of Rochester, an enigmatic character. At this point, her focus moves from point to point, but does not seek or make many connections. She is focused on Rochester, though, as he represents someone who is very interesting to her. Because of sexist segregation in the educational system of her times, Jane has not had any real experience with men at this point in the novel, even though she is well into young adulthood, and Rochester’s oddly polemical challenges to her character represent a point of interest and experience to her. Rochester seems to recognize this also: “You have lived the life of a nun,” he tells Jane, “no doubt you are well drilled in religious forms” (Bronte, p. 129). Rochester’s character and peculiarities do not, however, effect the way that Jane views him in terms of authority, which is also sexist. “Rochester’s words to Jane Eyre define their relationship literally as master and servant, metaphorically as father and daughter” (Sadoff, p. 518). She is willing to furnish him with honest answers to his questions and to converse with him as an equal ostensibly, but in a sexist nod to her time in history, she accepts his patriarchal authority over the house unquestionably and is unwilling to look more closely at his visitors, habits, and behavior as the master of the house with anything even approaching suspicion. “At Gateshead and Thronfield both, she is neither family nor servant, but floats uncomfortably between” (Fraiman, p. 617). The reason that this technique is particularly interesting in this novel is that Bronte is very restrained in her use of imagery in the early parts of the novel, and is conversely and progressively heavily reliant on imagery as the novel progresses. This is an interesting technique because the story is told by Jane, who looks back on her life with hindsight, and is thus able to defuse a certain amount of tension and distill it into melodrama. But when Jane is reporting the feelings she had when she was a child, there is a comparative dearth in imagistic detail in the work. This type of expository lack of concretized imagery in many ways mirrors the gradual empowerment of Jane in terms of parallel ascending linguistic empowerment in terms of description on the part of the novelist. This imagistic technique can be seen to be unique to Jane Eyre, and it is very effective of putting the point of Jane’s gradual progression from lost to found into an authorly framework of imagistic reference. Of course, this is all within the framework of a sexist society. Many of the symbols used in Jane Eyre are metaphysical in nature. Many of the romantics, especially poets, had an interest in the metaphysical world. At key points of the novel, Jane sees reflections of faces that couldn’t really be there. This symbolizes her powerful connection to another world that lies beyond mere circumstance, but it also goes along with gender conventions of the time that said women were more hysterical and prone to this sort of thing than men. In Jane Eyre, one metaphor that is commonly used in the novel, and one that may also act as a symbol of the power of womanhood, is the moon. “Something of daylight still lingered, and the moon was waxing bright: I could see him plainly” (Bronte, Jane Eyre, p. 129). The moon is used as a metaphor for change and renewal in the novel; Jane either looks at the moon or the moon is described in detail to signify a change that is coming in her life. The obvious connections here are to the menstrual cycle; as a powerful woman, Jane is changed and renewed by the moon, to which she is preternaturally attuned. However, this is not a very high height of empowerment, relatively. Another metaphor that dovetails with themes of gender and sexuality in Jane Eyre is that of fire. This represents an uncontrollable and powerful force that is capable of providing both warmth and destruction. Jane describes Rochester in terms of fire after she is won over by his friendly and frank manner: “gratitude… made his face the object I best liked to see; his presence in a room was more cheering than the brightest fire” (Bronte, Jane Eyre, p. 166). Fire is used to represent both destructive, scandalous passion and comfort in the novel. As a positive and self-determined female, Jane is able to differentiate from among many different kinds of metaphorical fire, seeking comfort without being burned. Others are not so lucky: “master had been reading in his bed last night; he fell asleep with his candle lit, and the curtains got of fire” (Bronte, Jane Eyre, p. 176). In Pride and Prejudice, there are similar gender and sexism dynamics involved with the characters’ relationships. As Darcy becomes more able to change and falls in love with Elizabeth, this change leads him into a more sensitive position in which he is freed from his early habit of patriarchal absolutism. This selfish propensity of judging others by status or social class hinders his relationship with Elizabeth initially: the idea is that too much of a focus on the individual leads to miscommunication and misunderstandings that can be wounding to oneself and others. Early in the novel, when he provides an uptight foil to the easygoing character of Mr. Bingley, Darcy is portrayed as an elitist snob who cannot dance with Elizabeth because he considers her to be his inferior in breeding and status. Darcy is intelligent, but is also “haughty, reserved, and fastidious, and his manners, though well bred, were not inviting” (Austen 12). Elizabeth, who is also capable of great misunderstanding, takes her first impression of Darcy as an absolute proof of his entire character, and this creates problems from her end of the spectrum. Although Darcy is portrayed as disliking Elizabeth because of her status, and later becomes enamored by her physical beauty, Elizabeth is portrayed as disliking Darcy through willful arrogance, and later becomes better attuned to a feeling of (more selfless) empathy for him. This shows the clear difference in what was expected of each character, in terms of the gender roles of their times. At the onset of their relationship, Darcy is easily influenced by his sisters and others around him who inform his opinion. Although this could be considered to be a flaw, Austen does not portray it as one: Darcy is complimented by the stable, intelligent Jane for his reliance on the opinions of others. Darcy is a complicated character who is able to change and improve his essential nature to become more supportive and empathetic himself. Thus, by giving up some of what might be called his individuality, Darcy becomes a better person who is more able to relate with the world and its inhabitants surrounding him. At this time, he can barely remember the state of selfishness in which he was immured previously: “‘I cannot fix the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun’” (Austen 248). Both works are somewhat empowering to women, but they also show societies steeped in gender prejudice. Prejudice is a negatively attributed cultural manifestation that associates in-group characteristics with positive attributions and out-group characteristics with their converse. Discrimination is the application of prejudice in individual, societal, or institutional actions that seek to homogenize and disparage the out-group while leaving the in-group free of similar scrutiny or action. This is far from a comprehensive definition of discrimination, which can also include social decisions that are based on the gender, race, or sexuality of a perceived group, to name just a few possible delineations. The cause for most discrimination and prejudice is the fostering of stereotypes that seek to assay out-group homogeneity from the perspective of the majority in-group, which in this case involves the majority in-group being those who are not. At the same time, Elizabeth is also prejudiced as a character against her own family. It could be argued that Austen herself was prejudiced against the Bennets, especially the matriarch, who is portrayed as the kind of person who only cares about money and views marriage as a social contract. Elizabeth’s father is more kindly portrayed as someone who actually cares whether or not his daughters are happy, and Jane is a gem of a character, in terms of stability, but Elizabeth, especially when she is at Netherfield after she walks across the muddy terrain to care for Jane, shows that she is shocked and disconcerted by the behavior of her family when they visit her. REFERENCE Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. New York: WW Norton, 2001. Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996. Fraiman, Susan. “Jane Eyre’s Fall from Grace.” Jane Eyre. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996 Sadoff, Dianne F. “The Father, Castration, and Female Fantasy in Jane Eyre.” Jane Eyre. New York: St. Martin’s, 1996 Read More