Quotation:
After leaving Lowood, Jane finds herself at Thornfield, where she is the governess to Adele, a young French girl. Upon getting settled into her new position, Jane critiques the idea that “human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility,” suggesting that “they must have action; and they will make it if they cannot find it.” She further says “women feel just as men feel,” and that “they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, to absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags.” (178)
Comment:
Throughout the book, we’ve seen that Jane doesn’t conform to society’s expectations of women as she is consistently outspoken. In this section, we’re also beginning to see this nonconformity in the sense that she is not content to stay settled in one place, and that she is drawn to peculiarity. The above commentary on the human desire for adventure, especially coming from a woman, is intriguing because Jane acknowledges that she is an exception to her society’s commonly held beliefs regarding men versus women and their wants. Additionally, coming from Brontë, this likely would have been a controversial viewpoint at the time, making this all the more impactful as it would have sparked a larger conversation about the similarities between men and women in her era.
Question:
Despite Jane not always adhering to the expectations set forth for women, she rarely suffers any consequences. So, what is the actual importance of these expectations during this time period? Is it possible that Jane is excused from following these rules because she doesn’t come from high society?
I definitely agree that Jane seems to have some leeway when it comes to societal expectations of her. I feel like this might me because she is riding a line between the high class folks like Mr. Rochester and her role as the working class ‘help’ like Bessie or the other dependents at Thornfield. I got the feeling this is why she can get away with certain things; the people she is subordinate to don’t consider her their equal.
I agree that since Jane treads the line between high society and the working class she has a “privileged “position in which she can get away with things. I also think that this may be a craft element that Bronte was exploiting. By showing Jane being exempt from consequences, Bronte may be showing the audience what a woman’s life could be without the burden of societal expectations. This, in turn, obviously made a lot of people upset when the book was first published. Jane was living a life in both worlds, showing the problems of societal expectations for both high class women and working class women.
Probably all nonconformists suffer, whatever their social standing, because by definition they do not fit in. However, once there is a critical mass of nonconformists of the same type, then that likely begins to change society and the culture at large. Their cultural value is being the potential spark that lights the fire of change. And I think Jane has suffered consequences–Mrs Reed sent her to Lowood because she was a “troublesome” child.
I do agree that there is an interesting amount of leeway with Jane. I wonder if this could be attributed to her upbringing. She is considered troublesome so I wonder if people just think, “well, she’s a troubled one so we can let it pass”. Maybe, maybe not. I also do think a big aspect of this is that she is a child and to boot an orphan. Children aren’t held to the same standard as adults and this could also be an explanation. She has been dealt a rough deck and this could all be reasons.