An account of Jane Eyre from the perspective of an Indian Feminist.

Jane Eyre is a first of its kind book which focuses on mental development through an intimate first-person narrative. The novel's setting is somewhere in the Northern England during the Victorian Era. It goes through five distinct stages: Jane's childhood at Gateshead Hall, where she is emotionally and physically abused by aunt and cousins; her education at Lowood School, where she gains friends and role models but suffers privation and oppression; her time as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she falls in love with her mysterious employer Rochester; her time in the Moor house, during which her cold clergyman cousin proposes to her; and ultimately her reunion with, and marriage to, Rochester.

According to R.B. Martin, it is the first feminist book, “Although there is not a hint in the book of any desire for political, legal, or even intellectual equality between the sexes.”

Her major aim is not to get married, but to preserve her identity and her freedom in a male governed society.  That is why Jane has the courage to stand up, to defy the rules of her society and to speak out each time when she feels that she is treated unfairly— it does not matter if it is her aunt, her bullying cousin, the cruel headmaster of the school, or even the man she is in love with. From the very beginning of the novel Jane has the courage to defy her aunt when she is unfairly punished in the red room. The cultural and social context of the age must be taken into account when analysing such behaviour. At the time, Jane Eyre’s gesture of talking back to people was totally improper, because women - especially poor ones—were expected to meekly accept their lot in life. But she cannot keep quiet and merely accept her condition as a poor orphan, because at the end of her discourse, she feels her soul begin "to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph, I ever felt... as if an invisible bond had burst and that I had struggled out into unhoped-for liberty". This is the beginning of a spirit that Jane carries forward into her future relationships with men, beginning with the detestable Mr. Brocklehurst.

At every point we see that characters telling jane that “there is something truly forbidding” in her “taking up the elders in that manner.”

Even the proposal of marriage with St. John showcases the mentality of men during that time and the importance of marriage. But Jane demanded the right to be able to reject such an effort. To realise the social background of this demand, it was a time when rejecting such offer was like rejecting GOD. She however, completely rejects the offer of St. John by saying that, “I scorn your idea of love.” Again, the male ego replies “I scarcely expected to hear the expression from you.”

She even questions later to her readers, “Reader, do you know, as I do, what terror those cold people can put into the ice of their questions? How much of the fall of the avalanche is in their anger? of the breaking up of the frozen sea in their displeasure?”

Some critics also say that Jane walked out on Rochester because she saw her hidden self in Bertha Mason. She is the ferocious self that Jane had tried to subdued. It is important to observe that she only marries Rochester after inheriting a great wealth from her uncle. This makes her equal to him and she no longer has to subdue her “fiery self.” This turn of events led to the famous line “Rochester, I married him.”

Charlotte was however critical of her other feminine characters. For example: Celine Vernes who had a succession of lovers behind her and rejects Rochester because of his financial status, is displayed as hypocritic and somewhat immoral. This displays Charlotte’s Victorian era bias that women should not be so approachable. They should not seek money or power though she forgives Jane for doing the same.

Bertha Mason is a powerful character in Jane Eyre. She is a living example of how women are subdued in Victorian society. In her short span in the novel, the reader is deprived of any chance to hear her story from her own lips. She is characterised as “mad” and “dangerous”. Her madness is the only thing focused in the story. 

Now we come to address the question, "How is all this relatable to India?" India is notoriously still a place where such a setting could be expected, despite the fact this book was published in the year 1847. Even now in many parts of India, women are expected to meekly accept the fact that even though they may work outside their primary job is to marry and have kids.

They are expected to completely subdue their fiery selves in many places especially villages. This subduing of their desires and other things like urge to speak out, often come out as vexation and annoyance towards people who get this privilege.

Due to high dislike of radical feminism in India(Radical Feminists form a majority of all feminists) we can also compare Bertha Mason to them. They are believed to be mad women whose efforts are similar to madness according to many people.

One thing which has been highly noticed in India during these century is that women who earn money along with their husband are more equal than other women to their husband. This thing leaves a striking resemblance of Jane's pitying on Rochester.

The fact is that women should not find their eerie resemblances in an 1847 novel. We should have made much more progress by now and should have got more equality than women have today. So next time you see a women please do not judge her by her looks or money or so called "values". Judge her by the content of her heart. They do not ask you to give them jobs or promotion just because they are women. They are asking you to stop not listening to their ideas or sending them to kitchen after both of you come back from office to cook food just because they are a woman.

In this blog we look at Jane Eyre as a feminist book which holds a place in the heart of Indian feminist till now. It is a look towards Jane Eyre striking a weird resemblance in India even after 150 years of its publish.

Youth is the building block of the nation. Being home of 1.2 billion people of which  20 % is youth, discover India through the  perspective of its youth.

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