#charlotte bronte

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[logophilist1982]

Jane Eyre

[emeraldspiral]

So another interesting thing about Jane Eyre is it's take on relationship inequality.

Like, Jane is 18 at the beginning of the story and Rochester is said to be something like 35-38. And it's not casually brushed aside like that was normal back in the day. It wasn't. Concerns about the age gap are raised within the text. But the story emphasizes that Jane feels comfortable accepting Rochester's proposal, despite the age difference, the class difference, and him being her boss, because Jane feels that Rochester regards her as an equal. When they converse, Jane doesn't feel any tension, like she has to impress him or try to read his mind and say whatever he wants to hear. She feels that he respects her and values her thoughts and isn't compelled to use his power against her if she says something to displease him. Around the midpoint of the story, Jane believes that Rochester is going to marry another woman, and resolves to leave because she's heartbroken, believing that because she is poor and plain Rochester can't possibly be as hurt by their parting as she is, and he'll forget her and move on long before she does. But it turns out to be the opposite. After finding out about Bertha, Rochester begs Jane to stay and insists he'll be miserable forever without her, while Jane, still thinking she's too poor and plain to ever attract someone like him again, resists all temptation and leaves him. And she does this specifically because she feels that if she were to compromise her morals and self-respect to be Mr. Rochester's mistress, then he would lose respect for her and the relationship would fall apart. It was only by maintaining her integrity that the relationship could stay in-tact when the reconciled at the end.

St. John Rivers on the other hand, I don't think is given a definite age, but I think he's intended to be a much younger man, probably in his early 20s. He is poor and without relations aside from his sisters or any other connections, just as Jane. Jane finds out they're actually cousins at the same time she learns she's come into a vast fortune that was willed to her rather than the Rivers, but decides to share her fortune equally with them. So she arguably had more social capital, even though she made an effort to put St. John on equal footing with her, because the money was hers by right and she could've presumably cut him off at any time, just as easily as Rochester could've terminated Jane from her job.

And yet, Jane's relationship with St. John is vastly more unequal than her relationship with Rochester. Even though Jane practically worshiped Rochester but only cares for St. John as a brother and is acutely aware of his faults, she still finds herself desperately craving his approval in a way she never did with Rochester. And St. John is willing to exploit that intentionally. He asks her to do things she doesn't want to and make sacrifices for him just because he knows she'll do anything to please him, and that's why he thinks she's the perfect wife for him. Where Rochester tries to explain himself and persuade Jane not to leave him by addressing her concerns, St. John basically tries to command Jane to marry him and refuses to accept her "no" as final. He withholds affection from Jane as a tactic to get her to compromise in order to reconcile with him when he's the one who should be apologizing to her and considering her needs and not just his own. Jane knows that she can't ever be happy with him because he doesn't respect her and his lack of respect only makes her want to seek his approval, which he is all too happy to exploit for his own benefit.

But Jane ultimately stays firm and rejects St. John's proposal of a loveless marriage, just as she rejected Rochester's proposal of an unlawful marriage, because both situations were doomed to fail if she didn't put her own self-respect first.

So this novel from 1847 was really saying that power dynamics aren't pure black and white. Age and class and wealth and status can be a factor in making a relationship unequal, but you can also be equal on pretty much all social axis and still have inequality in a relationship. What's really important is that there's mutual respect.

[petaltexturedskies]

Charlotte Brontë, from Jane Eyre

[peacefulandcozy]

Instagram credit: coffeeyre

[adobongsiopao]

"‘Are you injured, sir?’ I think he was swearing, but am not certain; however, he was pronouncing some formula which prevented him from replying to me directly."

— "Jane Eyre"; Chapter XII

Art: https://www.twitter.com/Paigumondus

[unamazing-sheep21]

The many uses of a Byronic Hero

chair ( Jane & Edward - Jane Eyre)

Pillow ( Christine & Erik - Phantom of the Opera)

Car ( Catherine & Heathcliff - Wuthering Heights)

Water dispenser ( Edith & Thomas - Crimson Peak)

[s-u-w-i]

Autumn always feels like the perfect time to reread Jane Eyre, so, have some Jane and Mr. Rochester (though I've made him too cute, so, any other Brontë or Austen couple is also possible) 🍂

Mmm, I hope one day I'll manage to paint a colorful landscape and be happy with the result...It's so much easier in black and white :')

[mr-rochester-of-thornfield]

You’re in her DMs, I’m screaming her name across the moors and she somehow hears me. We’re not the same.

[thecollectibles]

Jane Eyre by micha ji

[jomarchswritingjacket]

who wrote you into existence and what makes you think so? tell me in the tags or comments!

[corvidacryptida]

Every night before you go to bed, ask yourself, "did I make the gothic lit authors proud?" and if the answer is no, go find the calcified heart of your lover to carry in your pocket.

[inartchive]

[queerbookwhore]

Jane eyre was 19 while working for mr Rochester, she should have been experiencing crippling mental illness and a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs

[petaltexturedskies]

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre  

[peacefulandcozy]

Instagram credit: danielapardor