Introducing Jane Eyre: An Unlikely Victorian Heroine

During an era when etiquette guides circulated freely, empire waists gave way to tiny-waisted corsets, and tea parties grew in popularity, it might seem incongruous that realistic novels would set the Victorian literary trend. Perhaps the socially conscious novel may have been a result of the belief of the rising middle class of Victorian England in the possibility for change, since they had witnessed such economic changes in their lifetimes. With works such as Charles Dickens' Hard Times, George Eliot's Middlemarch and Charlotte's Brontë's own sister Emily's Wuthering Heights featuring female characters that represented trapped and repressed Victorian women marrying for the wrong reasons, disillusioned with family life, and relying on their physical beauty, Jane Eyre serves as a breath of fresh air for women. Jane is a heroine battling the same societal limitations as her literary counterparts, but her raw narrative voice never fails to expose her Romantic sensibilities, psychological depth, and her adamant desire to stay true to herself.

Charlotte Brontë Resources

Browse the "Biography" section of the Charlotte Brontë page of the EDSITEment-reviewed Victorian Web website to find additional biographical information on Charlotte Brontë.

Chapter VIII of Elizabeth Gaskell's 1857 biography The Life of Charlotte Brontë provides insight into Brontë's life as a whole and her letters with Robert Southey that reveal what Brontë was going through on her way to becoming a published author.

Resources on Victorian England

Victorian Web also has a wealth of resources related to Victorian social history, including the brief The Position of Middle-class Women, which provides some context for Jane Austen's status as a governess.

A general overview of the Victorian Age is also available on Victorian Web.

This  "Victorian Women's Rights" game is an interactive resource that provides students with information to familiarize them with women's rights and suffrage in the Victorian era.

Students can also use this Brief Summary of the Most Important Laws Concerning Women (1854) that features laws that governed women in the Vicotrian Era.

Text Related Sources

The full e-text of Jane Eyre is available at the EDSITEment-reviewed University of Virginia Electronic Text Center.

An audiobook version is available online in two parts (Part 1, Part 2)

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.1. Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.3. Analyze how and why individuals, events, or ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.5. Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.8. Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.R.8. Analyze how two or more texts address similar themes or topics in order to build knowledge or to compare the approaches the authors take.

Activity 1. Who is the ideal Victorian woman?

Part 1: Magazine Free Write

Have students free write for a few minutes in response to the prompt, "How do publications reflect and mirror a time and culture?" Have student volunteers share their responses and examples before beginning a brief discussion of how media outlets target different populations and therefore have different content. Use the following questions to generate discussion:

• What media outlets do you regularly view and why?
• Do the media outlets you subscribe to cater to specific demographics?
• How do advertisers target specific audiences through online and print advertising?
• How has advertising and targeted media evolved over time?
• Are you susceptible to media influences?

Part 2: Godey's Lady's Book Examination

Direct students to the March 1850 issue of Godey's Lady's Book, which is available via the EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public Library. Using the ideas generated in the previous discussion, have students consider the intended audience, likely advertising, and content of the Godey's Lady's Book from the title.  Now have students consider that this was a popular periodical to which women could turn for fashion, literature, and even moral guidance. While this is an American publication, the themes in the articles do have similar concerns as those in British society. It should be read, however, within the context of the material presented in the remainder of the lesson plan.

Have students form small groups to explore the March 1850 issue of Godey's by clicking on different pages of the text and skimming some of the text and images. Have them discuss the following questions:

• What generalizations can you make about Victorian culture based on Godey's?
• What is featured in the section entitled "The Work Table"? What does this say about a middle-class Victorian woman's perception of "work"?
• What major themes are present in these articles and how do those themes relate to the women that read this publication?
• What details stand out in these articles?

Direct students to read the Godey's entry "The Sphere of Woman" by Goethe and to examine its accompanying illustration.

• How does Goethe define the role of the Victorian woman?
• How does he see the woman's role as having advantages over the man's role?
• On what is the woman "dependent"?
• What was produced at the time to challenge this text?

Ask students, "Based on your interpretations of this issue of Godey's Lady's Book, how would you describe the ideal Victorian woman?" After briefly discussing how students envision the ideal Victorian woman, have them read the section "The ideal Victorian women" from Dr. Lynn Abrams article "Ideals of womanhood in Victorian Britain," via EDSITEment-reviewed Internet Public Library.

Part 3: Wake Up!

In partners or a small group, students will create a script for a morning news program called "Wake up!" that draws upon the research they have done thus far for Activity One. The premise of the morning news show is to illustrate the social, cultural, political, and economic norms regarding gender during the Victorian era and how those same elements of life are dealt with today. One half of the partnership or group will focus on the Victorian Era and the other half will focus on today, with all members of the group using multimedia evidence and original research to support their claims (i.e. what they present as part of the sketch). Sketches may include, but are not limited to, discussing politics, jobs and employment, sports, entertainment, music, literature, and more. 

Activity 2. A Controversial Heroine

"She (Brontë) once told her sisters that they were wrong—even morally wrong—in making their heroines beautiful as a matter of course. They replied that it was impossible to make a heroine interesting on any other terms. Her answer was, 'I will prove to you that you are wrong; I will show you a heroine as plain and as small as myself, who shall be as interesting as any of yours.'"

- Elizabeth Gaskell, The Life of Charlotte Brontë (chapter XV)

Using this quote as a starting point, start a class discussion using the following questions:

• What does this quote reveal about Brontë's intentions for the character of Jane Eyre?
• Why did she wish to create a heroine that stood out among other Victorian literary characters?
• In what ways was Charlotte Brontë successful in reaching her goal?
• How is Jane Eyre a reflection of Charlotte Brontë? How is she different from the author?

Share with students the words of one critic, Elizabeth Rigby, who in the 1848 issue of The Quarterly Review , claimed that Currer Bell committed the "highest moral offence a novel writer can commit, that of making an unworthy character interesting in the eyes of a reader."

Have students read an excerpt from Rigby's review that pinpoints the character trait that Jane possesses that makes her an "unworthy" character in Rigby's eyes. Students should scroll down the document about two-thirds and read the two paragraphs beginning with the line "We have said that this was the picture of a natural heart" (or use Edit and Find to search the page for this paragraph).

Ask students to consider the following questions:

• Of what sin does Rigby claim that Jane is guilty?
• What evidence does Rigby choose from the novel to support her criticism?
• In Rigby's opinion, how should Jane have acted under her circumstances?
• How might Jane Eyre be viewed if it were published today?

Read the first three paragraphs of Chapter 1 in Jane Eyre aloud and ask students with what words does Jane (as the first person narrator) assert from the beginning that she is considered "unworthy" in the Reed household. Elicit quotes from students from the first three paragraphs that support the idea of Jane's "unworthiness" and write these quotes on the board.

Have students read Jane Eyre looking for evidence to support and refute Rigby's claims about Jane. Students should look for both evidence that supports and refutes the criticisms and can record notes using the Activity Two handout.

Activity 3. Jane Eyre and Victorian Literary Heroines

After looking at real Victorian women and comparing Jane to her historical time period, this activity puts Jane in the context of other romantic literary heroines of the Victorian era. With activities that analyze Wuthering Heights, The Importance of Being Ernest, and Middlemarch in the light of Jane Eyre, the Activity Three activity guide will help students discuss Jane’s individuality and unique identity. 

Activity 4. Jane's Declaration of Independence 

Throughout these activities, students have explored how Jane’s circumstances often dictate her life. Start a class discussion considering the following questions and any questions that students may have about the topics of love and independence in the novel. After the discussion, have students use the Activity Four handout to draft a declaration of independence on behalf of Jane with the goal of freeing herself from her most pressing influences. In the declaration, have students reference at least two specific instances from the novel that show influence over her decisions.

• How is Jane a product of her time period?
• How does she resist many of the stereotypes of women in her time period?
• Who/what influences Jane’s decision making in the novel?
• How does Jane’s love for other characters in the novel influence her decision making?
• Do you consider Jane to be an independent woman?

Activity 5. Character Social Class Mapping

Jane’s social standing was an important part of her identity to most people in the Victorian era. Throughout the novel, consider how the social status of other characters contributes to their characterization. Have students consider the impact of social class as both a positive and negative element to each character. Using the Activity Five handout, have students collect evidence from throughout the novel that demonstrates the impact of social class on major characters. At the end of the novel, begin a class discussion considering the following questions and others that may arise:

• To what extent was Jane's future determined by her social class?
• Which character's story line was most/least impacted by their social class? Why?
• How does this class system disproportionately affect women, people of color, immigrants, and others?

Essay Prompt/Debate - Using the evidence students have collected throughout their reading, have them write a persuasive essay that either supports or refutes Rigby's claims about Jane.  This activity can also be done as a classroom debate. If desired, split the class into even teams and have them form arguments regarding Rigby's criticism of Jane. At the end of the debate, have students write concluding statements that have supporting evidence for their argument, evidence for the counterargument, and evidence to disprove that counterargument.

Ask students to keep a reading log throughout their reading of Jane Eyre in which they document examples of how Jane's role as a heroine evolves in the novel. Students can keep Brontë's intentions for the character Jane and Rigby's criticisms of Jane in mind as they read and reflect on her development. Writing log entries will help students clarify their assessment of Jane's character. Encourage students to provide textual support when they agree with Jane's actions and attitudes, or when they agree with Rigby's assessment of Jane. Finally, in what ways does Jane conform to Victorian ideals and in what ways does she not conform?

This lesson also may serve as an appropriate introduction to any number of other Victorian novels, including those by Brontë's siblings. Additionally, teach other Victorian writers, such as Robert Browning, who is featured in the EDSITEment lesson plan Browning's "My Last Duchess" and Dramatic Monologue.

Selected EDSITEment Websites

• Internet Public Library
  • Godey's Lady's Book Online
  • BBC: "Ideals of womanhood in Victorian Britain." by Dr. Lynn Abrams.
  • Victorian "Women's Rights" game
  • Rigby Review
• Victorian Web
  • The Life of Charlotte Brontë (e-text)
  • "The Brontë Pseudonyms: A Woman's Image—The Writer and Her Public" by Marianne Thormahlen, University of Lund
  • University of Virginia Electronic Text Center
    • Jane Eyre
  • A general overview of the Victorian Age
• Victorian Women Writer's Project
  • A Brief Summary in Plain Language of the Most Important Laws Concerning Women (1854)