A Critique of The Social Hierarchies of Victorian England in Jane Eyre

In 19th Century Victorian England, class structures and rigid hierarchies alongside societal mores defined the social landscape. A wide and unfeeling chasm separated the wealthy from the poor while long-standing customs solidified both perennial prosperity and generational destitution. Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is critical in its exploration of the complicated and strict social hierarchies of Victorian England. Jane Eyre, an unclassifiable person, is suspended between high and low class. She is an estranged orphan, but she is brought up in a high class household. She is a governess, but she works for the rich and attends social gatherings with aristocrats. Despite the “narrow scope of Jane’s life canvas,” she undertakes a continuum of class obligations; she “stretches it to the outer edges, transcending social class with the vitality of her imaginative intellect”. As viewed from the lens of this astute young woman, Brontë highlights the societal discrepancies of the era. Jane’s ambiguous class standing generates considerable tension in her personal affairs while granting her a position of great insight into the nature of society.

Throughout the novel, Jane experiences tension and strife as a result of her dynamic social standing. Her family history is a marked example of the conflict she endured because of deep-rooted social mores. Jane’s parents married from different social classes and as a result, they were disowned by their family. Consequently, Jane was not to inherit any money from her grandfather simply due to the perceived inferior class standing of her father. Furthermore, the parents’ subsequent fatal onset of typhoid appears to be blamed on their decision to marry; their deaths occurred within only two years of the marriage. Jane continues to be pained later in the novel by the superficial values and traditions of society surrounding marriage. She desires a union with her master, Mr. Rochester; however, she has difficulty coming to terms with the societal repercussions of this possible marriage. She hesitates to consider marrying Rochester since she fears she would feel powerless and bound to him for ‘condescending’ to marry her. Rochester appears to choose a different woman, Miss Ingram, as her “rank and connections suited him”. Her prestige and outer beauty stand in contrast to Jane’s frugality, obscure origins, and grounded servitude. Although Rochester does not ultimately appreciate Ingram’s character, the ordeal still serves to torment Jane emotionally. In this way, Brontë’s tale of inter-class interactions in the Victorian Era is a warning of the inevitable strife one encounters upon violating traditions held dearly to English society.

In addition to enduring great emotional distress as a result of her fluid and undesirable social status, Jane also gains valuable insight into the nature of society. Her understanding of class structures begins with understandably biased yet ironic preconceptions of what it means to be poor. As a young girl, Jane refuses an offer for her to live with her poor relatives since she has been led to believe “poverty is synonymous with degradation”. Jane will learn later in the novel that a similar degradation can also be experienced by the wealthy and that poverty is not degrading but rather humbling. During her time as a student in the Lowood Institution, Jane comes to understand the faults of the rich. Brocklehurst, residing in a “large hall,” preaches to the girls a dogma of intense moral discipline — declaring modesty a moral imperative. However, his harsh, resolute rhetoric is quickly undermined by the appearance of his wealthy, immodest family; his children emerge “splendidly attired in velvet, silk, and furs” in the midst of his reprimanding the schoolchildren for wearing their hair in a top-knot. He lives extravagantly but believes orphaned children must live plain, simple lives. This scene serves as a demonstration of the double standards and hypocrisy of the wealthy, whose unending power leads them to believe they are not subject to the same guidelines and expectations as those who are not born into affluence. Jane’s unique viewpoint into the ugly inner workings of the English social hierarchy continues to expand throughout the novel — cementing her sense of moral fortitude and constituting a major facet of her character.

Through both personal conflict and the wisdom gained as a result of her continuously changing class standing, the qualities of Jane Eyre are formed. She comes to know the perils of both poverty and wealth on her journey to and from penniless despair and aristocratic luxury. Jane is content with the path she forged for herself, as she happily remarks to Rochester upon reuniting with him that she is now “independent as well as rich” (Brontë 416). Only through the pain of first-hand experience and the gradual collection of wisdom is Jane able to navigate the strict moral and social spheres of her existence. In this way, she came upon a stable, satisfactory state of self-reliance despite the undesirable prospects offered to her by Providence in the harsh and unwieldy social conditions of Victorian England.