Extra Notes Flashcards
“Millions are condemned to a stiller doom than mine”
Demonstrate contextual and critical understanding which can be applied to this quote
Women in Victorian England had no role models or defiant women to look up to because of how greatly women were suppressed by society’s patriarchy
Hence, they are ‘doomed’ because from birth because they will inevitably fall victim to the system
Context: Charlotte Brontë herself couldn’t even publish under her own name - she had to invent the identity of Currer Bell or publishers would have ignored her talent
Critical view - feminist approach: Clear indications that even if women wanted to stand up and oppose sexism, they would simply be ignored and rejected
As a result, women in Victorian England were ‘doomed’
“I have now been married ten years… I am my husbands life as fully as he is mine”
Rochester is no longer Jane’s ‘master’
She was true to herself, to her moral integrity and to God’s law
She did not sacrifice anything to be with mr Rochester, she returned to him as an equal - it was only until the pair could be equal, both on a moral stance and social, that she could return
Rochester lost his hand, his home and his eyes in the fire and he finally saw the error in his youthful debaucheries
Brontë uses this happy ending as a paradox to the harsh reality of society and to show women the potential they have if they overcome suppression and are true to the morals
