What do you think of men who coerce teenage girls into subservient relationships with luxuries or bible verses? Would you like to read about a girl who is strong enough to repel these attacks? Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is just such a teenager (as described by Joyce Carole Oates) “unprotected by social position, family, or independent wealth…without material or social power.” In one word, she is FIERCE. She is also from the 19th century.
Speaks her mind
Jane Eyre was not bashful or accommodating.
When her sole guardian tells her children, “[Jane] is not worthy of notice,” Jane replies, “They are not fit to associate with me.” When this guardian calls her, “a naughty child addicted to falsehood and deceit,” Jane replies, “I am not deceitful; if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you.”
When the master of the charity school for orphans (Lowood) lectures her on her behavior and closes with the rhetorical, “What must you do to avoid [hell]?” she replies, “I must keep in good health and not die.”
Recognizes the patriarchy
Jane Eyre grows up surrounded by men who take their power for granted.
Her step-brother: “I felt him grasp my hair and my shoulder: he had closed with a desperate thing. I really saw in him a tyrant; a murderer.”
The master of the charity school for orphans (Lowood) starves and abuses her for his personal profit.
When her fiancé, offers fancy dresses and jewelry, Jane replies, “I shall furnish my own wardrobe…you shall give me nothing.”
When another man urges her to marry him with, “God and nature intended you for a missionary’s wife,” she steadfastly refused with “I scorn your idea of love…and I scorn you when you offer it.”
The wrath of Charlotte Bronte
In this world constructed by Charlotte Bronte, everyone who crosses Jane gets punished in the end with death or misery or both, and everyone who is nice does well.
If you like strong, female leads—women taking on the patriarchy, resisting power, and rebutting mansplaining—and happy endings, this is the book. Hope for the 21st century from the 19th.
Note about eReaders: The conventions of the 19th century did not expect the translation of foreign languages. This book included (untranslated) French, German, and Latin. Fortunately for me, my eReader conveniently provides translations which were often useful to full understanding. This book also contained many English words which belonged to the 19th century. Again, my eReader conveniently provided definitions.
Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.
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