Jane Eyre, Frankenstein and the Ideal Victorian Woman
Madeleine Adams
Professor Frank
Victorian Monsters
3 April 2016
Jane Eyre, Frankenstein and the Ideal Victorian Woman
Who was the ideal Victorian Woman? According to Victorian society a woman was to be pious, pure, respectable, submissive and domestic. She would occupy the private sphere, taking care of the children and the home, while the man occupied the public sphere of business, commerce and politics (Abrams). In this domestic sphere Victorian women were expected to carry out their moral duty to their families, particularly their husbands, and society (Abrams). To help Victorian women carry out this moral duty, novels, magazines, and newspapers would publish works on household management and proper feminine behavior. For Victorian society, these separate spheres were a way of life, and it was a woman’s physicality and innate moral goodness that made the domestic sphere her natural domain. However, while many supported this way of life, there were some who questioned the roles and the rights of women during the nineteenth century. What was their status in society? What kind of an education should they have? Should they be allowed to hold a job outside of the home or have a political voice? Often times these questions were addressed through literature, which, for Charlotte Brontë, Marry Shelley and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, proved to be an effective way of provding answers. The issues surrounding a woman’s role in society would constitute what the Victorians called “The Woman Question,” and would give light to what is now called Victorian Feminism (Avery). With the notion of the ideal Victorian Woman and “The Woman Question,” one can begin to identify examples of Victorian feminism throughout nineteenth century literature.
When one begins to look throughout nineteenth century literature for examples of feminism, Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre can be examined as a novel that challenges the notion of appropriate female behavior. Brontë’s heroine, Jane, has a rebellious and ambitious nature that exemplifies a Victorian woman who began to reject the inferior status of the female gender. Jane’s character fervently denounces the Victorian woman’s role in society, “Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex” (Brontë 130). Jane challenges societies view that women should stay in the home by arguing that men and women are not as innately different than society believes. Both genders would suffer equally from ‘restraint’ and ‘stagnation,’ and women have just as much the right to ‘do and learn more’ without judgment. For Victorian society the home was the proper, if not, natural place for a woman, but by equating men and women Jane challenges the social hierarchy and the customs that were imposed upon Victorian women. At the core of Brontë’s novel is the question of the role of women and John Bowen, professor of nineteenth century literature at the University of York discusses this question, along with the interesting role of the governess in the video Jane Eyre: The role of Women.
In Victorian society there were few occupations that were considered respectable for a middle-class woman with no family support (Shuttleworth). The role of the governess was one, if not the only, position that a middle-class woman with no family could hold while still retaining her respectability. The role of the governess in nineteenth century society was typically not a very easy one as a governess was not a servant, but she was also not a member of the family, and she would often be treated with disrespect form both parties (Shuttleworth). However, Jane’s experience as a governess is vastly different. Her positive relationship with Mrs. Fairfax would have been rare during this time period and her romantic relationship with her employer Mr. Rochester might have been perceived as unseemly. Again, it is in this way the Jane challenges the social hierarchy.
Charlotte Brontë’s novel, when published in 1847 under the masculine pseudonym Currer Bell, was well received by some critics, but received harsh criticism from others (Shuttleworth). Elizabeth Rigby, journalist and critic, penned a particularly harsh review that was first published in 1848 in the periodical Quarterly Review (Shuttleworth). Rigby attacks the morality of the book, writing that “the reader may trace gross inconsistencies and improbabilities, and chief and foremost that highest moral offence a novel writer can commit, that of making a unworthy character interesting in the eyes of the reader” (Rigby, 502) The reasoning behind calling the novel a “moral offence” and deeming Jane an “unworthy character” most likely stemmed from the idea that Jane’s qualities and actions were not appropriate, as independence, rebellion, and ambition were not positive characteristics for a Victorian woman. Rigby’s review of Brontë’s novel represent the beliefs of those who found Jane’s type of female emancipation to be a threat to the status quo of Victorian gender roles. Given Jane’s personality, one might assume that Brontë was a strong advocate for gender equality. However, while Jane pleas for women’s rights, Brontë herself was not quite as forward; she did believe that women should be allowed to work, but she did not approve of women voting (Shuttleworth). Nonetheless, Brontë’s novel did serve as a conduit for the feminist idea that a woman should not be confined to the domestic sphere and should be allowed to use their talents just as men do.
Just as the topic of gendered spheres appeared in Jane Eyre, so do they appear in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. And just as Brontë had published her novel under a masculine pseudonym, Shelley published her novel anonymously. By not claiming authorship of their novels, Brontë and Shelley were able to transgress from their domestic spheres into the public sphere while living in a patriarchal society. The similarities between these two authors continue as both of their novels address the central role of women in a Victorian society. However, while Brontë’s heroine challenged the stereotypical role of women, Shelley’s novel seems to be a model representation of gender roles typical of the domestic ideology. In Frankenstein, Elizabeth’s character embodies the Victorian ideal of the role of women- to be a dutiful, passive, and feminine presence to the male gender. As a Victorian woman, it was her job to be a gentle and calming influence on her men who had been tainted by the public sphere. A woman’s moral goodness should ease the burden of the public sphere on a man, and as Victor tells the reader, Elizabeth does just that, “The saintly soul of Elizabeth shone like a shrine-dedicated lamp in our peaceful home. Her sympathy was ours; her smile, her soft voice, the sweet glance of her celestial eyes, were ever there to bless and animate us. She was the living spirit of love to soften and attract: I might have become sullen in my study, rough through the ardour of my nature, but that she was there to subdue me to a semblance of her own gentleness” (Shelley 45). Piety was an important characteristic of a Victorian woman, and within this passage there are several allusions to Elizabeth’s piety: her ‘saintly soul,’ and her ‘celestial eyes.’ It was the role of the woman to ‘subdue’ the passionate nature of men with their ‘gentleness’ and ‘bless’ their domestic sphere with their pious, loving spirit. However, even though Elizabeth appeared to be the ideal Victorian woman, Victor ultimately was no better because of Elizabeth’s character (Smith). Victorian society might say that Elizabeth failed in her womanly duties to Victor, but one could also say that the expectations of women during this time were unrealistic. Placing the morality of man in a woman’s hands is a heavy burden, and Victor’s moral suffering could be approached as a product of Victorian society rather than as a woman’s failure to relieve the influence of the public sphere on her man.
Gendered spheres in the Victorian era established a specific social role for women and it was this role that Brontë outwardly questioned in her novel Jane Eyre and that Shelley highlighted with her emphasis on the interaction between feminine functions and masculine morality. While the content of these novels addressed a woman’s role in society, by publishing them Brontë and Shelley were able to break into the public sphere. Literature was an important method of translating feminist philosophy in both the domestic and public sphere. With literary works women were able to make powerful contributions to the argument for gender equality. Of these women, poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning was one.
Browning had a strong interest in the position of women in society and it was through her work that she wrote powerfully about the need for gender equality (Avery). In her poem To George Sand, Browning writes in tribute to female poet George Sand and her accomplishments in striving to break into the public sphere (Avery). Through this tribute, Browning explores the roles of women and the barriers that confined and kept them separate. Her work symbolizes and reflects the struggle of female writers in a patriarchal society, a struggle that was also reflected by Shelley and Brontë’s choice to remain anonymous when it came to claiming authorship of their novels. All three women were powerful writers, and while Browning was far more outspoken in her work, the underlying theme of gendered spheres connected all three of these authors.
During the Victorian era literature proved to be a powerful tool for women to address the issue of gender equality. The different ways that women used literature to translate their beliefs is intriguing and provides one with pieces of history that were written by females in a male dominated society. For Victorian women, literature provided them with a social voice and with a method of breaking into the public sphere. By challenging the Victorian belief that women had to be pious, pure, respectable, submissive and domestic, women like Brontë, Shelley, and Browning were able to address “The Woman Question” (Avery) and contribute to development of gender equality.
Works Cited
Abrams, Lynn. “Ideals of Womanhood in Victorian Britain.” BBC History (2001). Web. 21 March 2016
Avery, Simon. “Elizabeth Barrett Browning and the Woman Question.” British Library (2011). Web. 21 March 2016.
Browning, Elizabeth. To George Sand: A Recognition. Poems, 1844.
Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. London: Penguin, 2006. Print.
Jane Eyre: The role of women. Professor John Bowen. N.d. British Library. Web. 21 March 2016.
Rigby, Elizabeth. “Vanity Fair-and Jane Eyre.” Quarterly Review (1848): Print.
Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2000. Print.
Shuttleworth, Sally. “Jane Eyre and the 19th-century woman.” British Library n.d. Web. 21 March 2016.
Smith, Johanna. “ ’Cooped up’ with ‘Sad Trash’: Domesticity and the Sciences in Frankenstein.” Frankenstein, 2000. 313–318. Print.