Victorian Mores In Jane Ere During the Victorian era, It was only acceptable to abide by a set of unspoken rules acknowledged by society called mores. Some of the mores that were present In the eighteenth-century time period included the importance of the family, high standards of morality and decency, and that people must be punished or rewarded for their actions and deeds. Although these mores are not present in modern culture, invisible laws still exist in society today and need to be brought to awareness cause of the history behind them.
In the Victorian novel Jane Ere, Charlotte Bronze exemplifies Victorian mores In an uncustomary way throughout the life story of a young woman named Jane Ere that faces much abuse, both physical and emotional, from the people around her as she is in continual search for a richer and fuller life. As Bronze uses Cane's struggles and hardships to depict her hard life, she also uses them to exemplify the importance of a social class, challenge the traditional family ND to emphasis on receiving the correct consequence for the action one makes.
During Victorian times, it was assumed that a genuine Christian person would belong to a family. Bronze denounces this notion by making the mall character, Jane, an orphan. While she lives with her aunt and cousins, she is not at all treated as part of their family. After being accused of "strike a young gentleman" (John Reed), Jane is reminded that she is not a true member of the Reed family as she is told that she is something "less than a servant" (Bronze 7).
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Her relatives could have easily treated her with love and kindness, but instead she was deprived of a family that she not only needed, but deserved. Although Jane spends her early years without one, she finds a family towards the end of the novel that gives her a sense of belonging when she comes across "a brother: one [she] could be proud of one [she]could love; and two sisters" (Bronze 446). The Rivers sisters and SST. John were able to provide the strength Jane needed to push forward through her tribulations.
Another more that was resent during eighteenth century Victorian literature is the importance of one's social class. Everyone was expected to belong to a class that defined them. Jane has the misfortune of belonging to a rather low social class and Is continually reminded of the fact. She Is treated as If she Is a beggar at the Reeds' residence as John Reed tells her she "ought to beg" for everything because she " no money" and everything belongs to him (Bronze 5). The painful reminders continue as Jane is employed at Threefold Hall as a governess.
At one point in her stay, Jane is asked by her master, Edward Rochester, toxin him in a game of charades when one of his affluent guests calls her " too stupid for any game of the sort" which reminds her that she belongs to a lower class than, not only the Inconsiderate house guest, but to Mr.. Rochester as well (Bronze 207). This time In her life, full of hardship and constant reminders of how she wasn't at all good enough, would soon come to an abrupt end when she finds out that she has an uncle who had passed away and willed to her a great sum of money.
This event in her life gave Jane the opportunity to ascend up the social ladder as well as exhibit her generosity to her long lost family, the Rivers. Poetic Justice is another more that becomes more evident as the story progresses. Of health" caused by a stroke due to her son's death (Bronze 253). John is punished in this form of Justice for the physical and mental abuse he put his cousin through. Additionally, Mrs.. Reed is punished for allowing her son to abuse Jane, who she promised she would take care of.
Aunt Reed is also punished for her actions as she sees with the guilt of knowing she never truly accepted Jane as a part of her own family. Mr.. Rochester is punished for all that he has put Jane through. While hiding the fact that his "wife [was] still living" in the third story floor of Threefold, he is convicted of being a bigamist (Bronze 334). During the Victorian time period, conducting such practices was not only illegal, but religiously intolerable and socially unacceptable. Edward Rochester's Justice was brought to him as he is severely injured and becoming "stone blind" as his home was burnt down. Bronze 498). Justice is brought to people who deserve it for their misdeeds and wrongdoings and for the Reeds and Mr.. Rochester, they got what they deserved based on their actions. Most of the time Justice is unpleasant. In the case of Jane Ere, however, Justice works in her favor. Since she is guilty of nothing, Jane has nothing to be punished for. She is rewarded with "three relations... Born into [her] world full grown" ( Bronze 446). The Rivers sisters bless Cane's life as they treat her as their own sister and not someone who is in a class that is underneath their own.
Jane is also rewarded with a family of her own after finally marrying Rochester and subsequently having her first child. Being poor and unhappy most of her life, Jane Ere is brought Justice when she finds out that her passed uncle "has left [Jane] all his property' and she becomes "rich- quite an heiress" worth 20,000 pounds (Bronze 442). Throughout the story of Jane Ere, Jane struggled to continue through every stage of her life. Through poetic justice, Jane is able to get what she has deserved for such a long period of time. She is compensated with wealth and family.
While her new family is able to provide her with the love and support she was deprived of when she was young, wealth is able to secure her independence. She is no longer tied down to and relying on another, but providing for herself. During the Victorian era, one was assumed to be a part of a family, belong to a social class and get what they deserved based on their actions through Justice. In Charlotte Bronze's novel, Jane Ere, she uses Cane's struggles and hardships to depict her hard life, but also to exemplify the mores that were present during the the eighteenth century time period.
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Jane Eyre- Victorian Mores. (2018, Sep 07). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/jane-eyre-victorian-mores/
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