Background

• Published in 1847 and set around the same time, in Northen England.

• Published by Charlotte Bronte under the Currer Bell psydenym, the same surname as her sisters Emily and Anne, who went by Ellis and Acton respectively.

Women

• Women did not have the right to vote, or equal rights to men in any capacity.

• They were expected to stop working after marriage, meaning many did not have jobs or financial independence.

  • Men gained control of women’s property, including any money, after marriage. This law was changed in 1870.

• Women were educated differently to men, learning skills such as knitting and arts while men were taught maths and science.

  • Women were meant to have ‘accomplishments’, which were skills such as art, singing and playing instruments.

• When women and men were caught in any illicit acts, the woman was always blamed for tempting the man.

• Reading was seen as dangerous for women, and some blamed reading on deaths during childbirth.

• Hysteria was a legitmate diagonsis for women, and was believed to be caused by the movement of the womb.

Religion

• The dominant religion was Protestantism.

• Charity schools were often run to indoctrinate Christian values such as gender roles and morals.

• Children and sex were only supposed to happen within marriage, and divorce was extremely rare.

• Missionaries travelled to non-Christian countries to try convert them to Christianity.

• In Jane Eyre, there are many types of Christianity shown, for example:

  • Brocklehurst's - Puritanical Christianity which believes people should suffer to obtain heaven.

  • Helens - Kinder Christianity which believes we should live with forgiveness and take everything that happens as God’s plan.

Children

• Children had no special rights until the late 1800s, and child labour was still legal.

• School was not complusory until 1870.

• Child abuse was legal, and corporal punishment in schools was common.

• Richer children had governesses, who taught girl’s accomplishments.

• Children were often sent away to schools at young ages.

Family obligations/ marriage

• Domestic abuse was completely legal, as long as the rod was no bigger than a thumb.

• Coverture was a legal doctreine in which a woman was considered her husband’s property, and was abolished around the 1880s when women were allowed to own property in their own right.

• Women were expected to marry earlier than men, and it was seen as their life’s purpose.

• They were expected to have and care for as many children as possible, while men were expected to earn money.

• From 1857 women were allowed to use cruelty and desertion as causes for divorce, however the leading cause remained adultery.

• Eldest sons were referred to by their surname, and inherited most money and the family property.

• Daughters moved in with their husbands upon marriage, and always took their surname.

Governesses

• In 1851, there were around 25,000 governesses according to the census.

• Usually from middle class families and had attended traditional schooling.

• Seen as one of the only respectable professions for women.

• No official certification for being a governess.

• Often paid extremely little, in some cases offered only boarding and lodging.

• Certain accomplishments increased salary and prospective clients, such as music, French and art.

• A lot of the time they shared rooms with the children.

• They were advised to not make friends with servants, as they were socially inferior, or to impose themselves on the family, as they were their employers.

• Many women saw them as threats to their husbands.