Question

When Jane Eyre was published, it was popularly believed that women did not have rich inner lives. Based on these excerpts, do you believe this book contradicts that notion? If so, how? Explain your answer.

Answer 1

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and works by authors such as Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir offer a literary contradiction to the belief that women lack rich inner lives, illustrating complex female characters who challenge societal and gender norms.

Step-by-step explanation:

Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre indeed contradicts the notion that women did not have rich inner lives. The novel presents its titular character as having a complex psyche, grappling with emotions, morality, and a quest for personal freedom that demonstrates a deep inner life. Jane Eyre engages with themes of independence, with Jane herself constantly challenging the constraints of the societal and gender norms of the time. Her character directly opposes the stereotypes about women's lack of emotional depth and intellectual capacity. Moreover, the inclusion of authors like Virginia Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir, who wrote extensively on women's societal roles, further supports the assertion that women have rich inner lives and should be afforded the same opportunities as men to express them. Literary characters such as Catherine Morland from Austen's works also depict women in ways that challenge traditional narratives and highlight their complex internal worlds.

Answer 2

Jane Eyre countered this opinion that the women had less inner life by using the thoughts of the titular character for narration throughout.

Step-by-step explanation:

Jane Eyre is one the early proponents of the psychological novel in which much of the action of the book takes place in the mind of the character and not through the plot.

Jane Eyre grows with her angst and her intellect in the novel as the events in her life shape her thoughts and this is recorded by the author in great detail.

She turns the public opinion of the thoughtless nature of women by showing the rich and complex inner life of a character in the book and showing through her the repressed thoughts of the women.