Equality is a word that surrounds the world and is something becoming incredibly prominent in everyday life. It is a struggle that has been fought by all races, ages, and genders, and one that will continue to be fought. In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte accurately reveals the inequality and inferiority women experienced during the Victorian Era by use of setting, stereotype, and feminism.
The novel Jane Eyre is a book that is set in the early nineteenth century, during the Victorian Era. There are five main scenes in the book, all of them in the northern England area. During the Victorian Era, many women were held to standards or expectations. Women's morality and sensuality were very important during this time. For this reason, Bronte decided to take a romantic approach to the book. Bronte uses the theme of Sex Scandal to have a rebellious and romantic feeling. "The theme of sex scandal goes along with women's morality and sensuality because it, also, went against the prior conservative social expectations and beliefs for women." (Literary Analysis of Jane Eyre) For example, Jane became sexually involved with Rochester, her wealthy boss, and then became his wife. Because this is something that would sometimes be looked upon as being outside the norm or rebellious, Bronte decided to put it in the novel. "The Victorian Era was full of many restrictions with no reasoning. As we see throughout the book, constriction of women is common." (Jane Eyre and the Victorian Era) Because of the Victorian Era, many stereotypes were formed that caused many women to be look and act the same, along with adopting the feeling of inferiority.
Stereotypes are very prominent in the novel Jane Eyre. Because Jane was a woman, she had stereotypes being placed on her quite often. As stated previously, women during the Victorian Era were expected to hold themselves to a certain standard, and when they did not do a satisfactory job, they were scolded.