In quoting the character Jane, "To open my inward ear to a tale that was never ended, a tale my imagination created, and narrated continuously; quickened with all of incident, life, fire, feeling, that I desired and had not in my actual existence." Jane is hurting at this point in her life because she realizes she is limited in her role as a woman. She is not content with the fact that she is confined to a residence as only a governess/servant. She is determined to succeed on her own terms and not under the shadow of a man. Jane gives clues of her ambitions when she is reluctant to marry Rochester because of his social status and the fact that he is her employer. She feels that he could never love her or respect her the way she wants to by a partner. Jane wants to have a fire burning within in her that her male counterpart is not going to put out. She wants to be accepted as an equal. .
Jane's insecurities about being a woman and being involved with a man such as Rochester appear to be Bronte's showcase of the suppression of women in the Victorian era. Rochester up until the end of the novel has all of the hand in the relationship, one because he is rich, but more importantly because he is a man. He has power over Jane and he uses that power throughout most of the novel. Bronte in creating the character Rochester wanted to show how the male species operates, and how they can get away with almost anything primarily because of their gender. Rochester was a compulsive liar, he was abusive, and he even hid his wife in the top of his house while he was womanizing Jane. He wasn't exactly the prettiest of characters, and this was done by Bronte for a reason. Even though everyone lived happily ever after, that was just for show. Bronte wanted to bring up the fact that men can do what ever they want and get away with it, and women are not held by the same standards. If a lady even steps out of line a little she is ostracized for it, and Bronte wanted to uncover this fact.