In the novel Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte uses Jane as a symbol for the struggles faced in life by women. Many people sometimes feel like outsiders, and have difficulties adjusting on their own. Although some people do have help, Bronte portrays Jane as a character with many obstacles, but with no one there to help her. .
Jane quickly learns that no one is going to feel pity for her so she needs to become stronger to face the challenges of life. At an early age Jane looses her parents, leaving her with a guardian that dies early in her life. Mr. Reed represented the only person who Jane had to protect her, but once he is gone she has no one else. Mrs. Reed and her children mistreat Jane, not treating her like an animal. One of Jane's goals in life is to be equal and independent like others. .
Another struggle faced by Jane is trying to find affection and love; she wants someone to be there for her, but she still wants to feel equal to her partner. In the Elizabethan era, women were treated as inferior to men. Bronte brings the struggles that women feel, in Jane's character. Once Jane meets Mr. Rochester she falls in love and wants to marry him. Surprisingly Mr. Rochester already has a crazy wife who he ignores, but even though no love or relationship exists between Mr. Rochester and his wife, Jane refuses to be his mistress because she would feel inferior to him. The only escape Jane has is to leave Rochester's house and find a new life.
Jane leaving Rochester's house shows that women can be independent. Even though she doesn't know where she is headed, Jane still leaves Rochester's house because of the situation she is put in. The struggle for women's equality is suggested in a lot of parts of the book as Jane tries to find an equal soul mate that she can live with. Bronte uses Jane's character to help support the idea that women can be equal or sometimes superior to men, when given a chance.