Social Classes In Jane Eyre

First published in 1847, Charlotte Bronte's popular and famous Victorian publication Jane Eyre transcends both the past and present, becoming one of literature's most renown stories with an original, yet brilliant pair of characters that define what it means to be truly in love. Following narrator and protagonist's Jane Eyre's abusive upbringing and maladaptive adolescence in the Lowood School, into her position as governess of the young Adele in Thornfield Hall, the story portrays a life that begins so backward and detrimental, but with the right dosage of love, passion, and direction, blossoms into a heart warming happy ending. Jane, having survived years of misfortune and forced to conformity through her possession, rightfully spends the latter part of her life, and the end of the story itself, with the man she desires: Edward Rochester. The compatibility of these two lovers, though quite perfectly matched through their temperament, physicality, and personality, differs in one specific area that, as a result, splits Rochester and Jane for several years before they are able to reunite. The difference in social classes between Jane's profession as a lowly, plain governess in the service industry and Rochester's position as rich, landowner aristocratic ultimately separates the two lovers on a level that they cannot themselves personally conquer, becoming the defining barrier between their love and the possibility of marriage. Rochester lives a life of riches, associating himself with the splendor and grandeur of the British upper classes, living in a large manor among several hired servants. Furthermore, Rochester's title and social class require that he spend his time around such "very showy, but not genuine" lords and ladies, those whose had "many brilliant attainments" but with "poor minds" and "hearts barren by nature" (Bronte 211). Individuals like Blanche Ingram and Colonel Dent, who waste much of their time basking in lavish parlors playing such silly games as charades and involve themselves in petty gossip to add merit to their actions. Through unwritten but nonetheless enforced social customs, Rochester is encouraged to marry a suitor of the same social status with wealth to spread to the family for generations, settling on the beautiful, but internally void Blanche Ingram as a bride. Because Jane is of such a lowly class and does not socially match Rochester, she cannot be considered as a realistic or probable suitor, making it all the more surprising when Rochester exclaims his infinite and undying love for her. Jane is dumbfounded at the ridiculousness of the situation, stating, "I was incredulous" after Rochester declares, "my bride is here...because my equal is here, and my likeness" (Bronte 292). Rochester declares the emptiness of arranged marriages, something that has plagued him before, announcing, "I would not- I could not- marry Miss Ingram" (Bronte 293). Despite this intimate and truthful connection that Rochester shares for Jane, and Jane for Rochester, their social status, in combination with prior events past fueled by the need for family inheritance hold their marriage back for several years. It is not until Rochester resolves his ties to Bertha Mason and truly ends their relationship in the form of Bertha's death in the fire at Thornsfield that him and Jane may finally reunite and unleash their full fervor. Even so, Rochester is partly crippled and blinded by the flames, symbolizing not only a literal loss of various functions and parts of the body, but a loss of social status that fortunately for the couple, equalizes them and finally makes them perfectly compatible for a fairy-tale, "happy ending'.

Satan: The First Antihero?

Depicted as the vengeful, controlling master of Hell in John Milton’s epic poem Paradise Lost, Lucifer, the fallen angel who seeks vengeance against those who have cast him from the sacred ranks in Heaven, is one of the most significant characters and arguably one of the most definitive antiheros in all of literary history. After the catastrophic conclusion of events between Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, Lucifer, blamed for the wrongs and sins the couple committed, is thrown down from the divine paradise, never to return again. Here, Milton begins his poem, narrating the plans of Lucifer and his exchanges with the other demons in Hell as he schemes to extract revenge against those who have wrongfully convicted and punished him. Through various monologues, conversations, and descriptions, Lucifer is illustrated rather positively throughout Book I of the epic poem, creating a character who despite his dreary predicament, displays extreme confidence and self-assurance, someone who possesses enough gusto to express, “better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heaven” (Milton 1.263). This confidence, along with Lucifer’s supposed innocence and wrongful conviction, allow the reader to easily sympathize, and at the same time, remain in awe of Lucifer’s untouchable response to such a catastrophe. Thus, Lucifer follows a typical pattern that countless literary antiheros also produce, in which the reader is at first turned away by the character’s “bad boy” qualities, but then later responds with a spellbound obsession, following this antihero and secretly hoping that they prevail in the end. In fact, Milton’s Lucifer may have been the first definitive antihero, possessing many of the characteristics that readers do not find “good”, but still having a distinctive set of qualities and a distinctive manner that readers find enthralling. Lucifer’s temperament, his adaptive abilities to make “a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven”, and a kingdom of his own, are all characteristics readers find appealing and make him as the first antihero in all of literature, leading the way for thousands of others to follow (Milton 1.255)

The Tempest

Miranda:
 I pitied thee,
Took pains to make thee speak, taught thee each hour
One thing or other: when thou didst not, savage,
Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like
A thing most brutish, I endow'd thy purposes
With words that made them known. But thy vile race,
Though thou didst learn, had that in't which good natures
Could not abide to be with; therefore wast thou
Deservedly confined into this rock,
Who hadst deserved more than a prison. (Act 1, Scene 2)

In The Tempest, one of the last published plays of famous poet and playwright William Shakespeare, main character Prospero avenges his right on the political throne by drawing a host of rambunctious sailors, along with his brother Antonio, to his remote island. As the action unfolds between the players, relationships and deep conflicts are revealed, ultimately leading to a fantastic conclusion for one of literature's most celebrated plays. Caliban, the only true native to Prospero's isolated island, is a truly conflicted man, caught in a life where he doubles as the mistreated slave, as well as a callous and savage monster that acts purely out of an animistic instinct. First "rescued" by Prospero, this son of the witch Sycorax appears as a half-witted, almost feral creature that is taught by both Prospero and Miranda to speak and act accordingly as a human being. Caliban's quest for acceptance and transformation into a sensible being, however, is hindered when he attempts to rape Miranda in order to further populate Prospero's remote island. From this point onwards, the father and daughter loose all respect for Caliban, regarding him as a fierce brute and their slave. In the passage above, Miranda openly expresses her attitude towards Caliban, and her failed attempt to teach him the virtues of human life, to which he turned away from and instead crawled back towards his monstrous origins. Shakespeare's use of certain adjectives and verbs in describing Caliban's learning process not only exhibits Miranda's lost faith and negative opinion of Caliban, but also develops Caliban's dual character as the violent, instinctual monster. Words such as "savage", "brutish", "vile", and even the verb "gabble", paint an extremely dissenting picture of his character, portraying him as a true fiend and turning readers away from Caliban's other side of the mistreated slave. Readers, and the audience, are less likely to sympathize with Caliban and pity him for having lost almost everything, and instead take Miranda's opinion that he is in fact a barbarian. Furthermore, the tone created in the passage and the degrading insults given by Miranda to Caliban show the strained relationships between the characters. Miranda's disapproving, almost hateful tone displays the change in their relationship before Caliban attempted to rape her and expose his side as a true monster, and as a consequence, her cold, distrust behavior afterwards. In the beginning, both father and daughter aide Caliban in his transformation from fiend to human individual, however, this attitude changes completely after his attempt. Thus, Miranda has lost all respect for Caliban, exclaiming that he is "deservedly confined to this rock...more than a prison", and expressing the broken relationship between the two. Caliban, a controversial character, clashes between character archetypes and defies reader's expectations, creating a place among Shakepeare's stage creations.