The Exposure of Feminist Critique in 19th Century Literature: a Look at Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre

Resistance is the action of fighting back against an unwanted force that may be deemed oppressive in ones life. It is created for different causes and comes in many forms; it may be made verbal, explicit, implicit, physical, and even made humorous or satirical. Charlotte Bronte, a 19th century Victorian feminist wrote her novel Jane Eyre as a means of exposing the confining environments, shameful lack of education, and pitiful dependence upon male relatives for survival (Brackett, 2000). Charlotte Bronte used literature as a means of feminist cultural resistance by identifying the underlying factors of how the Victorian ideologies, gender and social construction of that time was limiting, and brings to light barriers that faced women in the early 19th century, and these same barriers that continue to face women today. Her feminist writings during this time period explored the depths of feminism and the ideas of limitations through class distinctions and boundaries in a hierarchal, classist, and sexist society during the time of Victorian England. You can read also Analysis of Literary Devices of Jane Eyre Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre is a prime example of the use of feminist long fiction, which features female characters whose quest for self-satisfaction causes conflict within a traditionally patriarchal society (Brackett, 2000). Victorian ideologies in Bronte’s work and life are highly evident. In Jane Eyre, Bronte introduces and constantly refers to Jane as plain and stresses her lack of requisite beauty as the heroine of the novel. Presumably in male Victorian literature, the heroine or more so, damsel is presented as a fair maiden, with rosy cheeks and flashing eyes. Bronte uses this mould and opposes it by creating a female who is â€Å"puny, with irregular features whose unpromising physical attributes never fail to be remarked upon by everyone she encounters and by herself† (Brackett, 2000). Bronte purposely illustrates Jane as this â€Å"un-ideal† heroine to poke at the typical ideological female heroine. She also defies ideological Victorian etiquette in Jane Eyre. When Rochester is introduced to Jane, Bronte presents a feminist portrait of Jane and the time period in which a â€Å"woman walking alone in that era should never address a man, but Jane goes out of her way to help Rochester–she even lets him place his hand on her shoulder, and even though Rochester tries to stop her, Jane explains that she would never walk away without helping a person in need† (Brackett, 2000). The reversal of sex roles in the novel illustrates Bronte’s disapproval of the way women in Victorian society were deemed as unworthy of giving help and only receiving it. Throughout the novel Bronte ensures that Jane is constantly saving Rochester from emotionally and physically damaging situations. She rejects Rochester’s assumption that she is helpless, and declares her independence by saying, â€Å"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will which I now exert to leave you,† (Bronte, 282). Jane’s independence of mind in Victorian society â€Å"possesses her to a degree that would be a handicap to the conventional Victorian marriage and is a threat to the literary tradition of masculine heroism† (Bell, 1996). Bronte presents a Jane as realist, yet a utopian romantic, while at the same time confronting social reality. Everything Jane says enforces that she is not the typical romantic heroine whose life story shall end in marriage. Bronte uses Jane as a heroine who is able to recognize and finally break down the barriers if gender, and class. Resisting social construction during Bronte’s time is a difficult feat when women are dependant on men and wealth for survival. The idea of maintaining one’s class or fear becoming a poor outcast is presented several times throughout Jane’s life. Jane at a young age does not want to be associated with poorness by refusing to give up her middle class status she feels entitle to while living with the Reeds. When Jane is asked if she wants to find any of her other relatives she replies, â€Å"I should not like to belong to poor people† (Bronte, 10), and adds â€Å"I could not see how poor people had the means of being kind†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bronte, 10) after finding out that they too were poor. Jane is taught at a young age to look down on people not of her caste, and to oppress them the same way that she herself is oppressed as a female orphan. Though Jane is not influenced directly by social status at all times, it is still a constant factor which Bronte makes evident. In Victorian England, a female must either be born or married into her social class, and this is what defines her. The character of Jane served to undercut the popular female stereotypes of fiction: the angel of the house, the invalid, or the whore (Brackett, 2000). Bronte creates Jane as her own force, in which she is neither the angel, invalid or whore, but a young lady who is intelligent and has pride and dignity. In this Victorian society, her unsubmissiveness and independence is her social fault, which Bronte pokes fun at (Brackett, 2000). Male Victorian writers cast women during this time as social, finagling creatures whose goals are to obtain as many friends as possible and throw the most elaborate parties. Bronte opposes this by creating Jane as an opposite of these â€Å"defining† characteristics, by making Jane a female who could are less about how many people adore her, a female who would actually enjoy a life with few companions. As mentioned before, Jane’s sense of dignity is evident. As Jane became Rochester’s governess, she is faced with the option of becoming Rochester’s mistress, causing this internal battle between her love for Rochester and her self respect. Instead Jane declines this proposal as she would rather have her self respect intact, a move not many women would have chosen in Victorian society. Bronte is not only vocal about the absurdness of these Victorian ideologies, but she is also stringent in pointing out that these ideologies directly oppress the female gender. In Jane Eyre, Bronte criticizes the Victorian conceptions of gender roles. She does this in many ways throughout the novel, but one was by pointing out in Jane Eyre that Bertha Mason is seen as â€Å"inhuman† when she acts out by setting her husbands bed on fire. Bertha’s enraged with fury at her husband Rochester’s betrayal because he got engaged to Jane; Bronte conveys the point that women during this time should restrain all emotion, or else they are seen as alien. Bronte also stresses education, or lack thereof, which was something that women during that time either has very little of, or had no access too depending on their class. In a scene, when Jane is all but eight years old, Jane receives cruel treatment from her younger male cousin John Reed, and when she retaliates she is reprimanded for it and is told to treat her â€Å"young master† with respect, causing her to wonder is she herself is seen as a servant. Another idea of oppression through gender during the Victorian era in Jane Eyre is when Jane has to decide between either becoming either a teacher or a governess. This is important because it highlights that women had only two options in terms of employment, and both of which consist of male superiors. While lack of education in women was common during this time, Bronte again forces the reader to recognize Jane as being an individual, whose intelligence and education is equal to that of a man’s. Upper class women never had occupations, nor did they ever work. But following Jane’s engagement to Rochester, she tells him that she will continue to work because she refuses to be dependant on a man, and that she will not be subservient to him. Here Bronte is exposing the Victorian idea of dependency on husband/male relatives for survival, by making Jane dependant on only herself. She forces the reader to see that she has created Jane and Rochester equal. During the Victorian era, gender plays a defining role in how one is perceived within these Victorian ideologies and oppression because of gender, Women are supposed to be very calm generally but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags. It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex† (Bronte, 96). This passage highlights Jane’s feelings of imprisonment and of the female condition, where females are clearly not treated as equal to men, and discusses Bronte’s own views on the general conditions of Victorian women. This passage also alludes to Bronte’s critique of not only gender roles, but the feelings of imprisonment of society, of her class, and of her battle with her feelings as a woman with morals. Bronte’s use of literature as an exposing agent of women during Victorian societies is important to the feminist cultural resistance movement. Throughout the novel, the oppression of women within Victorian ideologies, gender and social class is made clear, and Bronte uses Jane as an opposing force against these restraining ideas of the time. Jane not only has an ambiguous social standing, which leads to her to criticise discrimination based on one’s class, but she also is constantly fighting more powerful male forces than herself in order to not be seen by her sex but as a human individual. While this book was written in the 19th century, its vision does work towards social justice, recognizing and trying to bring to light these barriers that have and still continue to dominate the female sex. Bronte uses her art to expose male cultural power and female social identity during a time of artistic male dominance.

Education Algebra Essay

Coming into mathematics for elementary educators with my classmates, everyone had some type notion of what this course consists of. For most people math is a very hard and complex subject that requires complicated rules that a person would never use again. A person who has not been exposed to math would say math is just numbers, shapes, and some simple arithmetic. To a serious math student, math encompasses much more than just numbers and geometrical shapes, of course. During math 213 I bought into many misconceptions about math. During Week one I learned about no child left behind act and the pro’s and con’s that are associated with this act. We reviewed the order of operations and learned different meanings to some math terminology. The most exciting teaching strategy I learned in week one was called the pinch card. The pinch card allows the teacher to observe the students, while the students pinch different signs when learning the order of operation. It is a piece of paper that consists of the addiction, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponent, and parentheses symbol. Week two we discuss union, intersection, complement, different properties, commutative, associative, and identity. I learned how to use manipulative to teach different teaching strategy while teaching decimals. I found it difficult to understand some questions off the math homework during week two which help me comprehend how students will feel. Math is not hard for me to understand but I realize I have to stay super focus while in math class or I will get lose easily with the different numbers. Math is not a hard subject and many times I made it harder by not using the problem solving steps which are, explore problem, plan, solve, examine, which are very helpful when understood . My philosophy toward teaching math is to look at math from a logical standpoint instead of trying to figure it out; you will see that logically everything will fall into place. I am not a math teacher however, there is one thing I wish all math teachers would focus more on and that is teaching students to view math logically. While it is very important to know how to work, a problem out it is also equally important for students to learn to look at the problem from a logical standpoint. Math in class 213 made perfect sense and when I looked at math from a logical standpoint along with problem solving techniques I discover it is much easier. Common sense goes a long way when dealing with math problems. I also learned that you will need and use math everyday of your life for the rest of your life. Depending on what you do professionally will determine what form of math you use on a regular basis but rest assured everyone on Gods green earth will use some form of math in their everyday life. Taking this math course made me think about becoming a math teacher. Without math, you cannot check your pay stub to make sure your employer is paying you correctly, pulling out the correct amount for deductibles or that you aren’t paying in to much for insurance or anything else. Without math, you will not be able to budget your income and expenses for the week or the month. Without math, you will have Math is important for our future and it is an important aspect in most jobs. Warehouse workers many times have to take and pass a math test before being hired for job positions. Mechanics use math everyday whether they are pricing parts and adjusting bills or figuring out exact calculations in order to do a job correctly. Construction workers use math to make calculations before beginning and during construction. I have not worked in or heard of a job yet that didn’t involve math at some point even if you work at McDonald’s you have to know math to count the money and give the corrected change. Most often, we use basic math skills without even thinking about it. How sad it would be if we didn’t have those basic skills. Math skills are very important when planning for our financial future and during our everyday life. Without math, you wouldn’t be able to balance your checkbook or many other everyday tasks that are normally taken for granted.

The Use of Mideast Oil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Dell Boy Computers Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Dell Boy Computers - Case Study Example (Whitehead, 1997) Dell Boy Computers relies on its brand name, the promise of support and its massive market presence to balance higher costs. As Dell Boy Computer Company is selling into an increasingly sophisticated and price-sensitive marketplace, it needs to do forward integration to market its profitable high-end computer products. To fortify its profit generating objective, Dell Boy goes into real estate development by creating apt settings for human activity that are in harmony with the environment and providing distribution services for its suppliers and customers. The top management of Dell Boy is restructuring the organization around common capabilities to achieve better strategic focus. The Company will renew profits and growth by focusing resources and management attention on three key areas: a.)Increase the volume and value of the market share in computer products through forward integration consisting of special warehouse services and an excellent service delivery platform; b.) Expand profit and revenue growth in personal computers by promoting aggressive and consistent marketing and promotional activities; and c.) focus on new business in the existing demand from the educational segment and in the small business and home personal computers segment.The company needs to be more selective about its property purchase as location is an important consideration for this project. The company can construct a big commercial lease building which can house its distribution operations and it can also be rented out to other commercial tenants.Through forward integration, Dell Boy Company will achieve important cost synergies, eliminate redundant management layers, and decrease other ancillary operating expenses including discretionary spending, which are expected to result in annual cost savings for the company. As Dell Boy Computer Company integrates forward into real estate, warehousing and distribution, the company needs to understand the benefits, and the development process this development entails. Property development for computer companies requires a clear perspective of public administration, physical planning, municipal regulation, market research, legal system, site appraisal, economic evaluation and assessment, financial contracts, contractual and bidding procedures, building design, construction designs, and marketing strategy aspects. The crucial costs of time, quality, and asset value are seriously considered. (Ratcliffe, et. al., 2003) The other leading computer companies such as Red Fox USA and Toshiba had relied on indirect distribution channels such as various retail stores and large shopping malls while Apple Computers, markets its products directly to the end users. For instance, Kwantinetz stated that Compaq's traditional sales and distribution technique covers a total of 90-day period for building, transporting, inventorying and setting the cost value of its manufactured goods to its existing indirect distribution channels. This very long lead time has added a tremendous 6 percent to Compaq's cost of business operations. To enable

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Evaluation of Current Accounting Policy of Phone Services - Essay Example There are generally two key factors for revenue recognition: Completion of earning process, Assurance of payment. The policy which helps inter-department on recognition of revenue is the renewal of portable internet services for customers who already have phone-e-devices at a price of $240 (Kennon, 2010). The accounting policies which they are adopting can increase their market share and sales as they are offering a low price to their customers. This is also helping them in penetration of market for their new products. The new policies which the firm can adopt are cost policy and revenue recognition policy. They are offering the low price to its customers as compared to their competitors due to the low signal and service quality than their competitors. They cannot increase the price or service charge of Prepaid Portable Internet Connection, as doing so can result in shifting of its customers towards other brands. Another risk which firm faces are that if in near future their competit ors decrease the price of their products, the company may suffer losses. To avoid this company can practice cost-cutting techniques in the manufacturing of their products. If they do not manufacture their parts or components and buy it from suppliers, they should try to focus on cheap and best quality suppliers. The activities of any company which decides revenue recognition are: Sale of goods, Rendering of services and Construction contracts. Therefore these activities have to be properly managed.  

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What you learned about the larger field of art - Essay Example Anthony Janson et al. (2010) did very interesting works in his book, the History of Art when he wrote this book. From the day I read it, I realized the value of art and appreciated it so much. I read every section of this great book that enters into the minds and hearts of its readers. Since history, artists have been keeping visual records. The neoclassic and romantic artists used the chisel and paintbrush to create an impression of the current vents of those times. These artists did not merely wait to be commissioned by rich families to do the work of art. Their passion in art gave birth to more artists. Art is rich in depth and inspires. The little fertility goddess that is mentioned in the book and the extravagant styles of Baroque and Rococco inspires a lot (Janson et al. 22). One of the most interesting works in the history of art is the picture of Adam and Eve. The picture tells the story of the Garden of Eden from the beginning when God put man on it. The story goes on to the time when man was expelled away from that garden. The story comes to the point where the Master ensures HIS place in history. The theme represented in the book captures the rise and fall of great and women in the Middle Ages. The book is copiously illustrated and provides a schema from which varying periods of art can be learnt. It provides useful information that can be used for the development of various scholarly researches on art. The History of Art captures Western in most works that have been included in it. Thus, it had some bias towards other works of art from different countries (Janson et al. 45). Towards the end, the book is rather apologetic and gives a halfhearted nod to Asian Art. I have been interested in art and I found this book useful for my development in the art industry more than I thought. I read the book from cover to cover and became interested in all the

Dell in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dell in China - Essay Example With this rise in production, the country's revenue will expand together with individuals buying power. One of the social changes happening in China is the role of computing and computing equipments in the social system. The case mentioned that top-level managers are becoming more and more technologically adept as they are becoming internet savvy. The country is still immature in terms of technology. This is one of the most important considerations for Dell as it also wants to employ its direct-model strategy in China through the utilization of internet technology. The patronage of internet is hampered by the government's regulation which is speculated by the people to be against them. The major strength of Dell, Inc. is its utilization of a business model which enables it to reap various benefits which are not enjoyed by its competitors. The direct business cut a significant amount of cost in the company's supply chain by eliminating the less value adding activities in the value chain. Inventories were kept low and technological breakthroughs are delivered to the customer within a week opposed to previous two months. The direct business model also enabled the company to market directly to the customer, thereby offering more customized products. Another strength of Dell's is its cost leadership strategy.