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CONTEXT

Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman written by Charlotte Bronte, and published in 1847, under her pseudonym 'Currer Bell.' The novel was written in the mid-victorian era, and was published in America just a bit later in 1848.

Society and class is essential when discussing Victorian works. 

This novel reflects strict Victorian class hierarchy, which fundamentally suggests that one's social position shaped their opportunities. Jane, our titular protagonist, is poor and orphaned, emphasising the little protection that the vulnerable youth had from these harsh and rather damaging societal expectations. Her rise in status challenges the idea that class determines worth, correlating with a lot of other books of that era, such as Great expectations. This suggests that social mobility was increasing in favourability in this period of history. 

Victorian Britain was predominantly Christian, and the novel explores many different interpretations of this religion. Brocklehurst's view of religion, for example, is extremely harsh and hypocritical, whereas Helen Burns demonstrates this forgiving and spiritual version of Christianity. On the other end of the spectrum, we have St John, who's faith is cold and driven by duty and what he deems essential to transcend the human experience. This means that Jane develops her own moral compass, guided by her own conscience rather than the different authorities that attempt to control her. 

In the Victorian era, women were expected to marry men, obey them and depend on them for financial stability, yet Jane insists on emotional, moral and economic independence. This is further emphasised when Jane refuses to be Rochester's mistress and rejects St. John's loveless proposal. The novel promotes this recently emerging and radical idea - that women deserve the same autonomy that is given to their male counterparts. 

This novel draws on Gothic elements that were extremely popular in the 19th century, just to name some we have the grand Thornfield Hall, the secret of Bertha, supernatural elements such as Jane hearing Rochester's voice - all of which create tension and simultaneously mirror Jane's emotional turmoils.