Jane Eyre Context and Critics

Historical Background 

position of women - strong female protagonist (atypical)

women not valued - subservient position of women

not respectable for middle class women to work - career of marriage - unpaid charity work

governess - only option for young middle -class women - anonmalus social position (not a servant or a proper young lady)

Bronte was a teacher/governess

Social Unrest : sketchy on exact time that the novel is set - aroung turn of the century

French revolution 1789 - sceptical of French - Battle of Waterloo 1815

Chapter XXXIII - famous equality and fraternisaiton - liberty, equality, fraternity

very few historical references

EMPIRE:

slave trade abolished 1807 - British territories - long fought campaign - Quakers

emancipation - achieved 1833

1781-1807 more than 1m slaves - British - Africa to Americas

Creole - Bertha - french slaves as ancestors

references to trade with Caribbean and Indian missioneries

'I was not heoric enough to purchase liberty at the price of caste'

Literary Background:

father's rectory in Haworth

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