jane eyre role of women

• “I am not deceitful: if I were, I should say I loved you; but I declare I do not love you"- jane eyre to mrs reed


  -jane acts atypical as she goes against the expection of a woman to be passive, obedient, and emotionally restrained.

  -uses a declarative to show her active rejection of mrs reeds hypocrisy

  • jane values truth and moral integrity over being liked, setting up a key theme throughout the novel: staying true to oneself
• “It is not violence that best overcomes hate—nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury.”- helen to jane 


  -helen believes in forgiveness and moral superiority rather than retaliation

  -Helen speaks in a calm, reasoned manner, which contrasts with Jane’s emotional intensity. Helen acts as a moral role model and spiritual guide to jane

  • use of antithesis emphasises that violence and revenge do not lead to positive outcomes, helping to highlight Helen’s pacifist beliefs.
  • helens teachings have religious undertones: spiritual endurance and purity
• “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me"- jane 


  -jane asserts her autonomy

  -metaphor of bird and net:

  • "I am no bird” suggests she refuses to be seen as fragile, delicate, or caged.
  • "no net ensnares me” reinforces her refusal to be controlled—by Rochester, by society, or by traditional gender roles.
  • The short, direct clauses (“I am no bird,” “no net ensnares me”) create a strong, rhythmic structure that emphasizes her conviction.
• “She cannot bear to be dressed; she tears the things off her body… she has ever been violent.”- berthas description


  -bertha is stripped of her identity and humanity. She is reduced to a set of violent actions and physical reactions and made to be "other"

  -reflects 19th-century attitudes toward mental illness, especially in women. Rather than receiving care or understanding, Bertha is locked away and labelled “violent.”

  • Bertha as Jane’s repressed double—expressing the anger Jane is not allowed to show openly.
• "reader i married him" -jane 


  -subversion of gender roles

  -short sentence is powerful because it reflects Jane’s journey to independence. she has gained:

  • Emotional independence – she only returns to Rochester when they can be equals.
  • Financial independence – she has inherited money.
  • Moral independence – she chose love on her own terms, not out of desperation