Jane Eyre – Victorian Women and Social Expectations

A comprehensive and professionally structured resource exploring how Charlotte Brontë presents women’s roles, opportunities and restrictions in Jane Eyre.

This resource examines how expectations surrounding obedience, domesticity, employment and marriage shape Jane’s experiences from Gateshead and Lowood to Thornfield, Moor House and Ferndean. It considers how Jane seeks affection and belonging while refusing relationships that would require her to surrender her conscience, dignity or identity.

Key features:

• Clear introduction to Victorian expectations, separate spheres, coverture, female education and women’s limited economic opportunities
• Focus on Jane’s developing voice, employment as a governess and movement towards moral and financial independence
• Exploration of Helen Burns, Miss Temple, Blanche Ingram, Bertha Mason, Diana, Mary and Rosamond as contrasting female figures
• Examination of first-person narration, marriage proposals, recurring settings, Gothic symbolism and the novel’s changing power relationships
• A varied selection of activities supported by a complete answer key