Topic > Marxism and the class system in Jane Eyre

It is said that only complete and total trust in government will guarantee equality and prosperity for the people. No man will ever be able to feed his family, no man will be homeless, no economic and political freedom, constant economic growth and abolition of class systems as a whole. Communism is seemingly flawless in its fight for solidarity and the fundamental ideals on which it is based. In 1847 Karl Marx published The Communist Manifesto, which became very popular among the middle and lower classes in the following years. Charlotte Bronte witnesses the injustice of the class system as she grew up in a poor Victorian family and neglected the necessities that only wealth could provide. He viewed the Victorian age as a whole, hierarchical within its morality and social rules. Bronte comments in his writings on the hypocrisy of this era. His characters desperately seek answers to their dissatisfaction with the social systems in place and ultimately fail to conform to Victorian ideals and rather move closer to Marxist principles about society and equality. In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Jane questions class systems and finds her place in society and discovers that she is predominantly Marxist in her beliefs through her interactions and relationships with John, Mrs. Reed, and Mr. Rochester. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Jane's childhood with her cousin John in Gateshead establishes that Jane was taught from childhood that she was inferior because of her class. Jane, still a destitute orphan, feels distant from the rest of her family. John cheekily points out that Jane “[has] no right to take [their] books; [because Jane] is dependent… [Rather, Jane] should beg and not live here with sons of gentlemen like [them]” (29). John cheekily tells Jane that because she is poor, she cannot associate with John and the rest of the Reeds on level ground. With the distinction that John is a gentleman and Jane is not, John asserts not only his dominance, but also the fact that Jane must rely on her family for her survival. Jane is not a servant, nor a part of the family and therefore has no definition of her class and placed in a class system she is degraded and miserable. Jane refutes his authority by calling John an "evil, cruel boy... like a slaver... like the Roman emperors!" (30). By saying this Jane tells John that she recognizes his corruption and furthermore the corruption of the upper class as a whole. While Jane is punished for her fight with John, Miss Abbott calls John Jane's "master" (34). Jane is quick to question Miss Abbott claiming that she is, in fact, a servant. Without a decisive answer about Jane's place in society, Jane questions social regimes as a whole. Jane understands that high society lacked morality, as demonstrated by her cousin, and that middle class Jane seemed to be superior. With Jane's new question of what she considered superior, she begins to test her communist ideals with Mrs. Reed. As Mrs. Reed tells Mr. Brocklehurst of Jane's subservience, Jane tells Mrs. Reed, "...the thought of you makes me sick, and [you] treated her miserably cruelly" (57). The fact that Mrs. Reed is upper class also oppresses Jane in Jane's new life when she enters school; only for Mrs. Reed's benefit to get rid of Jane, seeing her as a burden. Jane attempts to break the system of abuse as well as her master's by telling Mrs. Reed of his atrocitiesand cruelty towards Jane. Instead of challenging Jane's newfound authority, Mrs. Reed ignores the issue and further pushes the lower class down. When Jane returns to Gateshead as an adult, she quickly realizes that Mrs. Reed depends on her to find peace. Although Mrs. Reed is in a fragile condition, Jane continues to "...[feel] the determination to subdue her" (747). Jane even wants to establish them as equals after so many years have passed. This idea of ​​equality and balance between Mrs. Reed's cruelty and Jane's inner desires coincides with the similar ideals of communism. Jane wants to degrade the upper class to equalize their status. After questioning the social and political structure, Jane begins to appreciate equality between people and not to play one man above another. Although Jane tries to combat the status difference between Rochester and herself, she is unable to do so and as a result is unhappy and looking for a way to fix her relationship. As Rochester is about to propose to Jane, he calls her an "employee [who] does his duty" (812). Therefore, Rochester emphasizes a class difference between himself and Jane, marking her as subordinate. Jane does not rebuke him and even continues to venerate Rochester as a God in return, further transforming an earthly difference in social status into a divine one. In doing so, Jane discredits Rochester's social superiority by making him a celestial creature on earth, with whom there could be no valid comparison. Therefore associating earthly goods such as wealth with having no meaning. When Jane begins to see the flaws in her nonchalance about the matter, she must choose whether to be a "slave in fool's paradise... as Mr. Rochester's mistress... or to be free and honest" (1166). Jane is caught between her feelings for Rochester and his feelings for her, finally recognizing that they have different perceptions of their relationship. Rochester sees her as a vulnerable inferior and degrades her to a mistress. Jane must decide between Rochester as the upper class taking the resources, or her, and coveting them for her own gain while the middle class works tirelessly to no avail. Jane is not happy about this and wants to be recognized as an equal, but ultimately decides that she would rather be alone than be separated from her love by status. After Jane inherits his wealth, she seeks out Rochester to make their love equal. As Jane returns to Thornfield, she finds it in ruins. He reflects on “the silence of death about it: the solitude of a lonely wind… [sees] it as a blackened ruin” (664). Rochester's stately manor has been destroyed, and with it the place where Rochester and Jane were not husband and wife but rather master and servant. Jane travels to find Rochester in a more humble state; emotionally he regrets the emotional torment he subjected Jane. Physically he lost his sight and his hand. She tells Jane to go away and "not suffer to devote [herself] to a complaining blind man" (681). Rochester states that Jane's new class is higher than his as well. Jane levels the playing field by proclaiming them equal and thus abolishing Rochester's haughty conformity to the social system. Jane and Rochester marry soon after, and through this union a member of the upper class and a former middle class are revitalized and live at peace with each other. They restore the moral values ​​in their marriage and ignore the old mixed morality that Jane witnessed earlier in her life during her previous relationships. Rochester is seemingly resurrected as a good-natured husband who relies on his wife as much as she does on him. They are made classless with each other without material possessions polluting their relationship, and therefore they are the..