Theatre

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre opens with Jane, an orphaned, poor and lonely ten-year-old, living with a family that dislikes her. She grows in strength, excels at school, becomes a governess, and falls in love with Edward Rochester. After being deceived by him, Jane has to regain her spirituality and discover her own identity. By the end of the novel, Jane is a strong, independent woman and marries Rochester as his equal.

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre was published in 1847 and is widely recognised as a precursor of feminist literature. This much beloved novel of today gives us a glimpse of gender and social inequality during the author’s time, to which our titular heroine challenges and overcomes with the power of love and faith. “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” – says Jane Eyre. Women of the Victorian time lived in a rather submissive role but Jane Eyre is not one who would submit to her circumstances. We can imagine how Jane Eyre’s free spirit might have stirred up uneasy feelings in conformists of her day while for readers of our time, her strong will and longing for equality shall never cease to inspire.