The Bronte sisters were the first of all female writers paving their own path…
Virginia Woolf has aptly captured in her essay ” A room of one’s own” that the mindset of men and
women are completely different and that we must adapt our own opinions and our way of thinking
than trying to sound androgynous.
The Bronte sisters had made a splash with “Wuthering Heights” and “Jane Eyre”,when they so
efficiently and completely captured the women’s perspective on life.
Jane Eyre is one classic that is definitely worth reading.
It may be a emotionally wringing read ,it is one of those books that will stay with you.

The character is a self­-confident and self-­respecting woman in England in the 18th century, an
orphan who faced much emotional and physical abuse at the hands of her aunt and her cousin.
Her job as a governess at Thornfield Hall comes as a boon for she wasn’t able to make ends meet.
There she comes across Edward Rochester, her employer ,who is mysterious and the embodiment of perfection,but she will not under any circumstances accept her blossoming feelings for him and shuts down any advances he makes.

However, there is a dark secret that lurks the halls of Thornfield…
A mentally challenged wife who is unaware of the outside world locked up in a tower moving about in the darkness attacking people. As the story evolves, we understand that there is an additional depth to the characters for when she becomes aware about his marital situation she leaves without a word to take on the world.

A character which seemed weak and timid (for a lack of better words) turns out to be strong and principled. Case in point­ –

It is vain to say human beings ought to be satisfied with tranquility :they must have action ;and they will make it if they cannot find it.”

While this might seem common place ,it is hard to put into perspective that women didn’t move freely in society and the jobs that they could get were generally related to child care .

To add to this ,they were denied access to libraries ,and information that would uplift them from their pathetic situation.Charlotte Bronte captures every emotion and makes the reader feel this anguish,makes us relate to the characters and though it may seem morbid at times it does have a relatively happy
ending.

These books were the start of a paradigm shift in how women were viewed in literature,and is definitely a must read for budding feminists…

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