Jane Eyre - Prompt #13

Jane Eyre, the title character of Charlotte Bronte’s 19th century Victorian novel, seems to be a part of various social classes throughout her life. Her ambiguous lifestyle causes her to be seen as an indefinite part of society. She continuously transcends the concepts of “rich” and “poor” as she travels between the two social statuses. During her childhood, Jane lives with the Reeds, a family of great wealth and social stature. She eventually becomes a student at Lowood School, a place where young girls are taught to conform to a very underprivileged lifestyle. After teaching at the Lowood School during her early adulthood, Jane transfers to Thornfield, where she works for Mr. Rochester, a wealthy man who owns a mansion equipped with many employees. Jane is able to adapt in an adequate manner between each of these transitions while still holding true to her honorable, resolute character. Because Jane, as an orphan, was not born into a specific social class, she is able to construct an unbiased view of the world thus allowing her to properly adjust to the ambiguity of her social status while continuing to lead a moral life.
Social class often affects the personality that a human being develops. An upper class mentality tends to include an unwavering sense of entitlement and vanity. Such can be seen with the Reed family, who Jane spends the majority of her childhood with. John Reed, the spoiled son of Jane’s guardian, Mrs. Reed, tells Jane that she is not allowed to read their books because she is unworthy of their possessions. This sense of worthlessness that is instilled in Jane from such a young age causes her to feel like she is unwelcomed in the family, and therefore in the social class that they are a part of. Jane often refrains from accompanying the family on their frequent nature walks because she feels that she is an outcast in their family and overall society.
When Jane moves from the Reed residence to the Lowood School, she is suddenly thrust upon a lifestyle of deprivation. The school’s owner, Mr. Brocklehurst, believes strongly in forcing the girls at his school to live in a very hostile environment. This abrupt transition into a lower-class regime is not as difficult for Jane to accept as it may have been for others because she never truly saw herself as part of the upper class. The sense of entitlement that often accompanies the personalities of the wealthy was never instilled in Jane because the Reed family separated themselves from her.
These constant transitions between social classes that set her apart from the rest of society make Jane the strong, independent woman that she is. She is, in herself, her own sector of society. Neither rich nor poor, she stands alone in her social class. The absence of social classes in her life allows her to view the world in a way that most others cannot. She does not judge based on wealth or poverty; she sees the immediate strengths and weaknesses that a person emits and judges them based on their character. This makes her a more open, accepting human being because she has not been scarred by a social class taking over her personality and overall life.