What made the novel scandalous?
- Rochester telling Jane about his mistresses (see Chapter XV) and suggesting that Jane become his mistress.
- Rochester and Jane meeting alone, unchaperoned.
- Questioning of class conventions: ‘I have not yet said anything condemnatory of Mr. Rochester’s project of marrying for interest and connections. …’ (see Chapter XVIII).
Andrea, first asked, then enlightened us on why Jane kept refusing proposal of marriage. As an unmarried woman, she had some few rights that she would lose once she tied the knot. Married women during the Victorian Era:
- could not own property
- could not sign legal documents
- could not vote
- could not divorce
- had know right to their own children (even if the husband abandoned her)
- were classified with minors and the mentally impaired
An unmarried women retained these rights:
- ownership of property
- execution of legal documents
- recognition by the courts in legal matters
Jane was understandably hesitant and unwilling to let Rochester dominate her and explains why she set up so many little rules before agreeing to marry him.
At this point in her lecture, Andrea accepted a few questions from readers in the group. One asked to compare the just stated English laws towards women against those in the United States during that time. Andrea replied that even in the States laws were a patchwork quilt between the states and the territories, creating many controversies between the independent pioneers heading west and the conservative status quo back east. ‘The more Wild West it was, the more rights for women in the U.S.’
Another question asked if Jane Eyre enjoyed the same popularity in the United States. Andrea confirmed the novel enjoyed wild success across the Atlantic, but mostly through pirated copies that resulted in a loss of royalties to Charlotte. On the heels of that thought, another reader asked if the U.S. was fascinated because of removal of class tensions? Andrea related to us that the East Coast and the South comprised ‘Victorian America’ and strove to emulate British society, or at least considered itself not as cultured as our cousins across the pond. Throughout the 1840s and 50s, there was a sense in America that we didn’t have much to offer ourselves culturally, and that British art, novels, poems, plays, etc. must be better.
Another reader remarked how similar Little Women felt in comparison to Jane Eyre. Another reader thought the Boston and New York literary scene should have competed better with such giants as Thoreau and Poe, but Andrea noted those same male authors complained they couldn’t make a living as an author due to all those ‘scribbly women.’ Most of the American authors wrote essays or poetry. Andrea suggested reading the periodical Harper’s Magazine to get a sense of the angst prevalent in American literature in the Victorian era. Many American male authors fled the country to Europe, become ex-pats, to pursue the writing career more satisfactorily.
Wonderful, informative post.
Villette is one of my all-time favorites.
Gorgeous pictures, but I thought it was Elizabeth and Maria who fell ill at school and died influencing that story line in Jane Eyre? Emily and Anne lived until they were about 30. There were also six siblings, not four.
I wondered that myself. Perhaps I just can’t read my own handwritten notes from the lecture last night.
I received an e-mail from the lecturer last night with corrections so I’ve updated the background section to reflect those changes.