On The Rise Of Feminine Consciousness In Victoiran Novels

The Great Britain had achieved a great progress in the industrialization anddemocratization during the reign of Queen Victoria. And their economy and politicshad a rapid development in this period, too. The industrial revolution had changed thelife style of the Great Britain, especially that of the women of the middle class. Manyfemale writers began to write novels and even became very famous for their works.The heroines of their works always advocated some kind of the rise’s feminineconsciousness like Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca in Vanity Fair. CharlotteBronte’s Jane Eyre has long been recognized as a pivotal text for feminism by modernliterary criticism. Charlotte’s treatment of women’s issues and concerns in the novelinclude women’s education, the plight of the governess, the pursuit of equality inmarriage, and the celebration of individual freedom from the view of the workingclass. This novel’s crucial issue is of patriarchy, so a constant struggle for statusequality still exists for women in the Victorian novels.First, this thesis describes the advancement of the feminine consciousness inVictorian period, and the status quo of the middle-class woman’s position. Manywomen redefined their lives’ sphere due to the restriction of the time and space. TheVictorian novels had attached great importance to the rising of the women’s feminineconsciousness. So the mind of the women regarded as house angels in early VictorianPeriod had been changing; after the middle Victorian period, women began to workoutside of home.Secondly, the thesis describes the background of the Victorian novels. Manysignificant changes offer the female writers an opportunity to express their specialfeminine voice, which was advocated in their novels. The feminine consciousnessemerged after the middle of the Victorian Period. At that time, the social revolutiongave women many opportunities to manage their own professional lives and expresstheir consciousness. Many women made a living as a writer and their works containthe feminine consciousness which is the beginning of the feminism theory of the west.Thirdly, the thesis analyzes the main characters of the rise of feminineconsciousness in two aspects by taking Jane Eyre as an example. In the Victorianperiod, the role of woman has many different images which were very popular in thenovels of the great women novelists of that century, reflecting the rising of thefeminine consciousness. Jane’s experiences in different locations and struggles in the reality are specifically analyzed, which explores Charlotte Bronte’s specialperspective on feminine ideas in the patriarchal society.In conclusion, by analyzing the feminine consciousness of the Victorian novels,this thesis shows that women can also seek happiness and freedom by themselvesunder the social limits. The positive characteristic of Jane influences the women ofVictorian period. Bronte seems to suggest a way in which a woman’s quest for loveand a feeling of belonging need not encroach upon her sense of self. She advocatesthe intellectual, spiritual and emotional independence of women, which was notequaled or even surpassed by her contemporary writers. This thesis introduces theeffect of Jane Eyre for the modern society.