In Charlotte Bronte’s novel, “Jane Eyre,” one of the main recurring themes is the independence by the female character. Whether it be Jane living her life without having a loving figure as a child, or the fact that she is constantly on the move by herself proves to the reader that she does not need a husband or male figure in her life to tell her what to do. However, this is extremely ironic because even though the character seems independent, in the end, she marries Rochester and becomes a stereotypical Victorian woman.
Jane is constantly moved into different boarding schools as a child; an aspect is mirrored in the author’s personal life. Throughout this time, all the males she is in contact with are very greedy but clean-cut people whose actions only consider themselves; therefore she has no interest in men. The reader would be under the assumption that Rochester would be the same way, but instead Jane falls in love with him. She tries to prove her independence by ignoring the situation and then leaving the estate. The character is so used to being moved that she begins moving herself out of situations.
Her relationship with St. John Rivers is one of a mystery; he wants her to become his wife but she does not fully love him. If Jane was not an extreme feminist, she probably would have seen the good in John, and married him. However, she does not and proves independence to herself for a short while. At the end of the novel, Jane marries Rochester which is completely ironic because their love was a failure and Jane was trying to prove that she did not need anyone. Bronte makes it evident that by sing this ironic theme of feminism that running away from problems will not solve them, and even though one may live their whole life without love, at one point, the emotion will be requested.
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