Defying Patriarchal Oppression in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Susanna White’s Film Adaptation
Patriarchy has sought to subjugate women and consolidate male supremacy throughout history. Unfortunately, the systematic oppression of women also prevailed in the Victorian era. Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë, one of the masterpieces of the Victorian novel, not only displays but also challeng...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Atatürk University
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Literature and Humanities |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/4151180 |
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| Summary: | Patriarchy has sought to subjugate women and consolidate male supremacy throughout history. Unfortunately, the systematic oppression of women also prevailed in the Victorian era. Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë, one of the masterpieces of the Victorian novel, not only displays but also challenges the patriarchal oppression of the Victorian era. Likewise, Jane Eyre (2006), one of the recent film adaptations of Brontë’s novel directed by Susanna White, successfully questions the subordination of women in that era while employing diverse narrative techniques. This study primarily investigates the factors contributing to the oppression of Victorian women, such as gender roles, the objectification and sexualisation of women, clothing, and the male gaze, by referring to several feminist critics and analyses how the novel and the adaptation challenge patriarchal oppression. Next, the study discusses how the nonconformist protagonist Jane Eyre functions to defy the patriarchal norms in these works. The study highlights that both the novel and the film adaptation subvert the patriarchal imposition of the male-dominated order by emancipating the protagonist from being a subordinated woman in Victorian society. |
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| ISSN: | 2822-4779 |