Women's education and friendship in Jane Eyre

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to investigate how women were educated during the Victorian period; it will show how Charlotte Brontë incorporates the conditions of the Victorian school, as well as the importance of female friendship, into her novel through the education of Jane, Adéle, and Mary and Diana Rivers in Jane Eyre (1847). Female friendship and female education are related through how women learnt, not only in school, but also through each other. In the novel it is exemplified in how Jane learnt from Helen. This essay will consider the relationship between Jane Eyre and Helen Burns, through the view of education and friendship, in order to find out how their relationship effects Jane; not only who she is but also through what and how she learns, while at Lowood Institution and throughout her life. This essay will argue that Helen has a big effect on Jane and her life, and that their relationship is what helps Jane conform to the Victorian view of women. Through analysing Jane Eyre, this essay will explore how Jane and Helen’s relationship effects Jane, and more generally how women’s education is described in the novel.