Fifty years before the publication of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Mary Wollstonecraft published The Vindication of the Rights of Women, a preeminent piece of feminist philosophy and one of the first in the gender. . This piece aims to analyze popular Enlightenment ideals and sentiments that were discussed by prominent intellectuals and apply these same ideas to women. She argues that women are rational beings capable of complex and interesting thoughts, but that they have faced many obstacles in being able to fully develop these thoughts. She also claims that the only reason men think women are simplistic beings is because society has molded them to be simplistic and to care about frivolous and superficial matters. She pays particular attention to the power of education to change this trend for the better, arguing that if given the same opportunities as men in the educational sector, women would be fully capable of achieving the same intellectual abilities as men. men. In Jane Eyre, Bronte reinforces the argument that women are capable and rational beings through the narrative of Jane, the protagonist, a strong woman who achieves equality through education despite her social class and gender. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayJane, after arriving at Thornfield, has a scene in the attic that really begins to depict her views on expectations tied to his gender also his personal opinions on the matter. She identifies the problem that “women are expected to be very calm in general; but women feel exactly what men feel; they need as much as their brothers exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts. In this statement, she not only highlights the expectation that women cannot actively demonstrate passion, but also establishes equality between herself and her metaphorical brothers. This section also begins to show Jane's maturation. She can think about these ideas without becoming too passionate or angry. Later in the same section, she describes in more detail the menial tasks expected of women. These things include “making puddings and knitting stockings, playing the piano and embroidering bags”. Much like Wollstonecraft in Vindication, Brontë here shows her disgust at the way men mock the folly of women, the same madness they have instilled in their heads through lack of equal opportunity. This idea directly aligns with Wollstonecraft's idea that women "acquire good manners before morality, and a knowledge of life before they have, by reflection, any knowledge of the broad outlines of human nature." This section of the attic is the first time Bronte shows how sick she is of society and its unreasonable expectations of women. As an author, she often faced discrimination in her work and chose to use a pseudonym instead of her birth name. This makes perfect sense, as the very idea that women could be rational beings was being debated at that time. It would be almost inconceivable for people of that time to recognize Bronte's genius. Another section that takes Wollstonecraft's words directly is the proposal scene in the garden with Rochester. Here he plays with his emotions to elicit a reaction. He tells her he will marry Miss Blanche and thinks it would be better if Jane went to Ireland to be governess to another little girl.Immediately, Jane is fired up and declares, “I tell you I have to go!” » I retorted, excited by something resembling passion. “Do you think I can stay and become nothing to you? O do you think I'm an automatism? – a machine without feelings? And can you bear to have my piece of bread snatched from my lips and my drop of living water to flow from my cup?' » Here, Jane lets passion take hold of her, something a true society lady would never think of doing. It highlights Jane's unnaturalness as a character and a woman, the type of character that only a female author could have produced during this period. She was educated in many ways due to her lonely childhood. So there is immediately a distinction between her and upper-class women who have been taught domestic tasks that are easily undermined because they do not apply to the public sector. This also creates a kinship between the character of Jane and Mary Wollstonecraft. In her time, she was also considered an unnatural woman for seeking education beyond common household chores and for educating her daughter in the same way. The scene continues with Jane pleading "Do you think that because I am poor, obscure, simple and small". , am I soulless and heartless? – You think wrong! – I have as much soul as you and as much heart! And if God had blessed me with some beauty and much wealth, I would make it as difficult for you to leave me as it is now for me to leave you. I am not speaking to you now through customs, conventions, or even mortal flesh: it is my spirit speaking to your spirit. This quote directly aligns with the popular notion that if a woman is not outwardly beautiful or appears disadvantaged, she must lack some sort of virtue. This fits with the religious convention of the elect and the idea that members of the elect will manifest through earthly blessings such as beauty and grace. Wollstonecraft also addresses the idea of ​​virtue in Vindication, asserting that virtue is universal and not relative. She argues that, given men's position within society, virtue becomes an easier property to obtain; men are autonomous and do not bend to the will of their father and husband like women do. Wollstonecraft argues that without choice one cannot be virtuous, and therefore women cannot be virtuous. This is the main reason why Wollstonecraft is so adamant about women's education: she believes that her salvation and chance at heaven may be threatened by her position within society. Jane, who practices her own brand of Christianity based on equality before God, would likely share the same views as Wollstonecraft, although to a less extreme extent. She believes that men and women are equal in virtue, but she herself has been disadvantaged within society due to her economic status and gender. This quote states that under God, Rochester is his undeniable equal. When she speaks to him from her spirit, her essence, she does not speak through the mouth of a woman, but through the mouth of another human being. Her passion is so strong that it leads her to ignore the social and gender barriers imposed on her and address him through her spirit. This quote also raises an important idea about class. Jane, in many ways, is not fit for marriage. Although she was raised by a fairly wealthy family, she herself is an orphan with no clear lineage to wealth. She works as a governess, so a woman who must assume all the expectations,.