Victorian Marriage

Victorian Marriage

  • Submitted By: rysso2134
  • Date Submitted: 11/14/2013 9:10 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 1233
  • Page: 5
  • Views: 60

Victorian Marriage

Victorian is defined as having the characteristics usually attributed during the reign of Queen Victoria, such as prudishness and observance of the conventionalities. Charlotte Bronte wrote most her novels in the Victorian Era. Although Bronte herself was a woman in this era, she dejected the expectation of women of not having a voice in society and used the advantage of a pseudo name to critique the Victorian Era in her novel Jane Eyre. This is shown through Bronte’s evaluation on arranged marriages, power relationship between husband and wife, and a women’s expectations of marriage.
In the Victorian Era, marriage was not seen as romantic or fairytale-like as depicted in many novels of that time. On the other hand, love played a very minor role in the majority of marriages that took place. An engagement in the Victorian Era was entered into as one would approach a business deal. In Jane Eyre this is portrayed through Rochester and Bertha’s arranged marriage. Rochester’s father was greedy and he wanted to secure their fortune as well as receiving a large dowry. As for Bertha’s family, they wanted her to marry off quickly because they knew her illness, congenital insanity, would strike soon. The Mason’s gave the Rochester’s money for the arranged marriage so that she was married before the madness of the illness showed. Both Bertha and Rochester were tricked into marriage by their families, especially Rochester who was completely unaware of Bertha’s hereditary illness. Divorce was not seen as a taboo in the Victorian Era, when Rochester becomes informed about Bertha’s illness he has no other choice but to lock her up and keep her confined. Bronte describes her confinement as “In the deep shade, at the farther end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What is was whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight tell: it groveled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild...

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