The Bluestocking 2023-24

Camryn Nowak Grade 12 Comparing Jane Eyre and Hamilton Through the Feminist Lens

French socialist Charles Fourier brought attention to the importance of feminism in the 19th century and called for women to break free of the chains the patriarchy has locked them in. The idea of feminism was just starting to grow when English novelist Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre was published. Bronte’s novel was revolutionary from a feminist literary perspective: it is told from the perspective of a strong woman who, despite being a working class governess, fights to be released from the limits and expectations of gender and class of her times. This bold feminist approach can be contrasted with Hamilton, the musical by Lin Manuel Miranda, which is a modern retelling of the story of Alexander Hamilton and his role in the American Revolution, where female’s voices are not as present. Though Jane Eyre and Hamilton both uphold the patriarchy through presenting the stereotypical idea of women, and challenge it by including strong-minded women, the details of the characters and the time period they were written in demonstrate that Jane Eyre challenged the patriarchy the most. Blanche Ingram is an example of a stereotypical woman in Jane Eyre. “Miss Ingram” and her high society mother and sister are invited to stay as guests at Thornfield-Hall. Miss Ingram is described as a beautiful upper-class woman. Miss Ingram is presented as Mr. Rochester’s love interest and a woman suited to marry a man of his stature. Jane criticizes how fake Miss Ingram is with Rochester, “Surely she cannot truly like him. If she did, she need not coin her smiles so

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