Victorian Webquest - Jane Eyre

1. Victorian Women

What was the ideal Victorian woman like? 

https://www.history.com/news/5-things-victorian-women-didnt-do-much

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/womens_work_01.shtml

https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gender-roles-in-the-19th-century

http://webpage.pace.edu/nreagin/tempmotherhood/fall2003/3/HisPage.html

2. Victorian Education

What was education like during the Victorian Era, especially for girls? 

https://www.bl.uk/victorian-britain/articles/education-in-victorian-britain

http://www.victorian-era.org/childrens-education-in-victorian-era.html

3. The Victorian Governess

What was the role of the governess? 

https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/the-figure-of-the-governess

http://www.victorian-era.org/governess-victorian-era.html

4. A Controversial Heroine

Read the following quotation from Gaskell's biography of Charlotte Brontë (chapter XV):

    She (Brontë) once told her sisters that they were wrong—even morally wrong—in making        their heroines beautiful as a matter of course. They replied that it was impossible to make        a heroine interesting on any other terms. Her answer was, 'I will prove to you that you are        wrong; I will show you a heroine as plain and as small as myself, who shall be as                      interesting as any of yours.'

     A. What does this quotation reveal about Brontë's intentions for the character Jane Eyre? How           did she wish to create a heroine that stood out among other Victorian literary characters?

     B. Did Brontë achieve her goal? 

Some critics found the character of Jane Eyre morally reprehensible. Visit the following link to read Elizabeth Rigby's review of the novel, which appreared in the 1948 magazine, The Quarterly Review.  The article cites the author of Jane Eyre as Currer Bell, Charlotte Brontë's male pseudonym. Scroll down the document about two-thirds and read the two paragraphs beginning with the line "We have said that this was the picture of a natural heart" (or use Edit —> Find to search the page for this paragraph).

     C. Of what sin does Rigby claim that Jane is guilty?

     D. What evidence does Rigby choose from the novel to support her criticism?

     E. In Rigby's opinion, how should Jane have acted under her circumstances?

5. The Proof is in the Pudding

     A. Read the first three paragraphs of Chapter 1 in Jane Eyre . What words does Jane use (as               the first person narrator) to assert from the beginning that she is considered "unworthy" in             the Reed household?

     B. Include quotes (snippets)from the first three paragraphs that support the idea of Jane's                    "unworthiness."

     C. Divide another sheet of paper in half vertically (T-Chart). Title one side "Support for Rigby's             claims" and the other "Support against Rigby's claims"

     D. Read Chapters 1–4 from Jane Eyre Jane Eyre  and look for evidence to support and refute                Rigby's claims about Jane. Record evidence (snippets are fine but include page numbers)                on your T-Chart under the appropriate column.

This is due Monday, November 26, at the beginning of class. Remember, hand-written, not typed!