Female independence in three 19th century novels: “Jane Eyre’, Vanity Fair and Middlemarch.
A look at three female novels during the 19th century, Jane Eyre, Becky Sharp, and Dorothea Brooke. The author examines the writers’ refusal to be controlled by the patriarchal society of the time as portrayed in their novels.
“Jane Eyre, Becky Sharp, and Dorothea Brooke have different lifestyles, different expectations, and different beliefs, but share a common personality trait unusual for the time and place in which they were created, in 19th century novels. They are all independent thinkers women who make decisions about their own lives and refuse to be controlled by patriarchal authority, for better or for worse.”