Jane Eyre, set in 19th-century Britain, presents the contemporary social phenomenon and mentality in the Victorian era. The heroine’s story is extensively based on the life of its author, Charlotte Bronte (b.1816). Jane is an orphan, while Bronte lost her mother at 5. Bronte was sent to a boarding school with poor conditions for a year at 8, which was the prototype of Lowood School in the novel. Bronte was perpetually conscious that she was not pretty (confirmed by her publisher George Smith), echoing Jane’s sensitivity concerning physical appearances. Bronte’s early life paved for her an arduous journey of seeking esteem and provoked a profound influence on her literary universe. Her insightful observation of the class structure and her reflection on womanhood are conveyed through Jane Eyre with the skillful use of literary devices.

      Bronte uses satire to demonstrate the class gap which some people of higher rank try to sustain. In Chapter 6, Mr. Brocklehurst, the master of Lowood School, a dishonest upper-class man who lives an extravagant life in private, shamelessly reveals his toxic doctrine of privation which he uses to manipulate the school girls from impoverished backgrounds. “My mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh,” he states, “to teach them to clothe themselves with shame-facedness and sobriety—not with braided hair and costly apparel...” At this point, Bronte deliberately interrupts the character’s line and inserts a contrasting scene of Brocklehurst’s family arriving. “Mr. Brocklehurst was here interrupted: three other visitors, ladies, now entered the room. They ought to have come a little sooner, to have heard his lecture on dress, for they were splendidly attired in velvet, silk, and furs.” Bronte uses the ironic switch to mock the hypocrisy of Victorian high society represented by Mr. Brocklehurst. However, Bronte doesn’t wish to overturn the social hierarchy, at least not too radically. Jane’s final reunion with Edward Rochester, her romantic interest from the upper class, is followed by her inheritance, coupled with Rochester’s loss of property and perfect body. This ending supports the notion that people aren’t born equal, but they may achieve equality later in life. Bronte’s perspective of equality is based on a similar level of status indicators such as wealth and beautiful physique.

     Bronte also uses symbolism to depict womanhood in the 19th century. Bertha Mason, Jane Eyre’s rival and wife of Rochester, represents the rebellious side that is innate to everyone yet repressed by a social norm that embraces women’s self-repression. Bertha is locked by Rochester in an attic for her “intemperance” while Jane, a “normal” woman, is locked in her subordinate status. Both are oppressed in a patriarchal society that expects women to be inferior to and under the authority of men. Jane’s first impression of Bertha is quite dramatic. “What it 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 animal: but it was covered with clothing, and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face.” Bertha’s monstrous image symbolizes Jane’s propensity for self-expression. The fact that Jane identifies Bertha’s vehement traits but doesn't criticize them suggests that under her demure manner, Jane desires freedom. Nonetheless, Jane chooses to conform to Victorian norms and continues to present herself as a decent, obedient, chaste woman who’s capable of household duties. The plot that Jane withdraws from Rochester to avoid agreeing to be his mistress further enhances the character’s compliance with mainstream morals. Finally, Bertha’s accidental death symbolizes that a woman must lose part of her nature to fit in the sphere of marriage.

    In sum, Bronte portrays the social hierarchy and women’s reflection on their fate in the patriarchal Victorian era through the literary use of satire and symbolism in Jane Eyre. Bronte has her ideological limitations when it comes to the prerequisites of equality and romantic relationship. Nonetheless, her sense of women’s autonomy and her heroin’s fearless attitude toward the higher ranked is ahead of her time.