When people think of feminism they usually think of a lot of different ideas. Some think it’s just equal rights for people everywhere regardless of who you are, others think that it’s a movement from independent women. Others think it’s just having women having their own time to shine in the spotlight that is being hoarded by dominant white men. Well, it so happens to be that feminism is all of that. Even throughout all of history, we have seen women go through the same struggles even 50 years in the future where this issue shouldn’t even have to be a problem anymore. The most evident of which is highlighted through media such as the novels “Jane Eyre” and “Wide Sargasso Sea” along with the film “Gaslight” (1940)
To start off Charlotte Bronte’s “Jane Eyre” already carries a lot of feministic themes, which are primarily embodied through the main character Jane. Jane’s struggle for self-definition is evident in her assertive dialogues and inner monologue, where she frequently asserts her equality to men. For instance, her famous proclamation to Mr. Rochester, “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will” (Bronte, 1847), is a powerful declaration of her independence. For the time this book was released it’s astonishing to see how Jane went against the status quo of what women were expected of during that era in history.
The relational dynamics in “Jane Eyre” also reflect feminist themes for its time, particularly through Jane’s interactions with Mr. Rochester. Although their relationship is complex and fraught with power imbalances, Jane’s pursuit of emotional and moral equality challenges the white male-dominated structure of her society. A quote that stuck out to me in particular from an article written in The Adriot Journal goes as follows “Jane Erye could be considered feminist, but only to an extent. This is the crux of the problem, though society has (thankfully) grown enough in the past couple hundred years that what may have seemed incredibly feminist in the 19th century is antithetical to twenty-first-century feminism.”(Adroit) This really stuck out to me because while reading Jane Eyre it is a feminist novel. However, it’s shocking to realize how her actions seemed really feminist at the time the book was released only for now in 2024 for it to seem a lot different than what people expect feminism to be now. A prime example of this would be how Jane has conflicts on whether or not she should still marry Rochester after she figures out he’s been keeping his first wife named “Bertha” who is described to be mentally ill in his attic because he finds Jane to be a much more “suited” wife for him.
Going off of this, Jean Rhys’s “Wide Sargasso Sea” tells the backstory of Bertha, who happens to be a character from the novel “Jane Eyre”. Rhys provides a voice to Bertha, renamed Antoinette in this narrative, highlighting her struggle against the oppressive forces of a white male-dominated world. Antoinette’s tragic descent into madness can be seen as a direct result of her denial of identity, as a colored woman. The feminist themes in “Wide Sargasso Sea” are vivid in Antoinette’s narrative of her marriage to Rochester, who imposes his will and renames her Bertha, erasing her identity. This act of renaming is a powerful metaphor for control over women’s identities and bodies. In this novel it’s Rhys who is challenging the reader to rethink Aitoinettes character and the condition she is in. In Jane Eyre, she is seen as mentally ill and crazy. However, it is only Rochester’s actions inflicted on her identity that made her into the person we get to see in Jane Eyre
Looking at both of the novels “Jane Eyre” and “Wide Sargasso Sea” It’s obvious to look now at how the novels are seen as being feminist. However, it’s vital to think about how it could be just feminist for its time. These novels came out in 1847, and 1966. Obviously, the feminist movement from those times compared to where we are now in 2024 has changed drastically for the better. It’s also vital to think about how has it changed and why.
The 1940 film “Gaslight,” directed by George Cukor, explores the psychological manipulation known as gaslighting. A quote describing gaslighting in 2024 goes as the following “The complexity of gaslighting, the basics comes down to this: The gaslighter is “both trying to make her target think that she’s crazy and actually trying to drive her crazy.”(Stewart, Nytimes) This fits perfectly as the film follows a couple, Paul and Bella, moving into a home after a murder occurred 20 years ago after the house gets moved into by the couple Bella’s imagination starts to run rampant as she begins to misplace things and see lights flicker inexplicably. Bella’s husband Paul starts telling Bella that she’s not well and sends her to bed. Eventually, it gets so bad that Pual keeps her in their room as he begins to get embarrassed to be seen with her in public, and as such Bella takes all of this criticism to heart. It isn’t until later that we figure out all of these things are Paul’s doing as he is slowly trying to convince Bella that she is crazy and telling her what is right and what is wrong, making the title of the film “Gaslight” fit perfectly.
Gaslighting as a term has evolved a lot, a lot like how the feminist movement has evolved. One quote describes it as the following. “Simply put, gaslighting is a form of emotional abuse wherein one person attempts to distort the reality of another person in order to exert control. (Sidney, ilcadav) This quote is important for understanding why gaslighting has such an important part in not only how Paul makes Bella believe a different reality, but also how sometimes in abusive relationships one partner will enforce their ideas onto another making them believe only their side of the story and not allowing them to think what they want to believe.
In all of these sources of media, they all highlight women being told what’s right and wrong. It’s interesting to see how feminism has evolved and changed from 1847 to 2024. We can see as a society how the course of power dynamics through gender has changed and how some have still stayed a part of our world. We need to be better about this and have more open discourse about these type of conversations to make sure that people can be open and heard instead of being suppressed.
Works Cited
DeLeonardo, Sidney. “A Brief History of the Term Gaslighting and the Movie Behind It.” Will You Light the Gas Please?: A Brief History of the Term Gaslighting and the Movie behind It, 2020, http://www.ilcadv.org/will-you-light-the-gas-please-a-brief-history-of-the-term-gaslighting-and-the-movie-behind-it/.
Journal, The Adroit. “Feminist Fridays: What’s the Deal with Jane Eyre?” The Adroit Journal, 25 Apr. 2019, theadroitjournal.org/2019/04/15/jane-eyre-feminism/. Stewart, Dodai. “You’re Not Being Gaslit, Says a New Book. (or Are You?).” The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024, http://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/16/books/review/kate-abramson-on-gaslighting.html.
Sprockets and Springes 