Jane Eyre's Message: "Keep Within Compass"

The message of this image "Keep Within Compass" is showing an ideal girl/woman, and she is doing right while the women in the pictures around her are the “troubled women" she is trying not to be like. It gives women hope that as long as they keep within the standards set for them they will obtain peace, happiness and enjoy life. It makes the contrast clear by showing what happens to those who do not follow along as the woman in the middle does. The main woman is keeping within the compass and remaining within the confines of these areas that they are supposed to be working in. It is a very realistic depiction because other than tending to the family they are supposed to depend on the men to work and provide for them. It is also symbolic of the presence that women are supposed to have around men. No woman should be doing the things that the women in the surrounding images are. Society would condemn them to a life of disgust and eternal pity . The symbolism makes it easy to see the contrast of how they should behave and how they should not behave, not only with written words but images as well. The women around the middle picture are seen as having a life with troubles. The top left hand corner is showing a woman who has a baby on her lap and from the way the baby is almost falling out of her lap she is having much trouble. The picture in the top right hand corner is showing a woman who is working as a domestic or tavern worker, these people are not thought very highly of. The bottom left hand corner image is of a woman standing in a street selling things to make her money and again this is not what women are supposed to do. The last image on the bottom right hand corner is of a woman who has probably taken on a life of prostitution. All of these lifestyles around the main image are not ideal and they are not to be followed because they lead to a hard life. They are the "troubled women" because they have engaged in the ways that are not expected of women. By doing so they have fallen upon hard times and now must live in shame and through many hardships. No respect is given to them in the smallest form where as a bit more is given to those who do not step out of their boundaries. One interesting aspect about this image though is not just the pictures of the women themselves but the actual shapes used. The woman who is doing good is placed in a triangle which means much more. The triangle most times is the symbol representing god or holy beings and actions. The woman in the middle is surrounded by this triangle because according to the text she is doing right in god's eyes and being true to what women are expected to do. The women around her are not and they are wrong. This same moral message is in Jane Eyre and we can see that in many ways. The main example is Bertha. She was a crazy woman who lived her life known as a lunatic. As Rochester's wife she was taken care of but still was in the wrong and her life could never be filled with happiness she probably longed for. She ended up having a hard time through it all and could barely even see the light of day. She could be considered one of the troubled women in the images because her life was full of misery.

Ambiguity in the 19th Century

Jane Eyre is a complex character that is on a road to discovery but at the same time knows so much about herself and how she should be according to her society. The role as a governess is something that is just as complex as her inner self but being portrayed for the world to see. In her own emotions she recognizes herself as being intelligent and mentally up to par with the people of the upper classes and could fit there just fine. The only thing that holds her back is her title as governess, this is considered servant work and based on that she is treated as such. A governess's job is to teach children, mostly young girls, academically, socially, and artistically. She has knowledge on how to interact, read, write, behave, and express herself on a level that those of a higher class can, yet because of the title itself she is very limited as to how much she can express to others. Another aspect that keeps her in this lower class is because she is paid as a servant in the house and could never be seen as anything better than that. This portrays the confusion she has internally regarding her place in society. She is no more than a servant yet at some points in the book she compares herself to Miss Ingram. This of course would be a common thought today, yet back then that sort of thing was not even to be considered. To others she would never be able to amount to anything Miss Ingram was because of the societal standards, even though it is clear she was much smarter than her in many ways. She does break the standard norms for people of her time in this exact moment of comparison. Women in her working class are not supposed to step out of the box they are placed in. She is placed in a box where she has to only do her job, be present when necessary, and remain quiet about her thoughts and ideas. Jane expresses her emotions and sometimes wishes to be out of the seen differently by others. The next huge area in which she steps out of the 19th century role for women with this idea for independence she is in search of. She leaves Gateshead for her school and she is searching for her independence through that and in some ways she gains it. When she leaves Lowood for Thornfield Manor she is also gaining that new found freedom she never had before. Each time she moves somewhere she gains a bit more freedom than the last place. Her final place before heading to Ferndean where she ends the novel is Marsh End where she gains the most independence and can learn to be alone and to rely on herself for her needs. Women of this time are not supposed to be this way, they are expected to maintain that dependency on the men around them. All the rules around them make it so that they have no other way but to be dependent. As I recall, we discussed in class how a widows inherited land from the death of her husband is never hers, it is given away and she only gets a small portion of means to survive from it, but that is barely enough. This dependency means that women of this time are to keep relations with men their whole lives, and not rely on their own ideas or work to get them by. She takes these giant strides of independence each time and learns what it really is to be alone and free of a bond or tie to anyone. This is the one idea that sets her free ultimately and she can return to Thornfield. Jane's role is complex; as is her job, her internal emotions, and the role she has to fit into cannot contain these aspects of her character, so she is forced to be conventional and find ways around it. Bronte must have wanted to convey this internal emotion to others through her writing. Charlotte expresses the idea of woman's independence, freedom and autonomy so well through this book by making Jane a person that is a non-conformist. It proves her strength and endurance as well as her maturity. These are all characteristics that people admire and will ultimately model themselves after so she did very well in showing them and making them something restricted females can relate to.

Face-off: 2 versus 5 (or more) Sexes

As the world turns, and as the days go by humans all over the world continue to categorize, divide, and (at least try to)explain everything life has to offer. Animals are grouped based on what they eat, how they stand, their range of motion, size, colors, and most importantly by their sex. Humans, being mammals as well, also are categorized by divisions just in this way. This is by all means a great way to come to conclusions about an animals behavior and way of life. In no means, however, is it a great way to gain an understanding about the actual preferences that each individual has. Sex is such a major part of a humans identity that they strive to understand on a daily basis. Most intelligent societies, for the most part, has been forcefully driven to seek shelter under only one of the two main sex labels in history; male and female.

These two categories attempt to regroup every being in a new way that helps create understanding. An understanding about the sexual differences in humans. In other words, these labels are constricting what society can call an "A subject" and a "B subject." Until recently there have been few additions to the descriptive category but it could still be considered a work in progress. One of the consequences for having such a small system to organize ideas is that there is little room in these areas in which someone can condense the idea of themselves. If you are not in the boxes, you are most definitely out. But what happens if you are neither inside nor outside the box? Very few will gladly make room in their minds for what you want to be understood as. Transgenders, inter-sexual people, gays, lesbians, etc. all have an image in mind of how they want others to view them and it will never be the same as the reality of it. If they are trying to always fit into that same box with no luck, how much more would they possibly stand before they became truly unhappy? Not much. As an example you can try to imagine trying with all your might to squeeze into some pants or clothes that were 5 times too small. How happy would you be seeing that they were not even close to fitting? It is safe to assume you would not be very thrilled about your experience.

Why, you ask?

Because no one wants truly enjoys being uncomfortable. [[If we did we'd probably try to fit an entire Antelope Valley College English classroom into a smart car.]]

So now to an even bigger question... Why wouldn't people accept these new ideas and just wrap their old ideas around them?

It is because humans usually never imagine expanding their range of thinking to include something that might actually be new and helpful. Including more than these two allotted sexes for puts new thoughts in a persons mind and most of them aren't ready to handle that. Having up to 5 of the discovered sexes and maybe including more down the line allows for differentiation of peoples preferences based individually. Morally, not allowing these new ideas to flourish would be detrimental to any future societies because they too will prolong the existence of the prime images of males and females that have shaped people for far too long. This type of action would affect the society by allowing for continuation of discrimination and disregard for those who may feel left out. Problems will continue to be put on hold if no one chooses to recognize that they are time sensitive. Being a human and wanting to just be comfortable in your own skin without change is something every person can relate to. Even though all of the old thoughts have to be rearranged, and it will take some work, it is much easier to have an open mind and accept these new labels. People need to use them appropriately and plan to gain a deeper understanding than what they had in mind. If not, they must choose to prepare for the other consequences that come from not addressing an issue right away. Plain & simple.

Prompt 2: Week 2 - "Multiple Genders" Video Debate

Most people can talk while they walk. Just the same, most people can see with 20/20 vision. And of course, most people can run. Each of these 3 statements takes an action and applies is to a group of people that can perform it. Those that are not mentioned or are not apart of the group are forgotten or disregarded. Each one of these statements include the phrase - "most people" and although our language supports this type of generalization, it is wrong. Being in the majority does not mean that others should be excluded or not mentioned. The small percentage (the "some" group) that cannot perform these tasks are missing their share of perspectives.

An example that this can be related to is of a handicapped person. We describe a person as handicapped to indicate they have a disability that does not allow them these opportunities to run, walk, or see with 20/20 vision. The term is broad and it includes a wide range of disabilities not just the ones mentioned, but my point goes beyond that. The other end of these statements is that there are some people who cannot function to the fullest extent. Saying: "People can categorize themselves into the role as a male or female," is not correct either. What should be considered is all those who fit in, on, or around this specificity. There are just some people who cannot, no matter how hard they try, be one or another. Many of these people wander with no real sense of identity because no room has been made for change other than what has been provided. It should be encouraged then that we have a new open dialogue in which not just males and females exist, but more than that can. This is what we should strive to do as we pull away from the rules and regulations put on our society from people of the past.

The debate in the movie "Multiple Genders: Mind Body and Conflict" brought up some very interesting points about this aspect. One of the debaters seemed to believe that people should try to fit into one or the other, basically having changes made to themselves in order to conform and pick one side to be for the rest of their lives. I do not particularly agree with this person because I think everyone should be able to live with what they are given and not feel ashamed of themselves. If more people are born with darker hair color, those with light hair colors would not be ashamed. So why should people feel ashamed and made to conform for being born with no clear distinction between being a "male" or "female". People today find comfort in being considered male or female; yet there are certain others who would like to be recognized as something different. No change should be needed and no restrictions should be set up for a person to be identified. Many people take pride in what they are and those who don't ever get to feel that pride cannot be weighed down by the strict rules or standards of our society.

The other ideas that interested me about this video debate was the couple that adopted a baby and they were planning on raising the child as an inter-sex couple. They did not want to squeeze themselves into the male and female roles that society claims is the "norm" for parenting styles. I agree that families can take many different forms and this is just one of the ways that can lead to a healthy lifestyle for children. The way to raising a healthy child is not about how much money you can provide them with or about the male and female dynamic involved. It just takes the right kind of attention tailored to each kid.

Instead of only focusing on the inter-sex or gay couples as factors for an unhealthy childhood they should weigh the risk of having many other factors like missing parents, abusive parents, or even uninvolved parents. All of these and many more problems put a child at risk for being raised in the "wrong" way. The people who oppose this type of relationship with parents and children are not thinking clearly about all the potential issues that have nothing to do with gender specifics.