Female Standards in Jane Eyre

What the higher class teenage girls would've been wearing.
https://victorianchildren.org/victorian-dress-and-victorian-style-clothing/

What the poorer girls would've been wearing.
http://www.victorian-era.org/victorian-era-girls-costumes.html

reading source: http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/janeeyre/7.html

Reread the following passages and complete the task that follows:

“And, ma’am,” he continued, “the laundress tells me some of the girls have two clean tuckers in the week: it is too much; the rules limit them to one.”

“Julia Severn, ma’am! And why has she, or any other, curled hair? Why, in defiance of every precept and principle of this house, does she conform to the world so openly—here in an evangelical, charitable establishment—as to wear her hair one mass of curls?”

“Naturally! Yes, but we are not to conform to nature; I wish these girls to be the children of Grace: and why that abundance? I have again and again intimated that I desire the hair to be arranged closely, modestly, plainly. Miss Temple, that girl’s hair must be cut off entirely; I will send a barber to-morrow.”

“(T)hree 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. The two younger of the trio (fine girls of sixteen and seventeen) had grey beaver hats, then in fashion, shaded with ostrich plumes, and from under the brim of this graceful head-dress fell a profusion of light tresses, elaborately curled; the elder lady was enveloped in a costly velvet shawl, trimmed with ermine, and she wore a false front of French curls.”

Analyze the author’s use of irony in describing Mr. Brocklehurst’s family in the second passage. How does the author contrast this description with Mr. Brocklehurst’s lecture to Miss Temple to provide social commentary on perceptions of class during this time? 

After lecturing Miss Temple about the girls' hair and clothing, Mr. Brocklehurst's female family members enter the room dressed in the most elegant fashion of their time period. Following the Victorian Era style, their hair is curled and they are wearing animal-based accessories. Some of the girls were not even wearing their own hair.

The ironic thing about this is that it basically shows how hypocritical Mr. Brocklehurst is of the institution girls' lifestyles. Essentially, he does not follow the guidelines of the phrase "you practice what you preach". The looming question is - Why does Mr. Brocklehurst let his own family dress like this if it is supposedly going to have them "deemed unvirtuous and heathenistic"? Does he not care whether his own blood "disobeys God"?

This shows the discrepancy between the classes during the time period. Those in power controlled those of the lower classes. Because Mr. Brocklehurst provides for the poor girls, his word must be obeyed in the institution. This was a major problem of the past because whoever paid for you, basically had jurisdiction over you. In this case, one man is implementing his beliefs on an entire generation of girls, simply because he can. This just goes to discern how age, gender, and class played a major role in distinguishing between the "haves" and "have-nots", as well as one's freedom of creed.

Just as in the Canterbury Tales, Christianity is obviously a staple of this society. This comes as no surprise obviously as the story is based in 18th century England. Not only does it cause problems in the ways in which the different genders are seen, but the wealthier are able to manipulate and implement the religion as they please. In this case, Mr. Brocklehurst is able to force the girls to depict what he believes is a virtuous way of life for a woman. This means that he has been making sure that the girls do not partake in any sinful activities. The specific sin he is preaching against in this reading is vanity. What is ironic is that he preaches not going against what God has provided for oneself and specifically not being ungrateful about how he has made one look in this case, yet when a girl with naturally curly hair is brought up he claims that "one must not conform to nature". He contradicts himself within the same passage. He doesn't want the girls to conform to society and be vain, yet it is not okay for the girls who naturally look the way society does to be the same. For example, he is basically stating it's not okay for the naturally curly-haired girl to look like his teenage girls/family. I don't know if this is because he doesn't feel that a child of the lower class should not be able to look like them or if his behavior is actually rooted in his Christian beliefs but either way it holds the lower class girls to a different standard in his eyes.

While Chaucer upholds women in the Canterbury Tales, the characters of Jane Eyre shoot them down and show the specific gender roles that were expected of that time period. In this case, poorer women were meant to serve and be pure/virtuous, while wealthier women were conditioned to look pretty and bare children. It can be seen in the images that the clothing worn by the wealthier girls accentuates their curves and makes their waists tinnier as a way to attract men, while the poorer girl's clothing is modest and functional for servant duties. Basically, class manipulated the ideological/religious standards women were held to. The author is commenting on the categorization of women through the use of Mr. Brocklehurst's harsh principle which can be tied to Christianity. Overall, Christianity can be seen as an outlet for men to "keep women in their places" as well as an outlet for them to distinguish between the classes. This being shown as them implementing a physical way to be able to tell what class a woman is in through clothing/appearance.