Jane Eyre Question 5

All throughout Jane Eyre, it never gives a specific time period. But through the details and actions, I would guess it to be set in the 1800s. One thing that really stuck out was the entertainment and the ways of having fun at parties. The two things the people did while visiting Thornfield, were charades and going to a fortune teller. The charades they played was taken very seriously and was detailed. For example, Mr. Rochester and Blanche Ingram were acting out "marriage." For that, they dressed as if they were actually getting married and even had someone be the "pastor" to marry them . The other form of entertainment was going to a fortune teller. When Jane went, there was a scrawny old lady, who then turned into Mr. Rochester. Not only was the form of entertainment during the 1800s different, but the behavior was also different. Back then, if someone misbehaved, they were beaten. Another "weird" thing was that when someone had a party, they stayed for like a week instead of a few hours. The social classes were separated in mainly just two groups, upper and lower classes. Mr. Rochester was upper class and Jane was lower class.

Brontë, Charlotte, Susan Ostrov. Weisser, and George Stade. Jane Eyre. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2003. Print.