Comparative Essay - Austen and Bronte

Persuasion by Jane Austen and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte have one main common point. They both explore the struggles faced by individuals, be it in different ways. In Persuasion, the struggles of individuals are seen through the ideas of society and class, marriage and appearances. Similarly, in Jane Eyre, the struggles of women are also explored through the ideas of society and class, marriage and appearances.

In Persuasion, Austen uses society and class as a main idea to explore the struggles of individuals as it shows the class divide and the struggle to fit in with a changing society. Persuasion is written in a time where the view of society and class is changing and people are having to learn to adapt. Anne shows this struggle for class equality as she tries to stay subjective and fair about people’s rank and position in society, even though her family are not. She struggles to do this as she is constantly put down and it is hard for her to really accept her family is this way.   A quote from Anne that shows this is:
“Anne had never seen her father and sister before in contact with nobility, and she must acknowledge herself disappointed. She had hoped better things from their high ideas of their own situation in life.”
This quote shows that Anne struggles to stay impartial and fair with class and rank in society. Through the use of the voice of the heroine, Austen shows Anne’s opinion thought the use of personal language such as ‘she had hoped’ and ‘acknowledged herself disappointed’. These provide the reader with a snapshot of her true feelings and sadness towards the actions of others. Also from this quote, we are able to perceive that Anne believes that because of their situation they should act differently. Persuasion uses society and class to portray the struggle of the individual through showing the class divide and commenting on the struggle for class equality.

In Jane Eyre, Bronte also uses society and class to explore the struggles of...