Musings on Class and Femininity

            When considering class in the novel, it is important to note that Dickens, unlike Bronte, portrays the real divides of socioeconomics and real tales of trouble and woe, forgiving my cliché description. He depicts the very poor such as Jo and the very lavish and elegant, such as Sir Leicester and Lady Deadlock. Bronte portrays a girl, in this case Lucy, of small fortune but who suffers no considerable hardships other than familial loss, and she is always given a way to make means for herself. Bronte’s focus for her novel’s settings are in serene, clean and pleasant building and property’s surrounded by nature whereas Dickens focus is on the harsh and dirty reality of industrialization, in order to emphasize the growing disparity amongst classes in England’s urban progress. In addition, Dickens characters are vividly distinct and come from all walks of life, and yet are still interconnected in some sort of cosmic way whereas Bronte focuses on mostly middle class domestic women and working men who do not mingle much outside their own social standing. Lucy even goes so far as to call the young disabled girl she is to look after over vacation a “cretin” and that this girl makes her “depressed”. It seems that her judgment of others, based on little evidence, knows no bounds. Now, this is not to say that Dickens does not have characters of judgment by any means, but merely, his portrayal of these types of characters, such as Mr. Tulkinghorn, is not something to be admired, nor are they the protagonist. Overall, Dickens representations of people, no matter their class, is much more realistic and therefore appealing to a reader in that his attempt is to convey people as they are, not as he thinks they are, thinks they should be, or wants them to be.

            Now it is impossible to consider class without exploring the gender roles and divide that accompany class. Unlike, Bronte, who rejected the domestic and motherly duties expected of a woman of no large fortune, she made no attempt at all, to liberate her characters, either Jane or Lucy, from this same fate. Instead, she writes characters who are contented to a life of being told where their place is and how they should live. Dickens does not attempt to break this norm much either, even with Esther who is “abnormal” compared to other women, her only role of trust is as head housekeeper/lady of the house/companion to Ada. This is not much different from Jane or Lucy except that unlike the other two who wish so much independence, Esther is actually pleased to serve others. It would seem to me then that even though the rest of society was in a revolutionary period of economics, of social standing and even the very fiber of how society was organized, women’s roles lagged far behind as they always have and still do. I am truly disturbed by the lack, thus far into the course, of women, either as characters or as authors, speaking out against the unfair and unjust treatment that they receive. I place my hopes now on Esther to reject the role of mother, wife and domestic, but for now, we must wait and see how the novel will unfold.