The Victorian Rebel: the Working Woman's Independence in Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Far from the Madding Crowd

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Literary Studies (MA)

Campman, Nadine (2019)

The Victorian Rebel: the Working Woman's Independence in Jane Eyre, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and Far from the Madding Crowd

Master thesis | Literary Studies (MA)

This MA thesis explores the independence of the working heroines in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), Anne Brontë’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (1848), and Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd (1874). The heroines establish and maintain their independence by performing the profession of governess, artist, or farmer, while the love interests threaten the women's independence by encroaching upon their professions. This thesis shows that all three novels are simultaneously ahead of their time in relation to the working women and very much of their time in relation to Victorian conventions.

Independence

Jane Eyre

Far from the Madding Crowd

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall