Defying Patriarchal Oppression in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre and Susanna White’s Film Adaptation

Year 2025, Issue: 74, 51 - 62, 25.06.2025

Yalçın Erden

https://doi.org/10.55590/literatureandhumanities.1534605

Abstract

Patriarchy has sought to subjugate women and consolidate male supremacy throughout history. Unfortunately, the systematic oppression of women also prevailed in the Victorian era. Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë, one of the masterpieces of the Victorian novel, not only displays but also challenges the patriarchal oppression of the Victorian era. Likewise, Jane Eyre (2006), one of the recent film adaptations of Brontë’s novel directed by Susanna White, successfully questions the subordination of women in that era while employing diverse narrative techniques. This study primarily investigates the factors contributing to the oppression of Victorian women, such as gender roles, the objectification and sexualisation of women, clothing, and the male gaze, by referring to several feminist critics and analyses how the novel and the adaptation challenge patriarchal oppression. Next, the study discusses how the nonconformist protagonist Jane Eyre functions to defy the patriarchal norms in these works. The study highlights that both the novel and the film adaptation subvert the patriarchal imposition of the male-dominated order by emancipating the protagonist from being a subordinated woman in Victorian society.

Keywords

Jane Eyre , Film Adaptation , Victorian Women , Patriarchal Oppression

Charlotte Brontë’nin Jane Eyre Romanında ve Susanna White’ın Film Uyarlamasında Ataerkil Baskıya Meydan Okunması

Abstract

Patriyarka kadınları tarih boyunca boyunduruk altına almaya ve erkek üstünlüğünü pekiştirmeye çalışmıştır. Ne yazık ki, kadınların sistematik bir baskı altında tutulmasına Viktorya döneminde de devam edilmiştir. Viktorya dönemi romanının başyapıtlarından biri olan Charlotte Brontë’nin Jane Eyre (1847) adlı romanı, Viktorya dönemindeki patriyarkal baskıyı sergilemekle kalmaz, aynı zamanda bu baskıya meydan okur. Benzer şekilde, Brontë’nin romanının son dönem sinema uyarlamalarından biri olan, Susannah White’ın yönettiği Jane Eyre (2006), farklı anlatı teknikleri aracılığıyla o dönemdeki kadınların ikincilleştirilmiş koşullarını başarılı bir şekilde sorgulamaktadır. Bu çalışma temel olarak toplumsal cinsiyet rolleri, kadınların nesneleştirilmesi ve cinselleştirilmesi, kıyafetler ve eril bakış gibi kadınların ikincilleştirilmesine yol açan faktörleri çeşitli feminist eleştirmenlere atıfta bulunarak sorgulamakta, romanın ve film uyarlamasının Viktorya dönemi kadınlarının baskı altında tutulmasına nasıl meydan okuduğunu incelemektedir. Çalışma daha sonra, bu eserlerdeki nonkonformist başkahraman Jane Eyre’in patriyarkal normlara nasıl karşı çıktığını tartışmaktadır. Bu çalışma hem romanın hem de film uyarlamasının, başkahramanı Viktorya dönemi toplumunda ikincil plana atılmış bir kadın olmaktan kurtararak erkek egemen düzenin dayatmalarını altüst ettiğini vurgulamaktadır.

Keywords

Jane Eyre , Flm Uyarlaması , Viktorya Dönemi Kadınları , Patriyarkal Baskı

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