A traditional woman of Victorian Society was seen as a caring mother and a loving wife. She was born to give and to love. Often, the upper-class women were taught languages and the arts; this made them very well rounded and appealing to the gentlemen. In Jane Eyre, the women characters that are encountered have both traditional and non-traditional characteristics of the Victorian Society.

Eliza and Georgiana Reed were two attractive, traditional young ladies of the Victorian times. Eliza was a true snob, headstrong and selfish. Yet, she was respected because she came from a wealthy home and dressed in a typical manner of the era. Georgiana was time-honored in looks as well as manner. Many people loved her even though she was arrogant and spoiled. She was beautiful with pink cheeks, golden curls, and a colour just as if she were painted. Both girls were obedient to their mother and followed the ways of the upper class. They were well formed, learning from tutors and playing both the piano and the harp. They did not speak to Jane, for she was considered to be on a lesser social level than they.

When Jane returns to Gateshead, to visit her ailing aunt, she finds Georgiana behaving in the same manner as when she left. Georgiana wished to go to London and no longer wanted to stay cooped up in Gateshead. She had blossomed into a voluptuous and beautiful woman. However, Eliza no longer cared for her muslin frocks and scarlet sashes. She dressed in black and was looking for a simple life, possibly as a nun. Eliza and Georgiana maintained themselves as traditional Victorian women.

On the other hand, Bertha Mason is the epitome of untraditional women of the era. Bertha was an insane drunkard who, on her husband s orders, was kept locked up in his home at Thornfield. She often caused mayhem in the house. There were many incidents where Bertha tried to harm Rochester and the others. She burnt Rochester s drapes while he slept and later on, attacked her brother by biting him and stabbing him with a knife. When Bertha finds out that Jane and Rochester are to marry, she takes Jane s veil, in the middle of the night, and puts in on her own head, finally tearing it into two pieces. When recalling the incident, Jane describes Bertha s features as fearful and ghastly, It was a discoloured face- it was a savage face. Finally, Bertha starts a fire at Thornfield and jumps to her death from the top of the house.

In conclusion, the role of women in Victorian society was quite demanding. Only the wealthy were able to maintain what was considered to be traditional and proper. All of the others were deemed untraditional, unusual and out of the ordinary. They were not welcomed in society. Ultimately, the traditional women prevailed as the wives of the gentlemen and the mothers of their children.