Trapped: Inequality and Imprisonment in the Bronte Canon

An analysis of three of the Bronte sisters’ works exposes their critique of the patriarchal and imprisoning society in which they resided. Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall all address the issue of female equality. These novels are especially pertinent to analyze as they were all published within a year of the other. The three sisters wrote their works together, acted as readers for each other, and each inspired the other. It will be fascinating to trace how they respond to each other’s characters and plots in their most popular works. Each novel offers a critique of the Victorian social and legal norms that perpetuate the mental and physical imprisonment of women. Marriage and property rights emerge as constant themes in the works of all three sisters, and both notions function as symbols of imprisonment in the Brontë canon