Charlotte Brontë's novel, "Shirley", was written in 1849. Although this novel is secondary in terms of quality and popularity, it addresses many social issues and dilemmas of Bronte's time, such as business, religion and, above all, the gender inequality that women faced throughout the Victorian period. The majority of this story concerns two women, Shirley Keeldar, who is the main character, and Caroline Helstone, another very prominent character. These two women come from very diverse backgrounds and social statuses and yet this is what leads them to in-depth conversations on the social issues of the 19th century. In Charlotte Brontë's feminist work, "Shirley", the conversations between the characters, the evolution of the main character, Shirly Keeldar, and the time in which the novel was published all contribute to creating Brontë's feminist work . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “Shirley” is a novel that seeks to promote and express what 19th century women endured and experienced socially. This novel does not undermine women's issues, but rather illustrates them and expresses how things need to change to not only increase women's livelihoods, but also to improve society as a whole. A quote that illustrates this theory is found on page 164: “If men could see us as we really are, they would be a little astonished; but the most intelligent, the most perceptive men often have illusions about women: they do not read them in a true light: they misunderstand them, both for good and for evil: their good wife is a strange thing, half doll, half angel; their bad wife is almost always a demon” (Brontë 164). This quote is powerful because it demonstrates that the way men perceive women affects everything. This indicates that when men take the time to see women for who they really are, they would be amazed, but men saw women as too good but lacking in substance or abilities. This is also reflected in the many discussions Shirley and Caroline have throughout the long novel. Caroline is a fairly poor woman who was raised by a male figure, her uncle. In contrast, Shirley is a woman who was given an inheritance and an entire business. She is independent and has the economic capacity and social status to live like this, while Caroline is confined to her uncle's dependency. These two very different upbringings are expressed in the way they live and also in the way they perceive their lives as women. The different points of view are illustrated through this short conversation which takes place on page 171: "'Caroline,' Miss Keeldar asked abruptly, 'wouldn't you like to have a profession, a trade?' “I wish it fifty times a day. As it is, I often wonder why I came into this world. I long to have something absorbing and compelling to fill my head and hands and occupy my thoughts. '[….] But forced labor and learned professions, they say, make women masculine, crude, unfeminine.'” (171). This conversation directly addresses how women felt and were perceived in the 19th century. While also explaining how society viewed women who had ambition and pursued the profession they desired, as “masculine” and “rude”. To pursue a career or complete a task requiring workpainful, women almost had to give up their femininity. This theme and idea continually appears throughout the novel that women are not seen for who they truly are but only for what men desire them to be and instead of pursuing individual careers and goals , women sought to marry and “court” a man. A second aspect that shows this to be a feminist novel is the main character, Shirley, herself. Many critics feel that Bronte did not involve the main character enough in the story, but her character, Shirley, still emanated many of the feminist views and obstacles that women of that era faced. Shirley's background and education allowed her to break the standards that society had set for women. For example, she grew up in a very wealthy family, who hoped to have a son to carry on the family name and receive their assets after his death. However, after eight years of marriage, they realized that Shirley was everything they wanted. be able to bear it, and they decided to grant him the same rights as a son. This was a transitional time for Shirley's life, as much of the Victorian era focused on gender separation and social class, meaning women were often expected to become a husband's wife wealthy in order to achieve social status and economic stability. However, Shirley did not need a husband to become economically stable or advance in social classes, as she owned her own property in a society where traditionally women could not entertain without a husband. Yet despite her financial stability and her own assets, it was still against societal norms to pursue a career, and she began to reflect on her own life realizing this in her thought process on page 293: "'I feel that there is something wrong somewhere. I believe that single women should have more to do – a better chance of pursuing an interesting and profitable profession than they have now […] Look at the many families of girls in this neighborhood […] the brothers of these girls are all in business or in professions; they have something to do. Their sisters have no earthly employment other than domestic work and sewing, no earthly pleasures except useless visits, and no hope, in their lives to come, of anything better. This state of stagnation causes their health to deteriorate. They never get well, and their minds and vision narrow until they become wonderfully narrow” (293). With these thoughts, she began to criticize society itself, both men and women, claiming that it is degrading to women that the only respectable position a woman can obtain is that of a wife. And on the other hand, that women degrade themselves by using methods to entrap and trap husbands: “'The great wish, the only objective of each of them is to marry, the majority will never marry; they will die as they live now. They plot, scheme, dress to trap husbands. The gentleman ridicules them; they don't want it; they hold them at a very low price” (294). In this quote she again highlights the fact that men do not see the value in women, as stated in the first quote, and also how women degrade themselves by seeking only the materials and skills that make them worthy defenders of women's lives, and yet do not do so. look for talents or characteristics that will move them forward in life and make them people of value, not just women whoare just looking for a husband and striving to have a husband. Charlotte Brontë focuses on this theme and develops it throughout her novel, encouraging women to be more independent, to pursue a profession, and to break the social expectations and restrictions placed on women in the Victorian period. In order to express and show this in a relevant way, Brontë creates her main character Shirley, who faces social ridicule and is pursued by many suitors, because society believes that she should not live alone or manage her own business. ; nevertheless, she does so, and succeeds, by sending a message to society that women can still be feminine and desirable while pursuing professions and dreams of their own. Finally, as already mentioned above, the time period in which the author of “Shirley” lived, affected the production of this novel and helped make it the feminist novel that it is to this day. Charlotte Brontë, for example, was a middle-class citizen, so even though she grew up in a wealthy household, she still had to earn a living if she didn't marry, and the only option for women was to be governess or a housewife in the Victorian era, so she became a governess. Which led to and increased her love for her writing career, and although she was very opposed to marriage and violently opposed and rejected a proposal from Reverend Nicholls, ultimately, due Societal pressures, her opposition to marriage weakened and despite claiming she did not love him, they married in 1854. This was also an additional problem facing the Victorian era: marrying for societal reasons or for financial stability, rather than for love. Marriage was logical and almost a necessity for women if they wanted to thrive in life and make a difference in the world around them. For this reason, Brontë's works often featured independent women and women married for love, both areas highly frowned upon in the 19th century, and although she was unable to advocate for women's rights outside of her writings , she was able to directly address the issue of gender inequality in this novel and showed the flaws in the thinking of the society she lived in. “Shirley,” taken as a whole, is a feminist work and forces readers to think about societal norms and gender. differences. This allows readers to see not only the flaws in Bronte's period, but also in their own period. It pushes readers not only to understand that change must occur, but also that thought without action does not bring reform. The main character, Shirley, was blessed with a life in which she had the ability to live independently and she did so by acting with the grace and class of a true lady. Yet in the end, Shirley still marries Louis. This expresses how marriage is not bad or weak, but rather takes into account the idea that when women become dependent on it and it is their only purpose for living, that is when women are degraded and considered inferior. Shirley marries a man outside her social class and for love, and her friend Caroline also marries for love, with a man outside her class, Robert. This shows that women can still marry, but not just to increase and elevate their social and financial status, but for love, and that furthermore, women can marry outside of their social status. It is revolutionary and gives women value and purpose as they no longer marry to survive but rather for pleasure and. 2017.