Seminar paper from the year 2002 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7 (A-), University of Leipzig (FB Anglistics), course: Romance and Realism, language: English, abstract: At a first reading Jane Eyre may appear a conventional love story, where the two lovers have to overcome many obstacles in order to live together in perfect union. Yet the reader may find himself confused by Jane's rational attitude or by the not very usual happy ending. The book should consequently be read a second time to understand its importance in the context of female emancipation. Through Charlotte Bronte's fiction the heroines carry out their struggle for self-definition and identity, nevertheless at the same time their language and thought mirror the contradictions of Victorian opinion on femininity. The aim of this writing is to underline this aspect of the novel, pointig out precise references to emancipation contained in the book. Therefore the text will be used as a resource for the following reasoning, since it contains hidden explicit declarations of independence.