Notions of Beauty

"I ought to have replied that it was not too easy to give an impromptu answer to a question about appearances; that tastes differ; that beauty is of little consequence, or something of that sort" (203, Bronte)

Throughout the novel Jane Eyre thus far, notions of external, surface beauty and attractiveness have been recurring themes in the way Jane perceives both herself and the society which surrounds her. Much unlike other female protagonists of novels in the 19th century, such as Emma from Emma and Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice, Jane is explicitly described as an unattractive woman. References to her below-average looks come in the form of direct, first person narrative, as well as in dialogue with the other characters of the novel. Jane’s awareness of her unattractiveness is particularly sad when she realizes that perhaps her life would have been far easier if she were beautiful. “I sometimes regretted that I was not handsomer: I sometimes wished to have rosy cheeks, a straight nose, and small cherry mouth; I desired to be tall, stately, and finely developed in figure…yet I had a reason, and a logical, natural reason, too” (166). It is often said that pretty people somehow have more success in the world, simply because people are more receptive to those who are pleasing to the eye. There are exceptions, of course, but in some ways this proclamation makes sense.

            Even Bessie, who was the only pleasant person to be found in the Reed household, admits to Jane that because of her below-average attractiveness, expectations for her future successes were not high: “…you are genteel enough; you look like a lady, and it is as much as I ever expected of you: you were no beauty as a child.” Jane must instead learn to further herself through cleverness, knowledge, restraint, and a willingness to be of service to others.

            As the novel progresses, however, Charlotte Bronte does something interesting: she makes her two most intriguing and clever characters distinctly unattractive. Mr. Rochester, too, is described as having rougher, not conventionally attractive features, including a “decisive nose more remarkable for character than for beauty” (190). While Georgiana Reed and later, Blanche Ingram, are described as being quite beautiful and residing within the upper class, they are characters both Jane and her readers quickly dislike. Beauty suddenly emerges as being quite unremarkable, after all, which is a new idea to
ponder within the gender roles and society constructs of 19^th century Britain.  With beauty comes a sort of emptiness in Jane Eyre, despite the superficial things it promises. Jane develops this new belief as she falls deeper in love with Mr. Rochester, yet she has the original revelation early in their relationship. “I am sure most people would have thought him an ugly man; yet there was so much unconscious pride in his port; so much ease in his demeanor; such a look of complete indifference to his own external appearance; so haughty a reliance on the power of other qualities, intrinsic or adventitious, to atone for the lack of mere personal attractiveness; that in looking at him, one inevitably shared the indifference...” (204) Because Mr. Rochester is the first character we have met that is successful, smart, clever, worldly and wealthy without being outwardly attractive, Jane realizes that she, too, may learn to ignore this small, insignificant flaw in both of them. A lack of beauty, therefore, transforms from the one thing holding her back, and consistently shaming her, into something she can both ignore and overcome on the path to something far greater.