Jane Eyre and Hard Times as Bildungsroman Novels. This essay examines the traditional bildungsroman novel, using the examples of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and Charles Dicken's Hard Times.

The traditional Bildungsroman novel is autobiographical in form and displays similarities with the author's own life, mostly with regard to childhood experiences. The novel displays a single individuals growth and development within the context of a defined social order. In most cases the protagonist is orphaned and experiences some form of loss or discontentment in order to spur them away from the family home or setting. The education of the main character is another aspect, …

…were made by men and were allowed to be broken by men. Rochester is allowed to take mistresses, which is accepted in society but if had Jane become his mistress, she would have been considered an immoral woman. Brocklehurst expected the patrons of his school to look plain, yet his own wife and children were decked with frills and curls. Bronte suggests that Victorian society promoted values that were one sided and treated women unjustly.