Respond to the following prompt by writing a comparitive essay of at least 750 words. Jane Eyre was first published under the pseudonym of "Currer Bell." Ten years earlier, Charlotte Brontë sent a sample of her work to the Poet Laureate of the time, Robert Southey. His reply gives us an insight into society’s opinion of women writers in 1837:

“ . . . Literature cannot be the business of a woman’s life, and it ought not to be. The more she is engaged in her proper duties, the less leisure she will have for it, even as accomplishment and a recreation. To those duties you have not yet been called, and when you are you will be less eager for celebrity . . .”

Explain how both the author and her character represent “the outsider,” the free spirit struggling for recognition and self-respect in the face of rejection by a class-ridden and gender-oriented society.

Be sure to:

cite at least three examples from the novel to support your thesis
cite at least two points from your webquest chart to support your thesis
cite at least two additional outside sources to support your thesis
utilize MLA format to reference and cite your sources (click here to view the MLA Style Guide)