Social Conventions in Jane Eyre and Hedda GablerCharlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre, and Henrik Ibsen's play, Hedda Gabler, were written fifty years ago interval in the late 1800s. Jane and Hedda both exist in the same social contexts. They are middle class women in European cultures. The fact that Jane is penniless for much of the novel does not exclude her from the middle class. Jane and Hedda's experiences, upbringing, and values ​​are all middle class. So it’s no surprise that their words resonate. In details and results, their stories are different. However, it is the constraints of the same social conventions that determine their different destinies. It is the same confusion of social conventions with morality and spirituality that torments their lives. The confusion between social conventions and legal, moral and religious codes of conduct is not a phenomenon unique to the 19th century. It is this same confusion that created Jim Crow laws, anti-homosexual legislation and fueled the debate over abortion rights. The social conventions of the 1800s did not allow middle-class women to live independently. With few exceptions, women left their father's home for that of their husband. It was the father's prerogative to arrange a suitable marriage. In truth, there may be a few to choose from, but any unauthorized selection would have serious consequences for both men and women. Jane Eyre's mother was disowned because she chose to marry an "unapproved" man. Jane would suffer because of this transgression, which occurred before she was even born. After being orphaned, Jane lives with her Aunt Reed. She is continually reminded that she is dependent and is not loved by her middle of paper ......tone: Prentice Hall, 1992. Ellis, Kate and Kaplan, Ann. 19th-century women in cinema: adapting classic women's fiction to cinema. Bowling Green, OH: Popular, 1999Jane Eyre. Real. Christy Cabanne. Perf. Virginia Bruce, Colin Clive and Beryl Mercer. 1934.Jane Eyre. Real. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. William Hurt, Charlotte Gainsborough and Anna Paquin. 1996Jane Eyre. Real. Julien Aymes. Perf. Timothy Dalton, Zelah Clarke. 1983Jane Eyre. Real. Robert Stevenson. Perf. Joan Fontaine, Orson Welles and Margaret O'Brien. 1944Peters, Joan D. “Finding a Voice: Towards a Woman's Discourse in Dialogue in the Narrative of Jane Eyre.” » Studies in the novel. 23 No. 2. (1991): 217-36. Zonana, Joyce. “The Sultan and the Slave: Feminist Orientalism and the Structure of Jane Eyre.” Signs. 18 no 3. (1993): 592-617