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In Charlotte Bront’s Jane Eyre, Edward Rochester is legally unable to dissolve his marriage to Bertha Mason because of the constraints of Nineteenth-century English legislation. Divorce was exceedingly troublesome and costly to acquire, requiring an Act of Parliament. This authorized hurdle was primarily accessible to the rich elite, and even then, proof of adultery on the spouse’s half, or a mixture of different severe offenses on the husband’s half, was obligatory. Merely wishing to finish a wedding on account of incompatibility or a spouse’s psychological sickness, as was the case with Bertha, was inadequate grounds.

The close to impossibility of acquiring a divorce for somebody in Rochester’s social standing, who was not exceptionally rich or politically related, highlights the restrictive nature of marriage legal guidelines through the Victorian period. It underscores the restricted company afforded to people trapped in sad or unsuitable unions. Moreover, the authorized system closely favored males, making it much more difficult for girls to provoke or efficiently navigate divorce proceedings. The absence of authorized recourse considerably formed the characters’ actions and the general narrative arc of the novel.

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