Charlotte Bronte, who wrote Jane Eyre, the unforgettable heroine who said those strong, independent and feminist words, was not the first feminist. However, I don’t think it is an accident that the word feminist was coined within five years of her classic novel. I have been thinking about feminism and Jane Eyre lately, and most particularly this, “I am a free human being with an independent will.” The other day, a Washington Post opinion piece focused on how women are expected to surround their ideas and opinions with weak, soothing qualifiers to protect the tender male ego. It imagined famous quotes as said by women complying with the cultural demand that they efface their ideas. It’s funny and painful because it is so true. It is sad that more than 150 years later, a woman saying “I am a free human being with an independent will,” is still revolutionary.
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