After lying dormant for over two hundred years, Mount Eyjafjallajökull erupted in 2010, scattering ash across western and northern Europe. Thousands of tons of carbon dioxide clouded the skies, sporting and artistic competitions were canceled and air travel ground to a halt. Tourists were left stranded at airports, in shock at the sudden eruption which had such a catastrophic effect on both Europe and the rest of the world. Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre had a similar effect on the mindset of Victorian society, as its publication ended the silence on social justice and triggered an “eruption,” which led to radical reforms. The novel revolves around the moral and spiritual journey of Jane Eyre, an orphan who values ​​freedom and struggles to free herself from the standards of the Victorian era. Brontë satirizes these standards through her portrayal of the lower classes, mental illness, and orphans. Jane is critical of Victorian English society's devaluation of people because of their social position. After Hannah, the housekeeper, refuses her hospitality at the Rivers residence, Jane rebukes her class prejudices: “'But I think little of you,' said I; «and I'll tell you why: not so much because you refused to host me, or because you considered me an impostor, but because just now you gave me a kind of reproach for the fact that I had no "brass" and not even a house. Some of the best people who ever lived have been as destitute as I am; and if you are a Christian, you should not consider poverty a crime'” (Brontë 343). Hannah embodies the typical classist attitudes of the Victorian era. Even though Jane is on the brink of death, Hannah's prejudices hinder her humanity. Through Jane's characterization, Brontë ferociously attacks the social stigma of the attendant......center of paper......Barnes & Noble, 2004. Print.Eagleton, Terry. “Class Restrictions on Jane's Independence.” Social Issues in Literature: Women's Search for Independence in Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2011. 114-17. Print.Iwama, Mia. "The Madness of Bertha Mason in a Contemporary Context." The Victorian Web. Np, March 25, 2003. Web. March 5, 2014. .McMurtry, Jo. "Serve." Victorian life and Victorian fiction. Hamden: Archon, 1979. 166-69. Print.Monks, Katherine E. “Middle Class and Orphan Schools in Relation to Jane Eyre.” The Victorian Web. Np, May 11, 2010. Web. March 7, 2014. .Teacher, Debra. "Madness and Victorian Women: Diagnosis and Treatment." Understanding Jane Eyre. Westport: Greenwood, 2001. 111-47. Press.