WHAT IS FREEDOM?: TWO DIFFERING VIEWS
             The protagonists in each of the novels Jane Eyre and Lucy desire many things, the most prominent of which is a similar desire to break the bonds cast upon them by their respective societies (and in Lucy's case, bonds of any kind that may restrict her individuality). They both seek to be free to wield power over their own lives and to overcome oppression. Upon the reader's initial meeting of these characters, it is evident that both Jane and Lucy are struggling against their present circumstances and are seeking a different way of life-one in which they are in control. Early in her story, Jane laments, "Why was I always suffering, always browbeaten, always accused, for ever condemned?" (Jane Eyre, 11) Lucy similarly protests:
             On the one hand there was a girl being beaten by a man she could not see;
             on the other there was a girl getting her throat cut by a man she could see.
             In this great big world, why should my life be reduced to these two possibilities?
             Ultimately, both Lucy and Jane desire freedom, although the definition of freedom is vastly different for each of them as is the type of oppression each seeks to escape. Jane seeks freedom from the oppression of social class, and while this is also an underlying theme in Lucy, Lucy's oppression is rooted in a legacy of slavery and colonialism. Nevertheless, Jane's struggle with an oppressive class system in nineteenth century England has many parallels to the struggle of Lucy with an oppressive system based on class and race in twentieth century West Indian culture and America. Jane's ambiguous social position is exemplified in the following excerpt:
             'For shame, for shame!' cried the lady's maid. 'What shocking conduct,
             Miss Eyre, to strike a young gentlemen, your benefactress' son!
             Your young master.' 'Master! How is he my master? Am I a serva...