Jane Eyre was written in 1847, but age of consent laws did not come under intense public discussion in England until the late 1800’s, particularly after an expose on the so-called "White Slave-Trade." In 1885, The Law Amendment Act was passed which raised the age of consent for sex outside marriage from 13 to 16 years of age. However, girls who were perceived as "older than their age." were excluded from the benefits of these laws and many men were not persecuted for breaking this law if they made such claims about her age and appearance. The age at which individuals could marry was less discussed and was based around “physical maturity” (12 years old for girls and 14 for boys). The campaigns around raising the age of consent focused primarily on protecting young working-class girls from the advances of older middle or upper-class men. Although Jane Eyre is 18 when she meets Mr. Rochester, his behaviors are obviously predatory as he takes advantage of her naivety and her having lived an extremely sheltered life. While the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester was acceptable based on standards of the time, it is still important to look at the motives and forms of manipulation underlying their dynamic. 

Works cited:

Lammasniemi, Laura. “‘Precocious Girls’: Age of Consent, Class and Family in Late Nineteenth-Century England.” Law and History Review, vol. 38, no. 1, 2020, pp. 241–266., doi:10.1017/S073824802000005X.

Stephen Robertson, University of Sydney. “Children and Youth in History.” Omeka RSS, https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230.