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    Jane Eyre Chapter

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    Mohammad World

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    CHAPTER 3 Reading Jane Eyre by Delia da Sousa Correa and Jessica Davies Introduction Jane asset ride and Pri sone ate nos. acted aes Je a ad ng place to tet ess abo he gone fe Bgl ton So ptr scnsesaprer ver famous Du ery dle tea ove gu by Cte Bont Trou lose fangs oF an ie chapters anda std oft ara eas the novel eon a theme hs chet eal explore et Lye ine contest ofthe reals ar tbe ne way a er his. concern wih now deren genres ca Uren re perk at that end we wl const te Interact win 8 er ne nove einen ale The Danie Sa a kyo seerber rom You eng of Case a eke concept eg for to dese nove "wo, Bak depen woies tert but do not sence one 2 medley of edges o ees bition nd ing dering novel such ase Bre isco tom avery of genres, abd Sab We tne or governess novel and another is therefore highly appropriate tvhich, as we will see, houses el Senres, including realism, romance, tl Fa er a the fist four chapters ofthe novel and examines he Conc ee hods employed to establish Jane's consciousness aH CoS marr ale whois ling He tory and wat the elaon hp of he hl who Is the subject ofthe ee and the adult who Se bere ferent sence cl subject? We explore how Bron Het vangon nara method plays val function in determine reader's Pe hip to the teller and the tale, and how this narrative voice ae eates our atermps (0 fx a interpretation of the nove rs Yooks atthe role of language and, ia paula, she Picard pater of iaers which ae fundamental 08 novel's repeat Tay close exirination of some Key passages we se Now swear, By veto prove a ssuctr and thematic coherence 10 the tee e also consider svhether Bronte’ use of imagery sins 4 ove fom he realist genre by inroducing qualities Menied iclgeny a om on e a iame time, and as eae ‘ocat 4 novel overtly engaged with the social issues of its sto depict the role ofthe governess, and in so doing daw ‘wero ses of genet and inequaiy,Foaly Realm, romans ad the scusses the way in which dsparate gen wether and interact in Bront’s text. ical Narrating Jane Eyre “There was no possibilty of aking aw “hse ns os 12 walk that day Te opening of fa fares dy the rs hs oa Blea Nove seroma eat athe les cl win wd cores i ds*and ‘penetrating’ rain from her window seat, and th ne betes he ea Novenbe dnote ted cen coer on te moter ate i egg famly ‘eo inal Inpreson of th ext seen ante soveead oe Probably asume that he Ear sane Baa easel ee, for the first-time reader, the character whose int oe onan 10 share Ia yet Unknown Tous, We de nace at ie age Ete Ss Fs caoeaioar aap Jane's pa Ines pops who Jane Eye actly Une Tach ance ken By Aen SOMME Tao ‘owe ext ishment sta Undated tthe a peon nano OF ane Bye speak ely Droveing nan seit wh parte and seeing seated, poi of view How ter nate mete ce mda pit of in How der araeein ae ur of her childish situation? Before we consider th vquesions ets lcok tore closely athe language the nator wes rtouce heel Carefally read rfl read olume 1 chapter 1 pp7-1 taking note of how lescribes her envionment and her relationshi ‘other characters within i ind her relationship 10 as p-7) reads as a regret or a complaint, and veyron, feed ot Poth physical and emotional distress. The carat is sidered to be int need of acquiring a “more sov ‘ad chi o | enhanced by hee contemplation of the ‘solitary rocks ang Sremoneres and bleak shores of We norern wastes depicted there er Ths gloomy work, however, sees (0 provide bet A 2 CLE BBP plnen andthe peans fo escape from fealty nko a eye maginaton eis with de iusion of John Ree nye DEE wereitcted comer tha her need for escape and the esi) ‘of her aoe ewe ae established The nastator describes hers 25° 2a ne ft page, and ater ss habiualy obedient to J (hi pad and indeed this tnd of mind appeats 1 De confirmed oe aervely she accepts his abuse, However, when she wetNences bot aie an teror tis pasty wives WAY 18 violent sense of ijust ‘pronte’s syle in these opening paragraphs Ihe cation as described by the narrator: dhe the sentences ‘dreadful ro me was the Me, she had dispensed from joining the seep La,p-. and the short clases was lad of 8 liked long, Ba Pe) tome» highlight the intensity of er flings These a retard cde, ger with de ise epestion of 2 inversions of rte Sensations ofthe nafator are kept constantly b=fors tis worth noting how contributes to the tension of ‘unusual word order, for instance, 18 ‘Coming ome in he ray twilight picts her heroine asan isolated figure, alenated from the out ate surroundings and lacking ihe Love and apprOw OF Fe cds, Her enironment presented as hose an 9 ip combative, both inducing a tendency to lonely ioorec On tctationsi Seg of tose around het. Brom alo presents Skin aan re pomacen Jane's ved experience, which limited ant cor pd by eoaton, and her imagination. From the tal coed boxon’ (1, p8) se drives from her readin of comprehen edao ad ther, she i ale imagine 2 wis WO Golda ee mumcys her own personal suferng, and from whi te from whet mentary seas of social use. Ths fis penon nares what allows her to present Jane's rich inner method employed by Bron ioe i es of er a, From the outset, Bronté de Head the means by_which she shapes ie, and echnigue an antic and ins personal sense of he wo evoke the chil ane's characteris constructed, and it spout actively engages ou sympathies 25 readers ‘Which brings us to the question, who provides us wiih thet rent oupreastons of Jane? At what point the identey of che ‘narrator revealed (0 Us? ne — tive’ and ‘natural’ character. While we cay wl el th hy ce or en i an a set alos it the view of Mrs Reed present viet suf titre olden wise 1¢ tells her story with authority to comment nthe loped understanding’ of her younger self. (1.1, 2. m _Snderopod ndeneaning Ofer unger se C11, wont Jn Germany in th in the eighteenth centu in Germany inthe eighteenth century and later inthe rex of Europe in the oman ruleced fev (780-13), te pyloyo thcha ee Sees form to trace the development ofa central character a chao mini oa peo tla ate ane nes gh capi hfe re he idan seats ce fam ses contain views of er sation Simpy, ee re gains! the runny of John Reed and en « eos, we he ole Jane provides « moe analyte perpestneo the pa and tenor (pi) of he ston ae nthe oe ha es mein women el oe hid ae ‘constant echoes of her an Fe ease nastaive we peicterpsite ry younger sel n volume 2. frample there are two Janes desorbed by a thi nara 2 Share Beer i. nt, expectant young woman’ is the ‘cold, solitary git asa (2295), We will be discussing the overseas ee eae any i aa Bros atob lographical method Bones aod is very diferent from Austen's Spr uri apreach you cana Bon en then theft chapter se at Thome peo ‘cali in that we are presented Will largely credible circumstances and el re présented with largely credible circumstances a bough we gay a he Reals a genre car Sa the imagining ofthe ch Jane © accommodate diferent styles ant ee eaeQGS= 2 “hers fnclon a rominde tat rom every tha timacy between the reader © OF He Ring fame Bre. 186, 39) nt Be confuse waa 2a ie arr cates a OancE bemeen them.) “acTaeved both by Ahough this may seem to ch find To oF te arto andthe raat sje OF ive are engaging in the act of reading, ete Son TOUS Srey ST a a of reminding us, the eeader, that Jeaneste King Jane Eyre, 1986) notices now SS ee “hoc tepoains overt momeis fend emovon resin Fa ee presses ain the terms of every Fanathe emoxonal past to the present of the narrating te [oS 18 the (George Fenay Tams, she nos the ference heween wha she tay Fr ete ot kl to become involved i Jane's eins “real and true in nove wing Mis Risen Fetng ‘what she terms owen ain eget a the ate Jae gt dr, ee “Eon tar ym sna a dsncion between a are waihout Poetry. maybe is senslblerseal (snore rea! than ir tea Gc n Gk, Te cheroe Bone rarer the areatr, drawing the rear’ aention tothe tbe on the poine of merging Thus Ca eee noted a Gate mnalysing the role of imagery in the novel we the two Janes as they appear 1 begin to anticipate some of the more complex ways in which th ys in which the novel's Ince between the narrated Jane and the fea 29) ee ane De eal Sements eee marche 0.1219) = alist and non-realist Cements rombine to dramatize the heroine's ps mine to dramatize the heroine's psvch The Tole of imagery igery in the novel is manifold: it serves as a framework rom a detailed sy ofthe Opening chapters of gene we ae I From person parave esas the ceiaity of he eS ‘The rol of imagery in the novel is manifold serves asa amewor {consciousness an So ede auto gaphica function of oe ea Pn REE se coi pate of re rascapes through which we" uct a pattern of _sonseiousnes and rT jenlicaion berween is Sie a Se get niapes Tv hich we ee we eal ani ge PONT. ANSITIS an Tanportant TReeavOr of he Tense identi nc A Panes Souectonsaned unevasclot narraior’s internal conflicts al jous and uncom: arto a no dua te Pcl elect LD MS PSS seat Tet ee Jane's ww over ters in fhe aowe PUT WE ave : Pease read ar cup of an atk ra, tough he volume 2, chapter ata showing’ and direct reader imagery Rochester 2 chapter 4, pp.195-202 and consider the snc 2 chapose 6 ppensd 20 ane: Then read Jniroduction of Feanures su iro rem the eabjtivty of the arate nated are ge alo make that hs vecTigue of ier reader us" rae ent Yo remind us of Te ct at We ae engagecin 2 TT Me leration of the novel's literary language that . ° Discussion ‘what patterns of imagery do you notice there? Mporence and is 108 C8 See now tH ‘The conten forthe fest s Rochester dugg cere sea es the scene where esheets’ Pictured thoughts: language and otc Pela tsa wh eld ure ~ 2 person's Skull The inary Re 7 fide rom the shape of imagery in Jane Eyre ‘ 5 Petzots skull. The imagery Rochester employs sugges a scasses the language ofthe novel gene as hat which pe era he cuppecesedpastlone, age and ‘deier mnt {raw attention to itself that i, {9 its attempt (0 SA izable, everyday word ‘aims rather at s ts ST En he detailed consideration of the ‘asting vote in every dec ience’ which he sees as having the feat “ tang vote in every dedstow" p00 ae ee ickers ia the eye’ (24, p.200), butt isa passion fons many deviations from motive adjectives, word ‘Which is unsired, “no contacts rive adjectives, 6d, "Bo Contact sks the fire fom you that is in you ‘chapter One dis characterstically, does not fesublish a sense of the recogni ind of transparency’. As we can see from th ‘Spening chapters of Bronte’s nove, her syle sh hs expected ‘norm the prolific use of images EE" & 16 not sve reflects back Roches ih «24, p96. Jane's own rr sae ages wed hx eres Pate wai recon ich nh his pa sence also perhaps reiting ws of the we Pd ane that the gypsy ‘stirred the fire” and finally £008) a eons ee scorces me 24, P20 Don keep me too fe . vow doce his contrast with the imagery used in the ory ang Janes visi to Mrs Reed? voit ont Ms Reed in stark contest 0 oppose aston, ely’ and ne het ner towards Jane, as she reminds sa ca past define her a crisply of fixe and Sod came of er ds her niece 0) is later described as having an ‘ice- res (pans Ret ner dvb 2 Hg a ee opstol ae f aln ol ‘This pattern of ‘fire’ and ‘ice’ a pe ning ene Gatesh a the window, fire within, and s ss mc tet na feting lonely Png a elear assocative significance 1m iis Oona) is, ee aan ee Gn, p10, “The imagery employe used to ‘eau! Jane's c posi Framework of opposing forces. He argues. uae cee rine tre wry which expresses the love between Ja Mi Roche woth serves threaten it is articulated in images of earth anc se “Journey” in the Bildungsroman oS, Source of real danger to Jane. Her Jour i aonivtes nding the balance berween passionate - ali Indeed Jane's passionate outburst a the start of the novel is represented in highly equivocal terms; she is described as wishing s exercise a ‘better aculty than chat of fierce speaking” andl 6 ind nourishment for some less fiendish feeling than that of sombre indignation’ (chapter 4, p38). Jane's, inital sense of exulting triumph is swiftly followed by the ‘pang of remorse and the chill of reaction’ at having given her ‘furious feelings uncontrolled play’, and a perception of ‘the dreariness of my hatred and hating postion’ Half an hour's silence and reflection’, she recalls, revealed the ‘madness of ‘my conduct’ (bid). Images of fire are therefore highly ambivalent in terms of what they symbolize; they may be associated with liberation and celebration, but are also suggestive of self consuming rage. Neither are they solely associated with the novels characters. St John Rivers invokes the purgatoral fire and brimstone of the biblical Book of Revelation (p.416); the urging fire at Thornfield is both literal and symbolic ~ as is the ptophetic lightning which strikes the chestnut tre. Allusions to fire link very fferent aspects ofthe text hearth, home and comfort on the one hand, imaginative power, passion, rebellion, fury and purgation on the other. This leads us 10 Consider the role of imagery as iti represented in the relationship between internal and external realty in the novel, Jeaneite King has suggested thatthe people and places in Jane Eyre are often ‘presented within the same figurative patterns. She argues thatthe ‘narrator conceives of them all within the same terms of reference’, and uses the example of Jane’ first description of Thornfield to ilustate her argument. King, along with many other readers of fame Eyre, notices the \way in which ‘spatial images evolve from the physical world which is both external to Jane and yet part of her inne life (King, Jane Eyre, 1986, p.28) Read volume 1, chapter 11, pp.95-108, paying close attention to the imagery Bromté uses. Are there, as King suggests, ‘figurative links between people and places’? Discussion On being shown around Thornfield Jane is First stuck by the vast spaces and sense of emptiness that emanates from the house. She registers its darkness and! ‘vault-like’ atmosphere; its ‘chill and ‘dark’ ‘high’ and ‘wide’, From the outside, while ‘picturesque’, Jane discetns loneliness about the house and its surroundings, reflecting its owner and his ‘selfmposed exile’ (King, Jane Eyre, 1986, p.28). By contrast the drawing room is a space which has an air of unreality tis a Tary place’, and is decorated significantly in crimson and white, reminding ls once again of the extremes of Jane's character, and prefiguring the Future conflicts she is to experience at Thornfield. When she reaches the thitt storey the house's aspect changes to one suggesting ‘the past shrine of memory’. Jane likens it ‘a corridor in Bluebeard’s caste’, "~~ 78 ‘Hs REALST NOVEL “wih its eap-door, narrow, lw and ds some and Fons of sal reese at shut, evoking «Cost cil and peepanng © for the es ternatural avghter (L11 p07) of Grace Poe The descriptions “retermar paces convey forceful Jane's station 37 feelings Shy alto prefare her quests an ordeals fore of the novel, wry a hemes and iniages which will ecur fa the FeXt “Je ae ual ursurpiselwhen Jane declares they 65D discovery a ag marae wo Beta the view from her window ‘Thomfield fs changed overnight from summer to winter Jane yr, wh ha en am tent exper A A bride — was 8 Jane yrs gh ar ie was pl Bet pees wre Sos col soa ne nun we Becomes soe ‘whiled Chua oe te pe apes, ts ene te Ho hay ves ue: Bp nen sv Lanes wich se fu of Bek and oe pat wh urden stows a 6 NO ‘hich Romer de ved ey an Fagan as ween swe ge, and wea pines 9 wey NOY 211, p29) ces and regions also igre sigcany she sani 900 SO of reese ch There are fixe dilrentYoaions In the ext ‘which can be sail £0 mating a stage in her life, anc each trove Jane's development ~ exch £ te Jae pala patterns of agery- Mark Kinks Weekes has sid tha the elatlonship berweenoeation 2g Se identifies ‘each argued Ue ntaphor TOF the sages Of Fane's FOUNEY of ecdiscovery’ GM tee fe Eyre, 1986, p.57)- Win We Fame fof the fire and fee sor Jig a7 The rebellious child experiences imagery Gateshead is physical and emotional coldnes. Faralso where in the red-room bet a gang ht econ Too 2 HSE aan, 0 raed ond harsh environ, Jane’s training weTF control prepares her Tor Me and is also where shea sat He and is also where se fe with Miss Temple, sins a plas can ROS MS Symbolizes both shes tng sical wasn Jane fas lacked, buts rifieanaly, associated wit Hie, Tic chi context lesignates “onflagation. Noor House white eli is her a warm inthe ebsndin of Sr would seem fo symbouze the where a compromise Is ane inthe" famine ‘balancing of the -Feached in the extremes of Jae’ oh rom the outset we are aware ofthe raionstip in BNE povel between From the Gon of external colons andthe pone! individual Ape gah ad feelings nthe frst chapter, the eS beholds outside thon ye seat and He ages of cesoat and and seascapes she HATER 3 READING JANE ERE describes from hes 1m her reading of Bev rowel Inrcpectve teagioaion, Pe Mew ie er The scenes dese The ne dey ae eis om he ins Seson which ew aas wedand sree een roman pres cot of he dave el nomthern lands oon ee ner ne tmoductory pages connected th fan ance’ Jane mare Each plete wa soy yous ory: mysterious often to rny undeveloped under weal understanding and imper profoundly neretng Lae eae imperectfelings, yet ever Scere taas aimed ewe ac ec on irom nw 's iption of the vignettes. is writen ‘What elements i ts in Bewick’s text ‘seem relevant to Jane's story? , Discusion he sunosper of desltion a etn es een horrors relevant to Jane’ ire experience. Details hee ish circa is are important too: here moon, for instance, a ‘symbolic presence in the novel. Th 2 desolate coast churchyard’ and ‘objects of terror’ ee tre ing intensity, Later we will have Jane's “Sows Yang hich el te and sone dl Bos nso prot cr ae ae sht into her psyche. Bronté’s ac See igo er pace ens cour of Bevis cae TeurEs corporates détails of external apne th Png poise tne Tswana quake pewiCk's wring Ser IASZ Bronte Fad composed a pie as of eve eon te ch igh set and speak and burn (quoted in Stevens "A x ‘Vignette’; Bewick and Bronté inn Wot ated Hn cps ome nape ap cond meng Wo a chao and Ey Ho k|GE Poetic power in the way that: \ fin Bone ws doling They seed those a Fay ie ms sepeces oft cath i we a Sesame wei ae ctr and TENT op Ta wT SESE ‘CWO, Jane Eyre and Wh J Wuthering Heights (1923), 1979 ed, 130) 071 fuse of Pagure 4 Vn ety van brs, p92 183 (048) OM UAE sx tory of a ie “any tba rom a ‘tae is p30 196 265 421 Perham Newcact) wand 256. (Reproduced by permission of rURERS READING JANE EYRE a GH. Lewes also noted in his 1847 review of Jane Eyre Brontl’s power of ‘connecting external appearances with internal effects - of representing the psychological interpretation of material phenomena’ (én allot, The Broniés: ‘The Critical Heritage, 1974, p85) 1 Can you identify other passages in the novel to which Woolf's and Lewes's comments would apply? Discussion ‘The psychological significance of outer circumstances becomes most evident in these early chapters when Jane is confined to the red-toom. As we have seen, Jane's enraged rebellion against the tyranny of her cousin John Reed! and her subsequent confinement introduce central themes and issues, and foreshadow subsequent events in the plot. Her rebellion is expressed in the images of fire which are to recur and lltimately to be dramatized in the fire at Thorafield. Jane's terror atthe possible manifestation of her uncle's ghost isto be fealized in the appearance of Bertha in her room on the night preceding her planned marriage to Rochester. Her experience of sel-alienation as she looks at her unrecognizable image in the red-oom mirror is also recalled in the later scene, when Jane sees Berta’s reflection as she looks into the mirror to wy on the wedding-veil. The insanity which will re- ‘emerge with Bertha at Thornfield is prefigured in Jane's mage and {error at her confinement in the ted-ro0m, which brings about her ‘mental collapse, Afterwards, she seems on the threshold of madness, seeing before her only ‘a terible red glare, crossed with thick black bars’ (3, ps). The passages of Jane Eyre discussed here offer examples of the repeated and opposing patterns of imagery fundamental to its structure, Often we are invited to see ‘external realty’ through the filter of Jane’s ~ consciousness, and nowhere so vividly as through her paintings, where similar patterns of imagery permeate into these imagined landscapes. The Paintings offer a direct revelation of Jane's inner life, and suggest sates of, mind too complex for rational description, Of course, her paintings are closely elated to her descriptions of Bewiek’s vignedes, and have their origin in them, But Jane notably adds elements from her own imaginative landscape. EE st sovEL CHAPTER 3 READING JANE EYRE 84 sin which ses ender and we sabe dicing way 8 ‘aed hte debe one OAM Corrente me The governess novel and the ‘woman question” — ty popular subject for fon, Many novels eres was an extrem Scio Many oh oh Jane Eyre feature characters who are gos mest Sema (i) ad Dakss Martin hele Ane genre familiar to Bronté’s readers, . aes ent highly avalablean6 ey hs a Be eo fo oxe ot bas pats, OST Gone one of govenes novel pone a weal do Pee fe 1 ome alr for 2 pedo ‘nf neton, wet form of ti el ofthe romantic ype, the governess tus alt mantic type, the governess's rae Ch idesship. in novels ofthe Pe, ps her emp . tscogmaed bya wenlemen Pe pe poder ype sar ome thes mariage, Covet al atrophy ein uch novels imjor characte of atobogtaphy i which the NeOlne Brows bapaacrpertne jursue a life of service in increasing atid for Gos in mora tag 0 Pyccton fom sn This ay etal te fm of providence and ot Porerament which has ed ert nears xa pasa alan ona oreo he governess Powel Somat cern nding oman TE Seaman of high moral sare . “ano a ane foverness novel are sos custon expectations of romantic ace couthip wih tocheser setup esas of om de neo pel ac eine WED co on mae tom rmance 2 ee ‘Lewes; ‘you admire .. love her for the strong a bon he, we Love pat fasctaingprin’ Al ra anc rae TH pa. em LE Crt esate doa he worn ponent ind ems HE or berdlverance OM NE the on fa ilicit union with Rochester (2.5, p.360). st «a po a ‘empration of in teacing the daughters of te Toca a a missionary, albeit or possible future vocation a5 rand considers another cation ‘Mutts is offered on terns ~ marriage to St which she (Of course, Jane is certainly not portrayed as atypical governess any more than she is portrayed as a typical romantic heroine. The novels emphasis is fon her unique qualities of character, rather than on her vocation as a teacher. We fee! that she has been set apart from governesses in general well before Blanche Ingram launches her attack on that “anathematized race! 22, p.177). Nevertheless, the governess novel was 50 widely familiar that Bronté’s novel was indeed identified by some of its original readers as version of the genre. The Christian Remembrancer reviewer was sure ‘hat the ‘intensity of feeling’ with which the novel portrayed ‘a despised and slighted governess’ indicated that its author had been a member of ‘this ‘lass (in Allot, The Brontes: The Critical Heritage, 174, p59). At this point it would be useful to re-read volume 2, chapter 2, noticing ways in which, in this chapter at least, it might be possible to read Jane Eyre as a governess novel. Discussion Jane's experience here is specifically that of a governess, The humiliating scene in which Blanche and hee mother eriicize -govemesses in Jane's hearing is typical of countless similar scenes in ‘governess novels. Emphasizing Blanche Ingram's patently unjust criticism of governesses, Bronté apparently champions serious domestic fiction against the ‘novel of fashionable life’ with which characters like Blanche, or Jane's cousin Georgiana Reed identify themselves (26, p.234; 23, p.189; 26, p.237), The governess novel is thus maintained as a relevant model alongside which to read Jane re. I forms one example of how the variety of genres referred to in Bronté’s text enables her novel ro engage with contemporary issues and debates, thas no leaming, no research, it discusses no subject of public interest’ wrote Bronté of her novel in a leter to her publisher ‘A mere domestic novel will, I fear, seem trivial to men of large views an solid attainments (Gn Helsinger et al, The Woman Question, 1983, vol3, p.66). While this expresses some anxicty that her novel would be regarded as ‘merely" domestic, it is important to realize that realist domestic fiction in the 1840s \Was not as common as ft was to become a decade later, Many of Jane pre's first reviewers praised it because it was a ‘domestic’ novel and thus offered a refreshing change from the sentimental romances currently Published in vast quantities by publishers such as the Minerva Press. "Tt is ho mere novel, for there is nothing but nature and teuth about it, and is Imerest is entirely domestic’, wrote the reviewer in the Era Cin ibid, :78). In Blackwood's Magazine, John Eagles save the novel as symptomatic of the end to an age of ‘sickly sentimentality” Gn sbi, 95). As for any lack oF earning’, Thackeray (with Lewes, one of the few commentators to guess ee" —ts 86 ‘Wr neaLsT NOVEL at Jane Hyre’s ator might be a woman) noted that if wom aaa a Panuages beret than most aces do, of has had a “cassie ee mb, 70). As fr subjects of public interes, the pig Of ine general cate of women’s education certainly ” the governess and t qualified 38 such ve governess was apie popula in tt ava tion Silica The ort oyeT sot context, of ours, the fac that Jane eens inet ef andependence as goveess, Te question of her Soe me O ueenbl aerial ne, ad 2s sul fics the financial se Geustances of may actual goveresses, Public vulnerable ott preg concern ove he station of unemployed Sea eg he explain of hose in srs, The Govemesses govern eae Society (1829) and the Governesss’ Benevolent ur ere founded in response tothe harshipssffered hy dae cocci hose who became unemployed. Economie ess aoe trou miles fathers alering sever as Inc resulted i pep were unable (0 saPpor amassed davghtes Jas 2a ot yan Wier become goveressesater tei ter ESS ous Mey have to provide for temaelves (33,548) OF te same money an ney pes, yer near servant nor equal, the governess a poston The Rivers sites each hla station in occu 2 a Peat hay rembers they were fez ony fami oy pendant, and wo ether Knew nor omgnTONe of Tee Ae rend appreciate ony their acquired accomplishments 5 aa ea the oil ofthe cook, ofthe waste of hele wating WOM they appre icn Rochester entertains Bane Ingram and Hs other 2D fel ne tens othe msc and sounds of mene Be as abe had done when banished to the nursery by Met from bel nen, she has notte least wish (0 0 nfo company, Ree oa en aly nsice (14, p28)-1n close promi, Yet for in company my she served, te governess role feed sant econ a secker after Hearth and home like Jane Eyre ‘Debate about the education of governesses formed a specific part of the ‘woman question’ debate about what women, everal, should be eaucated for. Can you identify criigue of Senet education in Jane Eyre as well as particular concern lover the status of.the governess? Discussion re novel does offer general comment about the effects of & The novnal female education Blanche Tngram, for example, provides coining model ofthe convendionaly accomplished! woman, We 3 porectate that Jane herself has gained an education a Low oe eer despa sft 0 tat of the felons accomplished ad HAPTER § READING Jane me Blanche’s ants are disp anche lets are doped in ay tat inmediey mars her tis agra, wh ad 1 in ow sate esl with prod pce a stinger ty) “mle fonmenecd relude; talking meantime. She appeared to he high Sher wonder isc ene xe ‘the admiration, but the amazement of her auditors, Seat nor only Later, her musical i we “ al accomplishment provides Pubic nation with Rochester Blache aceon he fog singing voice. Such accounts are cx mplae in nncicnth Sh ommorplce in nineteenth centary a Jane Byre made a contsibutior fare remade como dango aloe i the ew of raries ~ 10a fiercely contested ideological seat over womans ol and nar, le and nature, Generalizations about Vi fe ely fen pa detions of os nue a ace ee saemood “anc poraed Itis crucial for us to . 2 at te Goanesic TsoloRy al oy eee “ el fies to the extent to which the role of the won vas Sheen of ees thee of cao eesay fr women, Neneh ha in eter ace tater an ter coment win wh ‘oi gs? was eb eves am lea tha “slip encouraged by to et an emphass on on woah sssonpsients Bt poral of nee nants hah 1on to much advice literature as wel nities te ene ta he are mae er ae roy mode arn cg ower, The piano is also symbolic of the res (enforced passivity” upon women by their confine Jomesie ‘active life in which she rails aga inion ta they ‘ug oon 87 coven caineru 5 ReADiNe jane vee 88 ere iment (29, p27). Aes that Jane and ROCESS neo co are exemel) ‘unequal at this stage, Jane's lick of Me ee part is herself. Moreover, the novel a TepFESenat Oe emphasis in most advice material on Me ‘self strongly outside her ‘fic al ee ons expend eet ther ne sme oxcupon SME HMOIOT A Sees her pl rer, ect jane’s assertion of womer rs nec fo 98 se ght sional rather than merely dome 2 Oe POA es “This might also be reac a ae the gover 397 ad teats Hp OFS neste is anything but non-political a e, ‘Domestic’ fiction is Oe Somes ste Dome fapese ser prt ar Shang ae ie a pe cn See! mk ight be seen as ‘a radical ct 8 hod en the eee ae wat er men’ C1988 edn, pavi)- We it bv aan {ean Penne ‘on close examination, wor ep : Realism, romance and the Gothic wins S08 onl, Ue reais domestic modes of ‘governess novels dominate the foreground of the text, However, this does ‘ot preclude the presence of non-realist elements. Indeed if we recall what David Lodge had to say about the role of imagery in the novel, and the ‘easy movement of the language from the kteral to the symbolic, we might ‘argue that this signals the fusion of the realistic and the romantic. Without teying to set up an easy distinction between realism and romance, we can say thatthe former aims broadly at representation ofthe ordinary and the ‘contemporary, whereas romance is about the more extraordinary. In Janne Eyre, Bronté combines romance elements ~ such as the Gothic figure of Bertha Mason in the attic - with the attention to physical and psychological detail more typical of realism. This union allowed Bron to afticulate the tension in her text between the ‘plain and domestic’ and the passionate and extraordinary, In what senses is Jane Eyre a ‘romance’? Which parts of the ‘novel would you identify as featuring romance elements? Discussion In a specific sense, Jane Eyre is a romance because it is love story. ‘More generally, the novel might be described as 4 romance in that Pursues the desires and fantasies of the protagonist, and of the reader, Linked with this isthe celebration of the individual imagination ‘associated historically with romanticism and the romantic petiod (©1780-1830). The Moor House section of the novel contains elements (of romance: Jane's search for a home and a sense of belonging being ‘realized with her discovery of her inheritance and the blood relations in the Rivers family could be said to belong to the tradition of fairytale However, itis in Jane's relationship with Rochester, Thomnfield andl Bertha where romance features most clearly eee Realist novels frequently contain a good deal of romance, in all the senses outlined here, Indeed, Jane Eyre influenced the way in which many Subsequent realist novels combined romantic elements ito theis narratives, The intersection of realism anc romance in Jane Eyre was noticed by some of the early literary critics to write about the novel. is introspective tualtes, including Bronte’ treatment of landscape discussed earlier, associated it with the subjectivity of Wordsworth, Byron and other romantic Poets widely read at the time. Bronté therefore embodies in the novel ‘duilties previously identified predominantly with poetic forms. Frederic Hardison, writing in 1895, praises her ‘skill in the use of what the nineteenth-century writer and critic, John Ruskin, has called the “pathetic fallacy” the eye which beholds nature coloured by the light ofthe inner sol. inthis quality she really reaches the level of fine poetry (in MeNees, ‘The Bronte Sisters: Critical Assessments, 1996, VoL, p). Harrison saw the Novel as combining the essential features of romantic poetry and the realist, ———— — re aPAUST NOVEL Couaeren 5 READIN JANE ERE rpovt i stands jst in the middle ofthe century, wen men were sl move fhe apell of Byron, Shelley, Coleridge and Wordsworth and yo £8 iy aien tothe meods of our latest realists’ ibid, 260) Wt mo ge Slnsbury als described Brome as dhe ist weiter 49 ees Gtoanging together the romance elements of writer eh a Waker eae pth more realist depiction of precise character, lone 270 sco a ts marscr of novelist suchas Jane Austen, He sees her a8 having achieved: he maintenance of the eu of exact and realistic bsenaton of any oo melas rank fat al nett, butte Fen atin of them wah anew romance mane dtived Pari These oy of mature and pari from he working out of the passionate thoughts ana feelings ofthe individ in ibid, p25? sat, Chariot Bromté di, Santsbury concluded was 10 effet the aera = ctatum and of dream in the English novel’ bid, 289) Nore sr caticinm of Jane Fyre has perceived proctive tensions Pet sere of realism and romance, and has increasingly paid most anenion{° the text's non-realist elements it readers ae beginning o formulate ary comfortable set of expesations © i reader juve they are prop tobe statied cut oftheir compose sec hcl by Berths pretest laughter 11 p 107). THs signals aoa ee intraduction ofthe Gothic, a Frther erucal genetic 8 ae ovoughly confuses any assumptions about the novel whigh may rence ved the mixture of geares we bave already encountered, ave seal romangie, uncany the Goth ins domestic teat vee Fantasia oame one ofthe most perasive genes operting within He novel “The ewenseth-century ete who has most infuentally theorized the Tre Shon of ferent generic forms within von i Mikhail BARTS epee 975). As you wil be aware from your reading of Chapres 1, a ecised the concept of ‘dialog form to describe novels where 2 aay of competing voices’ co-exis The Bakunin tem for is Pray of genesis hybridization’ Bakhtinian account of Jane Ee emi in Jerome Beaty’ Misreading Jane Fyre (1996) Jane 2974S both aided to the oaher novels ofits tme and unique i the parler corto of gente through sich ies its readers 2 new Kind of cone pakhtilan terms, the mixture of genres within Jane Eyre mates wereld novel of enormous anginal. Dalleent genres may dois S$ a erent umes, but in the lybrid nove, no genre ever dominates Aree Generic modes which have been suggested and which then tecede, never il emrey si disuringy as docs Hera uncanyiagher nc ert ‘eng as he a th ine we b conscious of the extent to which the Gothic I ‘a significant presence in th . “peo ee in the novel. In The Coher - Conventions (1986) nc te fear nein Ee Ky Sg oes eas ie 1 The sting wil inci 1 lade ‘an oppressive rin‘ wild landscape. 2 tthe centre ofthe story wil be a heroine conspicuo. tens, ‘trembling sensitivity’ and her lover, whose behavic oil show venbing owl show great ho ceo he sty le yor ma say eserves ha ig 2 ‘piercing gaze’ who is going to imprison and try Cerin topics wl regulary slaty recur, fr example eens ean interest the “Presthood moe asc Instone sleeplike and deste sates, sera bl double the dscovery of obscure The reader wil regularly obser unnatural ech ‘poisonous effects of guilt and shame’ ss orsences andi Much wll xpi be si to be “unspeakable How do some ofthese Gt pret Wie ee Gthic ‘rule’ apply to Jane Eyre? Whi fearre can you deny at work inthe novel Discussion Ermece mnienetcummnsmrtc charset enti ten s ference to another familiar genre, the fair 7 soy 0 which hey ae al ine eal ‘much Coie literature, particularly to those works which Elle toes (1976) defined belonging to a tradition of female Gothic’ Noone ds th incarceration of a female character as emble "postion of | 92 susan Guba’ 979) win cena to Sanda M. Ger sd 8 the Goth ce gane fren Te Macvoman os he A cpa mcntang aged re it erences ‘enhance the portrayal of her heroine's inner I Rober | we ascsees Way in which she mobilizes Gothic conventions e were power 1e symbolic structure of her book, He relic bi oan opp a aes Hellen ‘cludes that tae Gothic aspects of Jane F) the wor fictional mode and defeads Bronte’s use of he Co ets ‘a wre owe much to Heilman's insights. His €ssay vino ied the hed storey of Morne 3s merous cries Rave en and he mawoman Berta 2 ang ce ey pl reais her Dose lS n poral eye own repressed ange and reboot Goes t .erible madness which she must avoi ahs ict in the novel Seo con thic and realist elements intera th snore closely at how Got Look again at volume 1, chapter 11. Which details are realist — ‘or, more specifically, domestic - and which are Gothic? Does ‘your view of which is which change, or become confused, on rereading? Discussion Immediately, as if in tesponse to the recognition that the third storey is like Bluebeart’s castle, Bertha’s‘preternatural laugh is heard for the fies time (1.11, p107). Now we are fiemly inthe realm of the Gothic. ‘Thinking back, we recognize how consistently Gothic and realist clements have been combined, We remember the apprehension Jane felt at not being met at the inn on her acival, and on her strange dark journey to Thornfield Hall The warmth of Jane's reception has since allayed her fears: Mrs Fairfax, her ‘modern’ bedroom = these things offer reassurance. The governess-novel mode is retfirmed by Janes favourable comparison between this welcome and the usual treatment (of governesses (1.1, p96). Jane offers a prayer of thanks, the first explicit reference to religion since she expressed her doubs on that subject atthe death of Helen Burns. Life seems secure, boring even, despite the necessity to pass up dark stairways and along galleries hhung with portats, with doors opening into a multitude of disused rooms (.11, pp 97-8). Thornfeld is church-like and ‘A very chill and vault-like ar pervaded the stairs and gallery’ (1.1, p97). Jane looks in fon Mrs Fairfax as she dusts the unoccupied downstairs rooms. The oom is damp, ‘the air feels chilly’ and the drawing room ‘eels like a ‘aul’ (11, p.104). On their tour ofthe thied storey, they discuss it as a Fitting haunt for a ghost (1.11, p.106). The fusnishings are antiquated, macabre relics of antiquity: the fingers which undertook ‘all-efaced embroideries’ now ‘coflin-dust (11, 105), We think back to the red: oom: the former inhabitant of the old-fashioned mahogany bed also well on the way to being coffin-dust. Later, we recognize that the fed-room has also prefiguted the gory chamber of horrors in Which Jane (locked in once more) tends Mason, With Bertha snarling on the other side of the door, shadows gathering ‘under the hangings of the vast old bed” and over the other bizarre furnishings ofthe room as she wipes away the ‘wickling gore” from Mason's wound (2.5, p210). Then there isthe terrifying ‘apparition’ of ertha herself in Jane's bedroom at Thornfield, and the final revelation of Bertha raging in her attic ‘cel. You will ind a wealth of further Gothic detail to add to what Jane describes as the web of horror ‘when re-reading these chapters (25, p.210), This image reminds us thatthe Gothic is frequently seen as analogous to the ‘literature of horror’. We would like to amplity this account of the 93 Gothic by investigating how it ates © the operne ‘of the uncanny more tera within the novel. Tre uncanny 9% ‘of course, an effect sen To Goshic erate, but a clement Sh ‘numerous genres. exclusive ye Gothic so overwhelmingly press J Eyre, ony eects frequently operate so aso augment 1S jpsycholosical power ce cann, rere is a suggestion by two cites, Anew Bennet, and Nicholas Royle, fF wre of the essential features of the uncanny tac uncaany has do waa seme of anges, SEN OCS More The any cones a stse of nana 9 the very heart Par ese of aiiy WE Pa AS neat of a a a uncanny 0 st mater of DE Ne spooky, but has te an apeciealy wih a srance ofthe ana vt nrcton to iterate, rican and T4077 P 3) sere then 1 as in the third stony, fastened ite oP of its mystic cells, rere sound ane, 2 pate and cody SPECS Ge eyes and hands ni ep) Alter ewig Besta’ goin al Hal ‘began to ask 9 that ved Scare i this ees mansion? QS. ea, 210) iss someting we cota MIEN leseribe as uncanny’ Fae aro eas about what is experienced 35 WASP ‘can you define what you think of as some of “BE suncanny’ features of Jane Eyre? Discussion tic writer Schelling defined the uncanny In Ferns ‘nent yo de oe of eta win Jane Fe that which ‘ought pe yemained secret and hide Dut Nis Some Tight’ (quoted. 10 sy, 985 edn, p34) ths sense, the i EE of re cou ceraly be described 8 uncanny The CN erm prethe uncanny is also literal appropeiate: ther something. to ok Ciera sn-omel” wil the walls of “Thornficld sen gems to Jane home oF the past and 3 NN of Toor (LIL, ppl05-6) We subsequently dacOve! literally it memo er past Uncanny and Gothic element the novel houses ade sane afintes ad pores of the FN the form of also inc pata phenomena of storm and moon “the German roman ‘Bronsé signals this aspect of the uncanny inthe chaPsSt which begins: renner are seange ngs Ars ar TMA AS Preven ned ae one mse wo whch maa yet andthe hs terug x presents my es Bane ave unpre > neanine 988 a 95 pga Sue oe i a ‘Scat dacigean tigen | a ay | This would ay oe "oval tres Gebers | “Seg hp econ a vel istance Which preludes Jane's first mec | ani y, which, a et incon wan yer ae tant Ii car 0 fete ow yearn he ow cre at es an dpi co sate woe mith by a nd dn many Decks threalog th asses, That evening calm betrayed ali ott a aieann ie ough fe moan ‘This portrayal of th hen sta fe ro er py vk oman age of the aco warp (a structure of horizontal strings, suitable sound when the wind passer ‘tisan emblem of sy heen i in the images of inspirting wind that : Scie eget orentous blasts of storm after her engager to Rochester magnified scale? Bronté’s insistence tha eee es bot her best would se no miracle but er hes! would seem to propose uch an explanation Yetwe feel no out how fea he ever, which ther an uncanny one (3.9, p20) h which shegefoe Aled wth he romantic and he ; ah ce hin fn rh goveres noel flan oe crieed vafneag nn SsUPtng our senes of whats an connections sgniicantcontraicions— and what ae the mt pene te Gone i he a wench 00 ‘aimcnt nthe ove? ln cnt! mn na ae “foe re sar oy genres ace fundamen nance oat OE Sever cis have i neat wch the GONG PSOE ee Me sresent on Thornfield’s third storey. The nove ropes Ie consent el abe fae TA fre, in, the possession of home 2 ; ; re, ery evel hile concrete realization of fe rn re wees We cents foreshadowed in OS realist mas of rarave ate as ons ere cone ‘maintained Rochester and romance a Jinds her of Bessie’s tales about ah i aid n one set of generic expectations a sina api ran eagroure nes an wih Roches pond We « ime back to earth, readers fora se at ‘a Sree: Gothic lingers on as Jane recounts . i 00 hot ep es she might see the rider ‘Spl arth fn a Sh me a fd dog once a2 ond Toil 1.12 PHO) ‘when Rochester arti reestection of the ‘Gytrash' myth rem ” Gothic and realist modes of fiction cohabit at Thornfile. The arrival of Rochester also opens up possibilities for the further development of a realist governess plot, But of what kind? Perhaps the virtuous servant will tarry her reformed master. However, the catastrophe seems equally possible; the ambiguity of Rochester's character makes numerous outcomes plausible. His combination of rude and oddly appealing behaviour suggests the characteristics both of a romantic hero and of a Gothic villain ~ owner of tlucbeard’s caste ocnester's characteris connected wittra Fewildering multiplicity of fictional types and is too complex to read with confidence, as Jane herself otc wrangling that constitutes between reases our sense tha there are diferent possible _ Rochester shower of ifs threatens 10 reduce mimouli into which Blanche and Adele epemistesses. At this stage ve cannot be clear whether mariage to him represents romantic escape, domestic security oF form of the slavery with ‘which Jane identified her situation jn the Reed household. The disruption ofthe courtship plot a this stage sukuests answers 10 Son ‘questions but simultancously raises others, Conclusion Many of the issues which have been raised in preceding discussions will influence how you read the novel’s closing pages. How do you read Jane's situation at the end of the novel: as the falfilment of romantic individualism, of domestic romance, as something more disturbing? Discussion Jane becomes the eyes and even the ‘words’ of the blinded Rochester, ‘eading both books and the natural world on his behalf (3.12, p.450). ‘This might indicate that she is taking control ofthe completion of het ‘own narrative in defiance of all antempis, by St John, Brocklehurst and Rochester, tell it for her. On the other hand, a romantic conclusion, {in which the heroine is allowed no scope, may undermine attempts to sce the novel as a female Bildungsroma. Jane's assertions of ‘domestic contentment sit uneasily alongside the passionate enengies Which have engaged us throughout the rest of the narrative. She sends Adele o schoo! for improvement, just as Mrs Reed previously sent Jane to Lowood. Brockleburst's morality Ineratue, ‘manta ‘we realize, has ed a greater presence within the novel dan its rebellious ‘opening chapters might lead us to expect. We feel unsure whether ive of social conformity, o s herself yeesgchester’ Bhabeard past might well make us MFomestie idyll atthe novels Close. Jane is now the representa victim of patsar! ‘suspicious of the “George Blit’s heroines ask Hie, Charlote Bronte ask only how indivichal where soe anions ca be achieved Shurleworth, Chart ses amd Victorian Psychology. 96, P82) © comrET, ‘made by Bro a that Jane Bye concentrate 10 TH OM HE Mate most hurl crs Bronté received Gm ALO The ore ibs The Critical Heritage, 1974, Pp.ATI, 172). Poot ane Ee as renee ea 6 0 eg rman Yee wa aos ei Wee NE Jane 0 er or Roche to ave considered ai too nce pa ane’ words Heo Tene Bert's confine Ce ow, bing Rochester’ and a PP conn eee ne mo a weed Home 2 ey hg nes of oo Mo's arate pai She cho an veg an in had wth wands 2st 9 pienso Fae C835 ook 1 lines 68-9 “jane seems a radical questing heroine. ‘where social duty €2n snantic resokution is not the this famous gote of ro he last chapter, which ends “Reader, I married hm’ ~ wet of Jane Eyre but merely the beginning of t Sith the death of St John. ‘what is the significance of this story? shift in focus away from Jane's Discussion pethaps St John is lle of in revenge for hs atempt

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