JANE EYRE by Charlotte Bronte

The novel was published under the nickname of Currer Bell so it was more likely to sell.

There is a very important concept in the novel Bildungsroman (mention in the exam, in
connection with Jane’s education and different female role models throughout the book) (a
novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education) which, in Jane Eyre is
closely connected with the different settings. These different settings may be connected with
the journey motif (pilgrimage).

1. Gateshead Hall (childhood)

2. Lowood School (starvation and coldness)
3. Thornfield Hall (sexual temptation)
4. Moor House (transgression).
5. Ferndean (closing setting, connected with balance).

All throughout these settings, Jane is going to find obstacles and struggles to find balance
(independence).

Jane Eyre is to be connected with the tradition of Cinderella. She sees herself as plain, not
beautiful. The fact that she is described as not beautiful is important because it’s a way to
emphasize the strength of the character and how things are not easy for her. She feels like
everything is against her. Personality is very important in the novel, which is highlighted all
throughout the novel.

According to a few critics (although difficult to assess), the word Eyre may be connected with
the idea of invisibility, which pretty much summed up the role of women in society. Also, this
word may be connected with the old French for “travel”.

In the first two settings (Gateshead and Lowood) she is supposed to learn manners because
she would not behave according to the Victorian standards. She needs to learn self-control and
self-assertion.: “I know no medium….”. She needs to find balance.

Chapter 1: “There was no possibility of talking a walk that day….”. The first setting is to be
connected with cold, which does not accommodate with the way she feels. In other words, she
is far from being metaphorically cold, which is to be connected with submission. She is
rebellious.

Regarding education, Jane Eyre liked to read a book about birds (she wants out). The bird was
traditionally connected with the idea of the cage: “A breakfast-room adjoined the drawing
room…”. These books are her only way out.

“You have no business to take our books, you are a dependent”. She feels the need to leave
behind her dependence. As a result of the quarrel, she is sent to the red room, which is a very
powerful symbol of oppression.

“I can never get away from Gateshead till I am a woman”. The word “woman” here is
important because she was aware she was going to remain trapped until she managed to find
that medium, balance and self-assertion. Only then could she get away from Gateshead,
where she is metaphorically trapped.

Chapter 2. “I resisted all the way…”. This passage is relevant because she is being punished by
the servants, which is a frequent motif in Gothic literature, where women usually get punished
by other women. Jane Eyre is being told that she is less than a servant, which is significant
because it says a lot about the role of women in society. She is described as a mad cat.
(Likewise, Bertha Mason is also described in these terms). This is what Jane Eyre has to
overcome. The idea of madness was rather present during the Victorian period, as a result of
which, women would get locked up.

In breaking away from her metaphorical chains, she runs the risk of being locked in an asylum.

At that time, becoming a governess was a way women had of being able to have access to a
better education. Still, their role in the house was similar to that of a servant. That is, they
were, in a way, outsiders.

“Besides, school would be a complete change”. When Jane is sent to Lowood, the idea of
journey is emphasized. “Starvation” is a key word here because it is connected with
Charlotte’s own reality, as she herself suffered from this sort of starvation, as she was sent to a
boarding school when she was a child.

“That forest-dell, where Lowood lay, was the cradle of fog and fog-bred pestilence…”. Even
though this chapter opens in the Spring, the environment is somber and resembles death. The
idea of cold and starvation are emphasized to describe Lowood.

On the other hand, Thornfield is also significant, as the name of the place itself makes a
reference to a journey full of thorns. There is also emphasis on Jane being locked up by means
of the main gate closing behind her, as if there was no turning back once she crossed that
threshold.

“After breakfast, Adele and I withdrew to the library”. This passage is important because the
books are locked up. She could see the books but could not read them. There is only one book
open because she is supposed to teach Adelle. There is a selection of books made by the lord
of the house. He is the one telling her what she can and cannot read.

Most of the female characters are going to act as surrogate mothers, some being a positive
role model and some being a negative one. Going back to the first setting, Ms. Reed is
complying with the Petrarchan system, just like the other servants.

On the other hand, Helen Burns, represents endurance against adversity. Similarly, also in the
first setting, Ms. Temple (a telling-name), who is going to act as a positive role model to Jane.
As a woman, Ms. Temple has a set of virtues that can also be noticed not only on the outside
but also on the inside (personality).

Role models in Thornfield (third setting). Blanche Ingram is a negative role model, as she
wants to get married to gain a position, whereas Jane wants to marry because she is in love.
Blanche epitomizes the female conventions and is introduced as beautiful (ideal) and Jane
compares herself to her, as a result of which, she comes to the conclusion that she is plain.

“Listen, then, Jane Eyre, to your sentence…” This whole quotation speaks for itself. There is a
contrast between Jane Eyre and Blanche, who is expected to be painted as the ideal
Petrarchan lady. There is an emphasis on class, which is one of the most challenging steps Jane
Eyre herself has to overcome.

Grace Poole helps silence the other (Bertha Mason). When the book was written, Bertha
Mason was perceived as an obstacle to Jane Eyre’s marriage. However, as centuries went by,
Bertha Mason became a symbol of the Victorian Woman, which was not the point at that time.
Yet, because of the role of women in Victorian society, Bertha Mason came to represent the
classic idea of feminism (the mad woman in the attic). Within the Victorian context, we can say
that Mr. Rochester’s attitude towards Bertha was considered normal. The Victorian reader was
expected to understand Mr. Rochester’s behavior.

Mr. Rochester, instead of sending Bertha to an asylum or forsaking her, keeps her in the
house. Because of this, the contemporary reader can interpret Bertha’s situation as an
example of feminism and resistance, as she remained locked up. We can conclude that Bertha
was not mad at all, but living in freedom, entuned with nature, and once she marries Mr.
Rochester and is constrained by the English civilization, she starts losing her personality and
goes mad.

Bertha Mason acts an exemplum to be avoided. Also, Thornfield is described as a place of

sexual temptation, and she needs to leave Mr. Rochester behind so she can find her medium
and self-assertion. By means of her decision, she matures and leaves behind those romantic
naive ideas.

“Fearful and ghastly to me…”. In this passage, there is a reference to the Vampyre. Bertha is
described as a supernatural being, which creates a Victorian-Gothic atmosphere.

In the fourth setting, St. John Rivers is a clergy man taking care of a Jane. For the female
reader of that time, Rivers was a good catch. Jane had known passion when she met Mr.
Rochester. However, she does not see any of those things in Rivers, which is why she does not
marry him. For the Victorian reader, this was an act of bravery on Jane’s part, because at the
time, the only good future women could amount to was getting married.

Mr. Rochester is briefly introduced as a hero. All of a sudden, he falls off his horse, by means of
which that imagine of a hero is dismantled. Even at the end, Jane is the one who rescues him.

Once Jane meets Rochester, she needs to overcome different boundaries, such as a gender.
Jane struggles to achieve equality and overcome oppression. Jane claims that women need the
same education others have (men and women had different education). Ladies were expected
to be accomplished, meaning that they needed to have a set of virtues to bring comfort into
the home. They were expected to be angels in the house, which Jane criticizes (Charlotte was
lucky enough to get a proper education and wanted the rest of women to be educated as she
did). “I am not an angel, I will not be one till I die, I will be myself”.

“I thought his smile was such as a sultan might”. Jane does not like Rochester’s behavior. She
metaphorically feels like a slave or a possession, emphasized by the word “sultan”. This is also
one of the reasons she decides not to marry him at first.

“Do you think I can stay to become nothing to you? Do you think I am an automaton?”. This
quotation is important because Jane is defending her own identity as a human being. Also, she
is distancing herself from any aesthetic judgement by means of the adjectives she employs,
adjectives that also refer to her class. This is a rebellious statement, as Mr. Rochester is an
aristocrat and she is just a servant (a mistress). (Read this is connection with marriage, which
as of now, is not guaranteed).

When Jane inherits money, this is her only way of achieving equality because she is no longer
dependent on anyone: “I am an independent woman now”. Towards the end, she has gained
self-esteem and economic independence. Even as far as marriage is concerned, she does not
get married in a traditional way (out of convenience), meaning that she married because she
was in love, which was not very frequent at that time.