A gothic novel is a “highly unstable genre” and is characterised by the following features: violence, supernatural encounters, complicated family histories, dark secrets, remote locations as well as mysteries to create an atmosphere of suspense and terror, which are all predominantly seen in Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre. The inceptive setting Jane Eyre is introduced in, instantly marks the very first use of gothic convention which is continued throughout this novel along with the aspect of violence and the problematic nature of secrets and mysteries which engulf the novel’s core. The vulnerability of Jane Eyre's childhood, loss of innocence and exposure to death, rejection, abuse and disease at such an early age due to her initial complicated …show more content…
Mason in Thornfield Hall, where Jane Eyre, now as a young adult, finds herself employed as a governess of a young girl called Adele: 'I recognised in his pale and seemingly lifeless face - the stranger, Mason: I saw too that his linen on one side, and one arm, was almost soaked in blood'. Various violent scenarios are introduced within this setting, and occur as a result of a gory secret which is not yet apparent to the reader. This purposeful gothic convention used adds to the overall ambiguity and tension within the novel which was at first established in Jane's childhood journey and the first encounter of the unknown attempted murder of Mr. Rochester: 'Tongues of flame darted round the bed: the curtains were on fire. In the midst of the blaze and vapour, Mr. Rochester lay stretched motionless, in deep sleep'. This common theme of characters, such as Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, being prone to violence as a result of their vulnerability within an endangered situation further adds to the tension and development of this gothic …show more content…
Rochester's wife): ‘the mad woman in the attic’, when she leapt to her death from the roof of Thornfield Hall with 'her brains and blood... scattered', resulted in the violent destruction of the house which turned into 'a blackened ruin' with 'the silence of death about it: the solitude of a lonesome wild'. This violent death of the secret surrounding the novel's core is what resulted in Mr. Rochester’s highly vulnerable state, becoming 'blind and a cripple', further adding to the violent gothic convention used throughout the novel which all acted as a springboard to the dramatic and emotional aspects in Jane Eyre and to the final revelation of Bertha, acting as a major moment of
Research in the field of "biblical literary criticism" have rapidly increased in recent decades. The publication of Robert Alter 's 1981 The Art of Biblical Narrative stamps the symbolic arrival of a style of analysis that has now become entrenched in modern biblical research. Robert Alter argues that the Bible is a largely cohesive literary text to be read with a literary purpose. In this essay it is asked if assumptions about texts predicated on the study of modern literature can be profitably applied to a multiple-authored, multi-layered collection of ancient provenance such as the Hebrew Bible and offers a brief critique of Alter 's discussion of the artistic merits and unity of Genesis chapters 37-39.
“The United States ranked #1 highest country to have 88.8 guns per 100 people an average of 270,000,000”(“Should More Gun Control Laws Be Enacted?”). On Feb. 14, 2018, the lives of students, teachers, and parents at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL would forever be changed. A former student Nicholas Cruz engaged in a mass shooting taking away 17 innocent lives: 14 students and 3 staff members, traumatizing the lives of fellow students. The Parkland, FL massacre is the most recent school shooting as students take immediate action in support of a stricter gun legislation, to prevent the endorsement of lives lost due to fatal school shootings. Firearm regulations are laws that enforce the sale and concealed carry of weaponry by a civilian with the permit of a legal firearm license. Gun control laws should be stricter for adults 21 and older for recreational
Just before the marriage between Mr. Rochester and Jane, it is revealed that Mr. Rochester is already married to an insane woman, Bertha Mason, who he keeps locked away on the third floor. This novel shows many prime examples of how ‘isolation and insanity go hand in hand’ in gothic literature. The first example is how ‘insane’ people were treated in the Victorian era. To a modern
Rochester that she doesn’t even take a glance at Rochester’s past and the ironic events which took place at the Thornfield Hall. To her when she finds out from kind Mr. Richard Mason, Bertha’s beloved brother, that Bertha is an insane first Mrs. Rochester, she just runs away to avoid the temptation.
Violence is the most recurrent gothic convention used in Jane Eyre, which is prominent in Charlotte Brontë's effective development of the novel and the character of Jane Eyre, who, throughout this novel, is searching for a home in which she would have a sense of belonging and love which would ultimately resolve this exact unfulfilled need she had as a child. The neglect she experienced in her childhood is manifested in the way she is treated by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, as in the first page of the novel Jane Eyre admits: ‘Me, she had dispensed from joining the group, saying, 'She regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance’’. This opening shows how there is a clear line of separation drawn between Jane and her relatives due to her complicated family background which consequently results in their reluctance to accept her into their environment. These complications lead to her maltreatment, which also adds on to the violence she experiences acting as a catalyst for the development of the character and her subconscious quest.
Jane Eyre is a coming of age story following a young woman and her journey of self-growth. At the start of the novel Jane is living with her aunt and three cousins. They continuously abuse her, treating her like a stranger rather than a family member. At the age of ten Jane leaves her aunt's house and attends boarding school. It is at this school where she learns lessons of forgiveness and hope from a meek young woman named Helen Burns. Subsequently studying and teaching at the school for eight years Jane decides to become a governess at the mysterious Thornfield mansion. She falls in love with the owner of Thornfield and the two make plans to marry. Nonetheless on the day of there wedding Jane discovers that Mr. Rochester is already married and that he keeps his insane wife Bertha trapped away in the attic of Thornfield. Devastated by this information, Jane flees Thornfield and nearly dies from cold and starvation. Soon after she is taken in by the Rivers, two sisters and one brother. The passing of Jane's uncle reveals that she and the Rivers are cousins. It is also revealed that this uncle has left Jane all his fortune. This in turn leaves Jane extremely wealthy. Her cousin St. John Rivers ask Jane for his hand in marriage. However Jane comes to the conclusion that she still loves Mr. Rochester. After declining St. John's proposal Jane journeys back to Thornfield. When she arrives at Thornfield Jane discovers the mysterious mansion in burnt ruins. It is revealed that the
Mysterious, complex, and utterly captivating, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre constantly leaves the reader with more questions than answers. The book consists of constant plot twists, all of which eventually make sense in the end. Perhaps what is most fascinating about Jane Eyre is the setting behind it. Throughout the novel, Jane Eyre travels to many places over multiple years. Through analysis it is clear that these different settings relate to each period and development in her life. Commonly contrasting and seemingly insignificant, the details behind locations such as Thornfield and Ferndean allow Bronte to develop Jane as a character as well as create a deeper meaning behind her work.
So, Rochester showed the brother (Richard), the priest, and Jane his wife. He explained how Bertha had lit his bed on fire, stabbed Richard, and destroyed Jane’s wedding veil's; she was more a monster than a wife. Heartbroken by learning of this marriage, Jane fled to her room where she stayed for hours upon hours. "Jane Eyre, who had been an ardent expectant woman - almost a bride - was a cold, solitary girl again: her life was pale; her prospects were desolate (341)." When she finally emerged, Rochester tried to convince her to stay with him. “I have for the first time found what I can truly love–I have found you. You are my sympathy–my better self–my good angel–I am bound to you with a strong attachment (363).” This was not something she could not do; as Rochester said, "...[It would] strip you of honour and rob you of self-respect (346)..." The next morning, Jane left Thornfield Hall with some money and few possessions. She did not say goodbye to
During the second summer Dill comes to Maycomb County, he and Jem grow close and begin shaming Scout for acting like a girl. At first Scout truly believes that acting like a girl means she is inferior but later realizes that being a girl is something to be proud of. Scout spends most of her summertime playing games with Jem and Dill but during their second summer together Jem begins to reproach her “being a girl” (Lee. 153) every time she was afraid to break a rule or act weak in their eyes. In the beginning Scout believed his remarks like Jem telling her “girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so.”(Lee 153), and is ashamed of her biological identity as a girl. But as the story progresses Scout interacts more with the women in her life, like Miss Maudie and Calpurnia, and begins to think “there
One of the most startling scenes in Jane Eyre is when finally it is revealed that Mr. Rochester has been keeping his wife in his attic, in an attempt to keep her away from the eyes of society, and of course, his and Jane's. Rochester tries to tell Jane that the reasoning behind the cruel act is that his wife is mad, is unstable and cannot be around others. The saddest part is that Bertha never asked for any of this to be brought upon her. Bertha Mason’s early life, actions and mystery illness pushed onto the path of loneliness and misery.
While Jane’s time at Gateshead demonstrated her immense sadness, Jane’s time at Thornfield reveals her sadness through depression, as it begins to evolve into anger and an internal struggle. Her correlation with madness and anger begins to appear when she goes into the attic. She states “I climbed the three staircases, raised the trapdoor of the attic, and having reached the leads looked out afar over sequestered field and hill, and along the dim skyline- that then I longed” (Bronte 114). Jane is trapped inside herself. She longs to escape from her emotions and internal struggles, yet cannot. The attic, the abode of Mr. Rochester’s insane wife, houses Jane’s emotions. She climbs up to the attic and views the world beyond it. She
Bertha Mason effect on choices and actions of other characters is shown throughout Jane and Rochester’s relationship. The first mention of Bertha was when Adele, Rochester’s daughter, talks about a “purple” and “dark ghost that roams the halls of thornfield Hall. This is however a description
Though Jane is well educated and possesses the etiquette and training of a person in upper class society, social prejudices limit her because she is simply a paid servant, in their eyes. While at Thornfield, Jane falls desperately in love with the owner of Thornfield Hall, Mr. Rochester. Jane is Mr. Rochester’s intellectual contemporary, but her social status prevents her from being his true equal. In the novel, Jane proclaims, “Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong!—I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!” (Bronte 637). After Mr. Rochester finally proposes, Jane is hesitant to marry him because she feels as if he would be lowering himself to marry her. This feeling greatly increases after Jane discovers he is married to Bertha Mason, and that he keeps her locked away in Thornfield’s attic due to her insanity. Mr. Rochester proposes that Jane becomes his mistress, which, according to Victorian society, would be more fitting since Jane is a plain governess. Jane realizes that she can never compromise her morals that way and leaves Thornfield. While on her own, Jane still strives to gain independence, discovers new kin, and learns she has a wealthy uncle who has left her a large inheritance. After her loneliness and longing for Mr. Rochester becomes too great, she returns to Thornfield. Jane is
This paper will focus on the use of allusion that Bronte has made in her novel Jane Eyre. The novel is written in first person. The novel has in it elements of the gothic. The gothic novel is an amalgamation of romance and terror. The tradition started with Horace Walpole’s novel ‘the castle of Otronto’. Bronte uses elements of this tradition in Jane Eyre.
Women in Victorian literature often came to be seen as "the other" or in more direct terms, as somehow demonized. This is certainly true in Jane Eyre. Bertha Mason, Rochester's mad wife, is the epitome of the demon in the attic. By virtue of being the first wife she is in continually compared to Jane. Although there are parallels in plot and language between the two women, they are completely different people. In addition, Bronte also depicts other women throughout the novel as something to be feared. Whereas earlier in English literature, men were typically depicted as monsters, in the nineteenth century women came to be seen as threatening creatures. They entrap men through their