“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë

“Jane Eyre”, written by Charlotte Brontë and published in 1847, under the pen name of
“CurrerBel”, is a Victorian novel, which follows a part of the life of its eponymous heroine
focusingon her emotions and experiences, that accompany her from childhood to maturity. There
are five stages in the novel, that are linked to Jane’s development, each associated with a place:
her childhood at Gateshead, her education at Lowood school, her time as a governess at
Thornfield, her time with the Rivers family at Morton and at Marsh End/Moor House and her
reunion with Rochester at Fearndean. Each of these places contains a figure, which represents
male power of females, thus pointing to the theme of gender relations (or even proto-feminism).
John Reed (Jane’s cousin) stands for physical force and patriarchal authority, Reverend
Brocklehurst is an embodiment of the social structures of the class, education and religion,
Rochester is the source of sexual attraction and finally St. John Rivers who exerts the supreme
authority in matters of morality and spirituality.

Being, therefore, placed repeatedly under the influence of male power she manages to resist
every time, defying John Reed and his abuse, rising above the judgemental and hypocritical
nature of Brocklehurst and refusing both Rochester and John Rivers, men of firm determination.
In every situation she refused any sort of external authority, be it male or female (in Mrs. Reed’s
case), proving herself to be an independent woman.Moreover, as the narrative evolves she is
transformed vulnerable girl, with no money and inheritance, no family and no social status into a
strong woman who overcomes all sort of oppression, finds a welcoming family, matches
intellectually all other male characters (and even surpasses them in some cases), is in the
possession of a great fortune and, through the last two, gains a proper position in society. She no
longer needs a male agent to save her, she doesn’t require any longer St. John or Rochester to
support her emotionally and physically, but she herself, in the end of the novel, goes to the weak,
blind and almost mad Mr. Rochester and rescues him from despair, becoming the active element
of their complicated relationship and supporting him, as was foreshadowed by their first meeting.

The novel is built in the style of a Bildungsroman, depicting the evolution of the central
character. Most of the novel is told through the lens of the matured narrator, who recalls and
comments her past experiences, describing the feelings, thoughts and opinions that she had at the
time, from a subjective perspective. Being narrated most of the times in the first person, but
sometimes the narrator tries to regain objectivity, referring to herself at the third person as if she
were somebody else. The narrator seems to be projecting itself into an observer-self that simply
records the action that is happening around it: “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“.

The novel adopts elements of Gothic and classic Romance style, evident in its mysterious
characters, like the brooding Mr. Rochester and in its frightening and threatening settings and
events. This becomes even clearer when, being locked in the “red room” she sees the “ghost” of
her deceased Uncle Reed. The red room itself has an important meaning to the novel and Jane’s
character. It suggestsviolence,irrationality, enclosure, appearing as a symbol of what she has to
overcome in her struggles to find freedom, happiness and a sense of belonging. As she tries to
obtain these things she keeps being trapped into metaphorical red rooms, an image that keeps
reappearing in the mind of the protagonist in different moments, when she is humiliated at
Lowood or when leavingThornfield after Rochester tried to convince her to become an
undignified mistress. The motif of ice and fire, redundant through most of the novel, is outlined
in this episode of the red room. Jane’s personality is mainly defined by her fiery passion, which
is figuratively extinguished by the chillness of the reed room. This chillness or other images of
ice and coldness stand for the other oppressive forces that stand against her. In chapter 37, for
example, Mr. Rochester’s face is compared to “a lamp quenched, waiting to be relit”, Jane
obviously being the fire meant to do that.

While St. John represents the icy and cold side of Jane, Rochester stands for her fiery and
passionate side. In the end, Jane chooses to follow the fire of her spirit, going back to Mr.
Rochester, but, upon returning she discovers that Thornfield was burned down, by Rochester’s
mad wife, Bertha. Here, fire functions here as a means of purifying the past and sins of the
novel’s Byronic hero, but also as divine mechanism sent to destroy the presence of his previous
wife, who has fulfilled her destiny. Although, choosing the “fire” she doesn’t let it consume her,
as Rochester had been in the past and as Thornfield was literallyput through flames. This is
suggested earlier in the novel when Jane saves Rochester by pouring cold water on him, when
Bertha set his bed aflame, a scene which is also reminiscent of Jane's habit, in the courtship
scenes, of verbally damping him down whenever his behaviourbecomes too amorous. Thus, she
finds the proper balance.

A very important theme is religion, as Jane, throughout the novel, struggles to find this balance
between moral duty and earthly pleasures, between her spirit and her body. The three main
religious figures that she encounters are Mr. Brocklehurst, Helen Burns and St. John Rivers.
Each of these characters embodies a religious model, that Jane rejects, building her own ideas
and conceptions about faith and religious principle. Mr. Brocklehurst is the epitome of religious
hypocrisy. He continuously subjects his students, at Lowood to various privations and
humiliations, that have the purpose of cleansing them of their pride, while at the same time
creating a luxurious life for his wealthy family, at the expense of Lowood’s students, many of
them ending up dying, because of the bad conditions of the school. Helen Burns’ meek attitude,
on the other hand, is too passive for Jane to accept either, even though Jane loves and appreciates
Helen very much. And finally, St. John Rivers represents the Christian ambition, glory, and
extreme self-importance. His unyielding behaviour to any sort of feeling, that might compromise
his mission as a messenger of God shocks Jane, who is urged by St. John to sacrifice her
emotions for the fulfillment of her moral duty, offering her a way of life that would require her to
be disloyal to her own self.

Even if she rejects these models, she still has a strong belief in God, to whom he prays in
moments of hardship, her faith preventing her from committing immoral acts, like becoming
Rochester’s mistress. Again, Jane find balance, keeping her faith in God, while still remaining a
part of the world and striving for worldly achievements, remaining a moral person, without fully
retreating from the world.

Struggling between passion and moderation, or, in psychoanalytical terms, between the Id and
the Superego, between reaction and quiescence, Jane Eyre manages to find balance. Neither
letting herself be controlled by her instincts nor adopting St. John’s stone hearted and self-
sacrificing composure, she walks the middle ground, taking pleasure in simple things, like a
happy marriage, a sense of belonging in a family and a quiet life, while still keeping a set of firm
principles in her mind and living with a strong faith in God.
Bibliography

“Reading the Victorian Novel: Detail into Form” edited by Ian Gregor - Jane Eyre and “The
Warped System of Things” by Doreen Roberts

“Notable British Novelists”, Volume I, edited by Carl Rollyson

“British Novel”, Volume I, by Virginia Brackett and Victoria Gaydosik

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/janeeyre/