Jane Eyre

by
Charlotte Brontë

“SPEAK I MUST”

Background

 “Currer Bell”: Pseudonym – Brontë wanted people to think a man wrote this novel
➢ Women were suppressed in her time (the Victorian era)
➢ The façade of Currer Bell would be more accepted than her real identity
➢ In this way, the voice of a woman was more acceptable to read because it was portrayed
by a man, that a man seemingly had control over the voice of a woman was more
acceptable than a woman sharing her own voice
 Written is the form of an autobiographical narrative – the reader gains insight into the
heart of Jane, she convinces the reader that her story is true, and we begin to trust her as a
narrator.
 Autobiographical text told retrospectively
➢ Jane is telling this story as Jane Rochester – she’s already married to Rochester
➢ So why does she present the story as Jane Eyre, we may wonder?
➢ She already has a child with him, but we only discover this right at the end
➢ The protagonist writes her own life story
➢ It’s also a bildungsroman, a journey of the character from childhood through to
adulthood
 Brief Summary

Chapter 1: The novel opens with Jane Eyre, a young orphan, living with her cruel Aunt Reed
and cousins. Jane is mistreated by her family and eventually sent to Lowood School, where she
is subjected to harsh conditions but forms a strong bond with her friend Helen Burns.

Chapter 2-10: Jane adapts to life at Lowood School, eventually becoming a teacher there. She
forms a close relationship with her mentor, Miss Temple, and also encounters Mr.
Brocklehurst, the school's cruel and hypocritical director. After a typhus outbreak at the school,
Jane decides to seek a new position as a governess.

Chapter 11-16: Jane is hired as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she teaches Adele, a
young French girl, and meets the enigmatic and brooding Mr. Rochester. Jane and Mr.
Rochester develop a close bond, but their relationship is complicated by Mr. Rochester's secret
marriage to the insane Bertha Mason who lives on the 3rd storey, in the attic, unbeknown to
Jane.

Chapter 17-23: Jane and Mr. Rochester's relationship deepens, they begin to care deeply for
each other but their plans to marry are thwarted when Mr. Rochester's secret is revealed just
before the wedding. Jane leaves Thornfield, dismayed and eventually finds refuge with St. John
Rivers and his sisters, who turn out to be Jane's long-lost cousins.

Chapter 24-27: St. John urges Jane to marry him and accompany him on a missionary trip to
India, but Jane ultimately decides to return to Thornfield to see Mr. Rochester, who has been
injured in a fire set by Bertha Mason. Jane and Mr. Rochester are finally able to reunite and
confess their love for one another.

Chapter 28-38: Jane and Mr. Rochester's love is tested by the revelation that Mr. Rochester is
now blind and lost a hand in the fire. The couple eventually marries and has a child. The novel
ends with Jane and Mr. Rochester reunited, and Jane reflecting on the lessons she has learned
about love, independence, and self-respect.
 Themes:

Social class
The novel portrays the rigid social hierarchy of Victorian
England, in which social class is determined by birth and
wealth. Jane's lowly social status as an orphan and then
governess makes her vulnerable to mistreatment and
discrimination.

Gender roles
 The novel challenges traditional gender roles and expectations, portraying Jane as a strong
and independent woman who refuses to be subjugated by men.

➢ Women—their roles in society according to class:

 Ideal of middle class woman, whose only purpose in life was to marry and be a
mother – what happened to the women who didn’t get married? What do we do with
these “redundant women”?
 Governesses
 Live with brothers or other relatives
 Become seamstresses
• “The fallen woman”: women who had fallen into sexual knowledge. How did
women sustain themselves financially if they weren’t educated and couldn’t be
governors, or if they were eventually sent out to the streets and became
prostitutes.

Love
 The novel explores the nature of love and the obstacles that stand in the way of true love,
such as social status, gender roles, and personal flaws.
 Marriage for love or for duty – this is depicted in her relationships with Mr Rochester vs St
John
Religion
 The novel wrestles with questions of faith and morality, with Jane struggling to reconcile
her own beliefs with the rigid religious doctrine of her time.
 Helen Burns, her friend at Thornwood, teaches her how to take control of her burning
passions and her erratic temper. She has this faith that is undeniable, and she teaches Jane
what faith looks like.

Bildungsroman
 The story takes shape in the telling of a life, “What happened that made you who you
are?” is the question of the novel – Jane Eyre tells the story of the movement of a story,
beginning from a moment that makes her who she is, and takes her to where she becomes
herself eventually

➢ Her aunt accuses her of being a liar
 This drives her to set the record straight that she is not a liar
• Results in continual self-revelation and self-justification
 “The two nations”
➢ The poor and rich – the grapple between the two

Significance of Fire:
Fire signifies passion, temptation, desire:
 After the fire had been started in Mr Rochester’s room by Mrs Rochester, which Jane stifled
while Mr R keeps sleeping, He has this strange affection towards her, longing for her to
stay and talk to her, to provide him with affection he seeks after nearly dying.
 She is cold towards him and he seems exasperated, and also intrigued by this.
 He asks to shake her hand, to thank her for saving his life.
 He refers to her as “my cherished preserver”
 At this moment, Jane detects something strange in his voice:
 “strange energy was in his voice; strange fire in his look”
 "I felt as if I could touch a burning candle and not be burnt." - Jane describing her passion
for Mr. Rochester.
 "It was only candlelight, but it was enough to reveal the deep and painful hue of the hand
that held my burning candle." - Jane describing her feelings of anger towards Mr.
Rochester.
 "The red-room was a square chamber, very seldom slept in, I might say never, indeed,
unless when a chance influx of visitors at Gateshead Hall rendered it necessary to turn to
account all the accommodation it contained: yet it was one of the largest and stateliest
chambers in the mansion. A bed supported on massive pillars of mahogany, hung with
curtains of deep red damask, stood out like a tabernacle in the centre; the two large
windows, with their blinds always drawn down, were half shrouded in festoons and falls of
similar drapery; the carpet was red; the table at the foot of the bed was covered with a
crimson cloth; the walls were a soft fawn colour with a blush of pink in it; the wardrobe,
the toilet-table, the chairs were of darkly polished old mahogany." - The red-room, where
Jane is punished, is described in detail, and the dominant colour of red is associated with
fire and danger.

 "The night was dark: my spirits were depressed. I rose and sat up in bed, listening. The
wind howled high in the trees, the rain beat heavily against the panes, and, amidst the stir
of these elements, I almost thought I heard a shriek. [...] Suddenly it stood still to an
inexpressible feeling that thrilled it through, and passed at once to my head and extremities.
The feeling was not like an electric shock, but it was quite as sharp, as strange, as startling:
it acted on my senses as if their utmost activity hitherto had been but torpor, from which
they were now summoned and forced to wake. They rose expectant: eye and ear waited
while the flesh quivered on my bones." - Jane's encounter with Mr. Rochester's mad wife,
Bertha, who is associated with fire and destruction.

 Overall, fire is a powerful symbol in "Jane Eyre", representing both passion and danger. It
is used to highlight the intense emotions felt by the characters and to foreshadow the
destructive forces that threaten to tear them apart.
 Character analysis

Jane:
 Orphaned as a baby, her mother’s brother takes her in and treats her as his own, he loves
her more than his own children
 Loves reading and painting to escape the world around her that is not conducive to her
growth and well-being
➢ Dreamworld in her painting
➢ Her self-perception is shown in her Art: Blanch Ingram is drawn as this beautiful
figure vs the way she draws herself as a plain governess

Mrs Reed:
 She hates Jane because of the kindness that her husband treats her with
 On her deathbed, in chapter 21, as she talks to Jane about when she is small, she refers to
Jane as “it”,
 Confession on her deathbed:
➢ She still harbours hate for Jane
➢ But due to her about to die, she confesses what she had done:
➢ She tells Jane that Jane’s uncle wanted to adopt her, he sent Mrs Reed a letter, but
Mrs Reed wrote back, lying, saying that Jane was dead
➢ She did this to take revenge on Jane for gaining the affection of her husband over her
own children
➢ Jane forgives her, though she still hates Jane
➢ This is contrast to who Jane used to be, how she would strike back, she turned the
other cheek instead

Helen Burns
 Helen Burns is a young student at Lowood School where Jane Eyre also attends, after
being sent away by Mrs Reed. Helen is portrayed as a pious and meek girl, who accepts
her harsh life at Lowood School without complaint.

➢ "I am not a rebel. I will submit to all that is ordained for me." - This quote shows
Helen's willingness to accept her fate, even if it is unpleasant.
 ➢ "Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs."
- This quote demonstrates Helen's forgiving nature and her belief in the power of
letting go of grudges.

➢ "I believe; I have faith: I am going to God." - Helen's unwavering faith in God is a
defining characteristic of her character.

➢ "It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to
commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with
you." -- this quote demonstrates Helen's belief in the importance of self-control and
restraint.

➢ "God did not give me my life to throw away." - This quote shows Helen's belief in the
value of life and her determination to make the most of it.

➢ Helen Burns is a character who embodies Christian values of forgiveness, humility,

and faith. Her character is contrasted with the harsh and unforgiving attitudes of many
of the other characters in the novel, and her influence on Jane Eyre is significant.

Miss Temple
 Miss Temple is a character who embodies kindness, compassion, and understanding. She
serves as a maternal figure to Jane, providing her with the guidance and support she needs
to thrive. Miss Temple's influence on Jane is significant, helping her to become a strong
and resilient woman who is capable of great love and compassion.
 “I see at intervals the glance of a curious sort of bird through the close-set bars of a cage:
a vivid, restless, resolute captive is there; were it but free, it would soar cloud-high." -
This quote demonstrates Miss Temple's ability to see the potential in Jane and her desire
to help her reach her full potential.
 She refers to Jane as a “blackbird” for her originality and unique character
 Brocklehurst tells that Jane is a liar, ensuring that she is shamed to some extent
 But Miss Temple defends Jane, and Jane thus overcomes the construct and story that is
placed around her – she believes Jane, and we as readers are further convinced of Jane’s
side of the story, she is seen as a trustworthy narrator.
Mr Brocklehurst
 Mr. Brocklehurst is a character in Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre".
He is the strict and severe headmaster of Lowood School where Jane
Eyre is a student. Here is a character analysis of Mr. Brocklehurst:
 Authoritarian: Mr. Brocklehurst is a strict and authoritarian figure who
believes in the importance of discipline and conformity. He imposes
strict rules on the students at Lowood School and punishes those who
break them.
 Hypocritical: Mr. Brocklehurst preaches a message of poverty and humility, but he himself
is wealthy and enjoys a comfortable lifestyle. He is also known to be dishonest and
manipulative, using his position of power to further his own interests.
 Self-righteous: Mr. Brocklehurst sees himself as a moral authority and is quick to judge
others who do not conform to his standards. He is particularly harsh on Jane Eyre, whom
he sees as a rebellious and troublesome student.
 Cruel: Mr. Brocklehurst's methods of punishment are often cruel and abusive. He is known
to use physical punishment, such as making students stand on a stool for hours on end, and
to deprive them of food and warmth as a means of discipline.
 Ignorant: Mr. Brocklehurst is often portrayed as ignorant and narrow-minded. He is
particularly prejudiced against women, believing that they should be subservient to men
and should not receive a full education.
 Overall, Mr. Brocklehurst is a character who embodies the worst qualities of
authoritarianism and hypocrisy. His harsh treatment of the students at Lowood School and
his narrow-minded views on gender and education make him an unsympathetic character.
His influence on Jane is significant, however, as it helps to shape her rebellious spirit and
to reinforce her determination to seek a better life for herself.

Mary-Ann Wilson
 Only true friend that Jane has – Helen is a friend, but she demands
that Jane be untrue to herself
 When the typhus epidemic breaks out, Jane is sent off
 Mary is a little older than Jane, and she reminds us of Bessie: she
is also an excellent storyteller and she doesn’t reprimand Jane
 The two go barefoot together, and for the first time Jane is naturally happy and is allowed
the freedom to be herself
➢ In this moment, we have the anticipation of Rochester
➢ Equate Helen Burns with St John River similarly as Mary-Ann Wilson to Rochester
 Jane recuperates psychologically at this point
 Mary-Ann anticipates Rochester, with the pleasurableness that Jane experiences with both
MA and Rochester

Mr. Edward Rochester

 Mysterious and brooding: Mr. Rochester is initially introduced as a mysterious and

brooding figure. He is enigmatic and keeps his past hidden from others, which creates an
air of mystery around him. He also has a tendency to brood and is prone to melancholy.

 Strong-willed and independent: Mr. Rochester is a strong-willed and independent character

who does not conform to societal norms. He is unconventional in his mannerisms, speech,
and attitudes, and he is not afraid to challenge authority or break rules.

 Charismatic and charming: Mr. Rochester is also a charismatic and charming character who
is able to captivate those around him with his wit and intelligence. He has a sharp tongue
and is skilled at using language to his advantage.

 Lonely and vulnerable: Despite his strong exterior, Mr. Rochester is also a lonely and
vulnerable character. He has been hurt in the past and carries emotional scars that make it
difficult for him to form deep connections with others.

 Flawed and complex: Mr. Rochester is a flawed and complex character who makes
mistakes and must grapple with the consequences of his actions. He has a tendency to be
manipulative and deceitful, especially in his treatment of Bertha Mason, his mad wife.

 Romantic and passionate: Finally, Mr. Rochester is a romantic and passionate character
who is capable of deep love and devotion. His relationship with Jane Eyre is marked by
intense emotions and a profound connection that transcends societal barriers.
Mrs. Rochester (also known as Bertha Mason)

 She is the first wife of Mr. Rochester and is locked away in the attic of Thornfield Hall.
Here is a character analysis of Mrs. Rochester:

 Mysterious: Mrs. Rochester is a mysterious and enigmatic figure who is kept hidden away
from the rest of society. Her past is shrouded in secrecy, and little is known about her life
before she married Mr. Rochester.

 Wild: Mrs. Rochester is often described as wild and untamed. She is known to have fits of
madness and to behave erratically, which is one of the reasons why Mr. Rochester locks
her away.

 Tragic: Mrs. Rochester's life is a tragic one. She is abandoned by her family and forced into
a loveless marriage with Mr. Rochester, who keeps her locked away like a prisoner. Her
descent into madness is a result of her mistreatment and the isolation she experiences.

 Oppressed: Mrs. Rochester is a victim of the patriarchal society in which she lives. She is
oppressed by her husband, who sees her as a burden and a disgrace. She is also oppressed
by her gender, which limits her opportunities and prevents her from living a full and
meaningful life.

 Sympathetic: Despite her wild and erratic behavior, Mrs. Rochester is a sympathetic
character. Her mistreatment at the hands of Mr. Rochester and society as a whole makes
her a tragic figure who deserves our compassion.

 Mrs. Rochester is a complex and multifaceted character who represents the dark side of
society's treatment of women. Her tragic story highlights the oppression and mistreatment
that many women faced in the 19th century, and her portrayal in the novel is a powerful
indictment of the patriarchal society in which she lived.

St John Rivers

 Ambitious and hardworking: St. John is ambitious and driven by a desire to succeed in his
chosen career as a missionary in India. He is also hardworking and dedicated to his mission
to go, this sometimes leads him to prioritize his work over his personal relationships.
 Reserved: St. John is a reserved and emotionally distant character, who often comes across
as cold and aloof. He struggles to connect with others on an emotional level and has
difficulty expressing his feelings.

 Missional and dedicated: St. John is deeply religious and devoted to Jesus, He is also highly
moralistic and believes in living a life of self-denial and sacrifice in service to God.

 He looks after Jane when she is devastated that she cannot marry Mr Rochester. hE loves
Jane, but Jane doesn’t feel the same way.

Jane Eyre vs Mansfield Park in narrative voice of the orphan child

“speak I must” vs “I was quiet, but I wasn’t blind”

NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW WILL ALWAYS BE THE STARTING POINT OF THE

ESSAY

 Think about how Austen’s use of free indirect speech compares to Bronte’s use of first
person narrator.
 She wants to see how we talk about interiority of the characters’ worlds: third person
focalisation with free indirect discourse, with insight into the characters’ interior world of
the protagonist and other characters’ worlds too.
 Focusing on protagonist, we need to consider how Bronte uses this very straightforward
mode of first person autobiography approached by Jane as an opportunity to set the record
straight.
 We become familiar with the voice of a character who is completely unconventional,
compared to Fanny who is determined to submit
➢ Jane is incredibly outspoken
➢ Jane is much more straightforward in her “confession”/ ”witness statement” from a
woman who acknowledges that she was treated abominably as a child
➢ Mrs Reed is trying to discredit Jane: the woman who is supposed to be Jane’s
caretaker is her enemy as this evil stepmother figure
➢ Jane has no one to care for her once her uncle dies soon after her parents
 ➢ But Jane still uses her uncle’s support in contrast to Mrs Reed’s complicity in her
son’s abuse
 So Jane represents herself as an honest, trustworthy witness, inviting the reader to
understand her and empathise with her
 Jane Austen uses a similar device with the intrusive narration of “My fanny”, which
solicits the reader too
 So establish the differences at the beginning or weave it into the essay

Chapter 1
 Adult narrator looks back and pinpoints certain days where something different happens
 On this specific day, everything changes
 No possibility of taking a walk that day
➢ Landscape = soul scape (ROMANTICS THEME)
➢ The author’s interior world is projected onto the exterior world
➢ Refer back to romanticism, the entanglement of the external life of the character and
their internal world
➢ Jane is very much within the world of the romantic novel genre: the book is a
romance, but there are many romantic motifs at play throughout the novel
 Narrative starts with a trajectory that introduces the mother figure in the middle class of
Mrs Reed
➢ Jane has no mother figure, but she has this awful mother figure
➢ Classic middle class sentimental tableau of the mother sitting at the fireplace with her
children around her
➢ Bronte rips this pretty little picture by pointing out that Mrs Reed is conducting
herself most cruelly to the most vulnerable person in her home
➢ Jane’s experience of “home” accrues the exact opposite cluster of values: coldness,
fear, anxiety – even though she should be “grateful” as this poor orphan child is
forced into an unwilling position of dependence
➢ Gothic mode associated with the home: the house features prominently as a place of
haunting, ghosts etc. occurring in the safe space of the home
➢ Freud and the uncanny and the unhomely → things being both familiar but unsettling
in their unfamiliarity
➢ In Jane Eyre, this becomes a thematic presence
 ➢ The autobiographical narrative is read as a revolutionary disruption of surface so that
what we see is behind the surface
➢ The happy little scene of mother and children is an active act of violence against Jane
➢ Narrator presenting the pretence while knowing the reality
➢ Jane, meanwhile, is trying to develop a “nicer”, more “natural” character so that she
can be included in happier scenes → we can already hear the anger in the narrator’s
voice as she returns to this highly traumatised little girl who experiences tremendous
early loss and abandonment
➢ Psychological damage being acted out against Jane at this point
➢ Exclusion from love and affection, and made to feel wrong about herself
 “bad animal”
➢ Diminishes Jane’s humanity
➢ Can treat her however as they please
 But incredible power of Jane’s character
➢ On this very day, she gets a sense of refusal and denial to take their version of things
as fact
➢ She will assert her own sense of herself very powerfully
➢ orphan figure as autobiographical narrator
➢ CB (Charlotte Brontë) shows the pretence here: this motif teaches children to be
dishonest → think of the free indirect speech epilogue of Sir Thomas, who realises
that if he’d known his children better and hadn’t encouraged them to rely on this false
persona, things might have worked out different
➢ CB puts it far more explicitly: children are raised to be dishonest when in fact they are
wild and awful in so many ways, and this isn’t recognised when we focus on the
indulgence of this spoiling mother/aunt, which creates this contagion of children
being over-indulged and then allowed to behave in ways that are harmful
➢ John Reed is described as being almost repellent to Jane, not only in his conduct
towards her but in his bodily presence
 Ages of the children
➢ The story starts at a place where Jane is transitioning between childhood and
adolescence → there’s also conflict between the children on this point, in ways that go
beyond merely surface conflict between two children
 Childhood’s construct
 ➢ Children are taught to be inauthentic, and because Jane is authentic, she is ostracised
from love and affection within the family
➢ Jane is pressurised to adopt a certain persona in order to be accepted, and it is because
she refuses to do so that she is marginalised from the family
➢ [so Jane is not a problematic child: she simply refuses/has not been exposed to
the indulgence that would encourage her to develop the false persona of
pleasantness that “lovable” children have adopted for what a child should be]
➢ Confrontation: “there is something truly forbidding about a child taking up her elders
in that manner” → Jane does things in such a straightforward, pretence-free way,
when children are expected either to speak pleasantly or to say nothing at all
 Jane’s imagination is very active, and she is a wide reader
➢ Lots of Eastern references
➢ Jane hides behind the red curtains, enclosing herself within this
foreign world
➢ “alone”, “solitary”
➢ Theme of storytelling: Jane learns from Bessie how to tell
stories, and Bessie also makes an intertext reference to a story where a servant girl
marries above her class in a story of love and adventure, just like Jane’s
➢ Bessie feeds Jane food, and also stories
➢ Jane’s starvation of love also makes her very vulnerable to any love she does receive
 Only Bessie shows any slight notice of Jane, but she cannot be seen to take Jane’s side
because she is also dependent on Mrs Reed
➢ Bessie becomes a surrogate mother to Jane, and she is also important for her
storytelling role
➢ Rochester is also a storyteller – the erotic element of talk that Jane experiences
➢ These earlier storytellers are important in shaping how Jane writes her own story too
 What happens on this day???
➢ The monster boy Reed arrives
➢ Reed diminishes Jane as a person into a sort of animalism (although he’s cruel to
animals too)
➢ Jane is overwhelmed by physical terror when Mr Reed arrives
➢ “He bullied and punished me… continually.” Every part of me shrank in fear when he
came near
 ➢ Mrs Reed was blind and deaf on the subject, both when it happened in front of her,
and when it happened behind her back
➢ She’s become acclimatised to his abuse, she’s accustomed to it and habitually endures
the blow that always follows the insult
➢ THIS IS IN HER HOME, THE SPACE THAT SHOULD BE SAFE AND
“PROTECTED” ACCORDING TO VICTORIAN CHILDHOOD CULT
PERSPECTIVE
➢ John also reveals that a lot of his words were given to him by older people – a child
wouldn’t naturally think like that
➢ He positions Jane away from the windows so people cannot see his actions
➢ Literal level: active abuse is taking place
➢ Symbolic level: Jane is awaked into consciousness, and she is wounded to the point
of no return. Jane bleeds – idea of fallen woman is introduced, with the background of
her mother. Abuse is perpetrated as potentially sexual too (I would question this).
This is an echo though
➢ She’s been obedient and caught in habitual endurance – and now she’s in the doorway
and heading out, metaphorically. She comes to her senses through the wound
➢ Jane insults him and calls him a murderer and a slave driver
➢ She literally fights back, with intense anger in an act of self-assertion and self-defence
against perpetual attack
 Jane always defends her novel as true
 Jane opens the novel with the violent description of John Reed’s abuse in order to get
readers to trust her as a narrator and to ‘get them on her side’

Analysis of significant scenes discussed in class:

Chapter One

“That day” – the opening of the story, the event that unfolded everything that follows thereafter

 Physical attack by her cousin – an ongoing feature of her life that she is accustomed to, she
fights back, takes on agency over her life -- but it gets her in trouble.
 John Reed is a brat. He is pampered by Mrs Reed, and by Jane lashing back at him, it makes
Mrs Reed furious, giving her a reason to send her away, and that her husband wasn’t there
to protect Jane, it made it even easier.
 Belief – children are meant to be “innocent” but in fact they are monstrous, learning and
growing and developing
 We’re met with the idea that Mrs Reed is an outright hypocrite: but presents herself as this
honourable Christian woman looking after the child of her dead husband’s sister.
 Teaching children to be obedient all the time makes them dishonest and secretly rebelling.

NB: writing comparative test, give specific examples

Chapter 4

 Chapter 4 of "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte marks a turning point in the novel, as it marks
Jane's arrival at Lowood School and her first encounter with Mr. Brocklehurst. Here are
some key elements of the chapter and their significance:

 Lowood School: Lowood School serves as a symbol of Jane's oppression and confinement,
as she is forced to endure harsh living conditions and strict disciplinary measures. However,
it also represents a newfound sense of community and belonging for Jane, as she forms
friendships with Helen Burns and Miss Temple.

 Mr. Brocklehurst: Mr. Brocklehurst is introduced as a cruel and hypocritical character, who
imposes strict religious and moralistic standards on the girls at Lowood while living a life
of luxury and extravagance himself. His treatment of Jane and her classmates highlights
the injustices and hypocrisy of Victorian society, particularly in its treatment of women and
children.

 Jane's defiance: In this chapter, Jane displays her strong will and independent nature by
standing up to Mr. Brocklehurst and refusing to have her natural curls cut off. This act of
defiance marks the beginning of Jane's rebellion against the oppressive norms of her
society, and sets the stage for her future struggles against the patriarchy.
 Helen Burns: Helen Burns is introduced as a kind and gentle character, who serves as a foil
to Jane's fiery and rebellious nature. Her influence on Jane helps to temper Jane's passions
and teaches her the value of self-control and patience. However, Helen's acceptance of her
own suffering also raises questions about the role of self-sacrifice and self-denial in
Victorian society.

Chapter 15: The fire!!

 Jane admits to the reader that she is fond of Mr Rochester, saying “his presence in a room
was more cheering than the brightest fire”

 She saves his life, and he is grateful but still does not outwardly express any emotion or
feeling of fondness towards him.

Chapter 22: “But I have a veil – it is down”

After arriving back from Gateshead, after a month

of being apart from Mr Rochester, even though
she tells him she will be gone only for a week,
Jane is nervous, she is aware of her body and her
movements, she does not know how to act or
conceal her emotions of care for him.

Jane, who would normally just walk past as say nothing more, called back to Mr Rochester, to
tell him, in other words, she missed him.

NB: Growth and

 “an impulse held me fast, -- a force turned me around” change of Jane’s
character is
 “I said – or something in me said for me, and in spite of me”
depicted in this
 She tells him “wherever you are is my home – my only home” scene. Good to
reference in essay!
 This portrays Jane finally speaking how she feels, and not stifling herself
or numbing her emotions – we see so much growth after her trip to
Gateshead.

The theme of the bildungsroman is depicted here after the character has
gone through a significant change, and her character has further
developed, and inner growth is portrayed in the way she deals with her
inner conflicting emotions. Here Jane is free to express herself truly the
way she feels about Mr Rochester. She no longer hides her feelings.

The Proposal scene and its aftermath:

 Jane could have stayed at Gateshead, but why not?
 For love: “you strike delight in my very soul”
 Its blight and proper for him to marry Blanch Ingram

Chapter 23

➢ It’s mid-summer, and Jane is out in the garden

➢ Jane smells the cigar that Rochester is smoking
➢ Temptation in the garden… reference to Garden of
Eden
➢ Time of fecundity and richness in nature
➢ Jane has achieved womanhood, in terms of Victorian generalisations
➢ This big tree – like the tree of knowledge in Genesis
➢ Rochester calls Jane, and she feels embarrassed
➢ Jane believes Rochester is going to marry Blanche, and she thinks she’ll probably need
to leave
➢ Jane says she’ll advertise herself again
➢ Rochester says he’ll find a place for her – he’s playing a strange emotional game with
her
➢ Sympathetic portrayal of Rochester as he knows he’s about to do something wrong, but
he hasn’t committed to it yet
 ➢ Jane understands that she and Rochester cannot be together, but Jane is devastated at
the thought
➢ Physicality of Rochester’s description of the imaginary string binding them together,
and the feeling of connection that, if broken, would kill Rochester – very clear
declaration of love!
➢ Jane just wishes she’d never been born – what a terrible situation she finds herself in
➢ Jane responds with an intense declaration of love and belonging too:
➢ "I am not a machine without feelings, and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched
from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup. 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! And if God had gifted me with
some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it
is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom,
conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just
as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!"
➢ Speaking past each other
➢ Jane: do you think I can stay to become nothing to you? I have as much soul as you and
full as much heart. I would have made it as hard for you to leave me as it is now for me
to leave you. Their feeling between each other is something like spirits speaking to each
other, and their equality
➢ Jane has asserted herself, as enabled by Rochester in so many ways
➢ I am no bird, and no net ensnares me. This is what Rochester loves about her: she
acts on her own accord, in a life that has been difficult in so many ways
➢ Rochester: you almost unearthly thing, I love as much as my own flesh.
➢ Rochester proposes, and Jane accepts
➢ notices him coming – she smells his cigar
➢ “naturally and inevitably loved”
➢ “it is a long way to Ireland, Janet” - endearment
➢ “are you anything akin to me, Jane?”
Expression of love:
➢ “cord of communion”
➢ “bleed internally”
 Storm an omen of what is to come, splitting the natural forces of Rochester and Jane
 Jane dreams that she’s in the red room
 Jane has this dream warning her to flee temptation, and she leaves Rochester
➢ CB takes us into the emotional world of Jane, and the anguish this results in
➢ Jane is terrified of Rochester returning to how he had been before
➢ Jane worries that she’s leaving him to a destiny of debauchery
➢ Jane gets to a crossroads, she loses her possessions: everything is taken from her, and
she’s destitute
➢ Almost a pagan sense of nature as a mother, coinciding with the God father of
Christianity
➢ Not a tie holds me to human society at this moment: no relative but mother Nature
 Purgatory in nature
➢ Jane is healed in nature
➢ She feels that only nature loves her, and she cannot trust in men
➢ She has almost contaminated her reputation and becoming a fallen woman by marrying
Rochester bigamously – she knows that she must remain a virgin for society’s
expectations
➢ Also her sense of self, not submitting herself to something that is damaging and would
take her freedom
 Rochester is “punished” in the fire set by Bertha
➢ He is left almost blind and crippled, but he recognises Jane
➢ Only once Rochester has gone through his own purgatory and has been freed from his
own history that Jane feels she can love him
 The Rivers family – looks after her

St John Rivers

➢ Jane says that where she were convinced that God wanted her to marry
him, she would do so on the spot
➢ But there is emotional violence being perpetrated here
➢ Jane feels that he almost loves her, but like him, Jane has put love out of
the question and sees a duty here
➢ Jane makes the reader her judge, as to what in fact she is feeling
➢ But Jane’s is a highly human story: she has moral integrity, but she must be entirely
herself and she knows she doesn’t love him
➢ There’s a sense of holding out here as well though – Jane is at the point of emotional
breakdown but she holds out
 ➢ Jane dreams of Rochester, and follows his “spirit”
➢ Jane: it was my power, etc.
➢ She lets go of St John
➢ Her soul rushes out toward this “natural” spirit
➢ Jane discovers herself again – Jane is Christian, but in a different way from St John’s
Christianity – he has a missional heart.
➢ Jane has this intimate relationship with nature, too
➢ Jane realises she’ll lose something of herself if she goes off with St John, in a sort of
passivity similar to that of being a teacher at Lowood and when Miss Temple leaves
she puts off this cloak of conventionality
➢ Jane removes this cloak of conventionality – she loves her cousins, but her nature
asserts itself again and presents itself with external nature endorsing this – like a
supernatural connection between Rochester and Jane, though she hears this voice within
herself (think of Rochester describing the string between them)

Return to Thornfield

 “Reader, I married him”

➢ She returns to find Thornfield burnt down
➢ Jane speaks about her experience of marriage
  Fanny Price does not speak about this
➢ Jane and Rochester know no weariness of each other
➢ To be together is to be as free as in solitude, as gay as in company
➢ To talk to each other is but a more animated and audible thinking
➢ All his confidence is devoted to me
➢ We are precisely suited to each other, in perfect concord
➢ Jane ends her autobiographical narrative by talking about Rivers, and sends Jane a letter
– she ends the novel with his voice, unmediated from his letter: heavily loaded Christian
closure to this narrative, which has been consistently unconventional in its challenging
of the social norm in which it is set
➢ Jane is deflecting attention to finding endorsement for her choices in marrying
Rochester, and what had gone before, establishing the rightness of her actions
➢ She closes the novel with her endorsement of not going with St John, he goes on his
mission and dies on duty to God
➢ THINK ABOUT THIS CLOSURE AND TELL LECTURER WHAT THIS
CLOSURE DOES – give a sense of what this trajectory does
➢ What the fictional biographer does is to let go of her autobiographical voice

NB: Narrative point of view:

 Her speech to Mr Rochester – development of character from nothingness as she calls
herself a “thing”
 She pulls herself, takes agency, “speak I must”
 Speaking to apothecary
 Speaking to Miss Temple “I didn’t lie”
How Jane speaks up for herself in the infamous lines of “speak I must”:
 Mr Brocklehurst is a complete hypocrite, exactly the kind that CB is so critical of
 He criticises Jane’s religion and values
➢ How is she supposed to defend herself against the assertion that she is a liar?
➢ Mrs Reed is trying to discredit Jane, because when she goes to Lowood, Jane can tell
her story there and this could put Mrs Reed to shame → Mrs Reed tries to ensure that
no one will believe poor orphan Jane
➢ Mr Brocklehurst says that he’ll make it known at Lowood that Jane is a liar
 Jane is still feisty here, and doesn’t cower in front of Brocklehurst
 ➢ Jane says that to avoid going to hell, she must keep in good health and not die – she
doesn’t fall into the game that’s expected of her to play
 Compare these examples to Austen’s use of free indirect speech
 Jane anticipates that although she is leaving Gateshead, her reputation will follow her as a
result of Mrs Reed’s advanced poisoning
 CB is extremely aware of Mrs Reed’s role in the violent, entitled masculinity of her son
 “Speak I must”… (ch 4 pg [30])

“If people were always kind and obedient to those who are cruel and unjust, the wicked people
would have it all their own way; they would never feel afraid, and so they would grow worse
and worse.” Contd.
➢ Jane declares that she does not like or love Mrs Reed
➢ She speaks out, and this attitude comes to define Jane, even in a childlike way
➢ Children often turn and say they don’t love their parents anyway in moments of anger,
but in Jane’s case there’s a moment of indictment: Mrs Reed never loved her!
➢ This physically affects Jane: she just goes on and on about Mrs Reed, to her face!
➢ Moment of self-definition
➢ Look at family structure → here, Jane clearly declares that Mrs Reed is not her family
 Powerful stuff… Jane threatens Mrs Reed with the truth, and she realises this promise with
her autobiography!
 Jane is WILD at this point, she’s given up all and any control of her feelings and she’s
accused of being passionate
 These hypocrites present themselves to be of high moral standing, but in fact, Jane is quite
right in calling Mrs Reed to task on Christian values
 Jane speaks fiercely – but she doesn’t only speak out, she speaks to and with [Rochester]
 Bessie sympathises with Jane for the first time, and Bessie is a threshold figure
 Jane refuses to conform to the hypocrisy
 Resistance to being treated poorly by the man she loves – but calls him “Master” at her
own power
 Not conventional romance heroine
 Transformation to Mr Rochester’s equal at God’s feet.
 Extra quotation analysis

"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will."
(Chapter 23)

The "I am no bird" quote comes from Charlotte Bronte's novel "Jane Eyre" and is
spoken by the protagonist, Jane Eyre, in Chapter 23. At this point in the novel, Jane has
fallen in love with Mr. Rochester, the owner of Thornfield Hall where she works as a
governess. However, their relationship is complicated by Mr. Rochester's secret wife,
Bertha, who is hidden away in the attic.

In Chapter 23, Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane, but she initially resists, feeling that their
relationship is impossible given his marriage. However, Mr. Rochester persists in his
pursuit of Jane, and eventually, she agrees to marry him. It is at this point that she makes
the statement "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an
independent will."

This quote is significant because it represents Jane's assertion of her own identity and
agency in the face of societal constraints and expectations. As an orphan and a
governess, Jane occupies a precarious position in society, and her independence and
agency are constantly threatened by those around her. However, by proclaiming that
she is "no bird" and "no net ensnares" her, Jane rejects the societal norms that seek to
limit her freedom and autonomy. She asserts herself as a "free human being" with her
own thoughts, feelings, and desires, and refuses to be held back by the expectations of
others.

Overall, the "I am no bird" quote represents a key moment of empowerment and agency
for Jane, as she asserts her own identity and willpower and refuses to be defined by the
limitations imposed upon her by society.

Chapter 1:
"I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was
the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the
chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to
Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed." - This quote highlights Jane's vulnerability and social
isolation as a child.

Chapter 9:
"Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need
exercise for their faculties, and a field for their efforts, as much as their brothers do; they suffer
from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer." - This
quote challenges traditional gender roles and expectations, emphasizing that women have the
same emotional and intellectual needs as men.

Chapter 12:
"I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will." -
This famous quote highlights Jane's fierce independence and refusal to be constrained by
societal norms.
This is CONTRAST to her character at Lowood where Miss Temple talks of her as
being a “bird through close-set bars of a cage”

Chapter 17:
"I have a strange feeling with regard to you. As if I had a string somewhere under my left ribs,
tightly and inextricably knotted to a similar string situated in the corresponding quarter of your
little frame." - This quote illustrates the deep connection between Jane and Mr. Rochester,
despite the societal barriers that stand in their way.

Chapter 23:
"I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more
I will respect myself." - This quote emphasizes Jane's determination to assert her independence
and self-respect, even in the face of social isolation.

Chapter 27:
"I have now been married ten years. I know what it is to live entirely for and with what I love
best on earth. I hold myself supremely blest--blest beyond what language can express." - This
quote from Mr. Rochester highlights the power of true love to overcome even the greatest
obstacles.
Chapter 38:
"I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of
mortal flesh;--it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the
grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal--as we are!" - This quote from Jane and Mr Rochester's
final reunion highlights the triumph of love over social and physical barriers, and the ultimate
equality of all souls. She expresses the depths of her soul to Mr Rochester.

The very ending of the novel:

Marriage and love in different perspectives: St John vs Jane Eyre

St. John – while St John lives in India, and sends his final letter to Jane, she states that “St John
is unmarried: he will never marry now”
 While St John is in India, without a wife, he is not alone, He has the Lord, the company of
Jesus, who he refers to as “My Master”
 This ending is so beautiful, as it shows a love story of St John, he was led by love to India,
to serve the people there, and will die in his love and passion for King Jesus, to whom he
is married -- the Bible references Jesus as the bridegroom, and His Church (the body of
believers) as the bride. This is the depiction of marriage in the Bible, whereby marriage
that we have today, imitates and represents.
 His choice has left him with a powerful, different type of love. The truest love, His love for
Jesus and his self-denial in his duty to the cause of the Great Commission in Matthew 28.