Sunday, November 30, 2008

Fields of Ice


“Nor could I pass unnoticed the suggestion of the bleak shores of Lapland, Siberia, Spitzbergen, Nova Zembla, Iceland, Greenland, with ‘the vast sweep of the Arctic Zone, and those forlorn regions of dreary space—that reservoir of frost and snow, where firm fields of ice, the accumulation of centuries of winters, glazed in Alpine heights above heights, surround the pole, and concentre the multiplied rigours of extreme cold.’ ” (2).

This passage foreshadows the traveling that Jane does throughout the novel. Though she does not travel to any of the places she names here, she does travel throughout her country for various reasons ranging from education to employment opportunities. Brontë also uses these lines to show Jane’s intelligence and desire to educate herself further. Jane says that she could not “pass unnoticed the suggestion of the bleak shores…” which exhibits her craving to know more and to increase her knowledge.


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