Sunday, November 30, 2008
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Jane Eyre is a dense, romantic, Gothic novel telling the story of young Jane Eyre, an orphan with a cruel aunt and cousins who eventually leaves for school and encounters many adventures. One of the first novels dealing with feminism, Jane Eyre provides readers a new point of view into the minds of women during the 19th century. 16 concordances for Jane Eyre follow.
Double Retirement
“I mounted into the window-seat: gathering up my feet, I sat crosslegged, like a Turk; and, having drawn the red moreen curtain nearly close, I was shrined in double retirement” (2).
Early in the novel, Jane is shown as a solitary character, spending much of her time alone. In her aunt’s house, Jane discovers many places, such as this window-seat, that provide her with the seclusion that she wishes for, not only for happiness, but safety as well. For Jane, the window-seat symbolizes security, safety, and seclusion, important aspects of Jane’s life. Brontë uses this passage as an early characterization for Jane, showing not only how she is somewhat introverted, but also how she is intelligent enough, at such a young age, to know when to leave the presence of her aunt and cousins.
Early in the novel, Jane is shown as a solitary character, spending much of her time alone. In her aunt’s house, Jane discovers many places, such as this window-seat, that provide her with the seclusion that she wishes for, not only for happiness, but safety as well. For Jane, the window-seat symbolizes security, safety, and seclusion, important aspects of Jane’s life. Brontë uses this passage as an early characterization for Jane, showing not only how she is somewhat introverted, but also how she is intelligent enough, at such a young age, to know when to leave the presence of her aunt and cousins.
Photo Credit: http://www.yourspersonally.ie/images/windowseat1_b.jpg
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.
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.
Love and Adventure
“Bessie…fed our eager attention with passages of love and adventure taken from old fairy tales and older ballads; or (as at a later period I discovered) from the pages of Pamela, and Henry, Earl of Moreland” (3).
Here, Jane shows her age more clearly and accurately. Before this, it is difficult to believe that Jane is a child around the age of ten. Her dialect and diction suggest an older, more mature Jane, not the ten-year-old Jane that she is at the beginning of the novel. Brontë employs a literary device, allusion, to depict Jane’s age. Brontë alludes to two novels, Pamela, and Henry, Earl of Moreland, both romantic novels that a girl of Jane’s age would find enthralling during the 19th century.
Here, Jane shows her age more clearly and accurately. Before this, it is difficult to believe that Jane is a child around the age of ten. Her dialect and diction suggest an older, more mature Jane, not the ten-year-old Jane that she is at the beginning of the novel. Brontë employs a literary device, allusion, to depict Jane’s age. Brontë alludes to two novels, Pamela, and Henry, Earl of Moreland, both romantic novels that a girl of Jane’s age would find enthralling during the 19th century.
Madame Mope
“ ‘Boh! Madame Mope!’ cried the voice of John Reed; then he paused: he found the room apparently empty” (3).
Brontë uses an unusual nickname to characterize Jane during her childhood. Jane’s terrorizing cousin, John, calls Jane “Madame Mope” because of her tendency to sulk around the house. Instead of using direct characterization to show Jane’s depression and specifically saying that Jane is depressed, Brontë uses John’s nickname for Jane, “Madam Mope” to show that Jane is a miserable child.
Brontë uses an unusual nickname to characterize Jane during her childhood. Jane’s terrorizing cousin, John, calls Jane “Madame Mope” because of her tendency to sulk around the house. Instead of using direct characterization to show Jane’s depression and specifically saying that Jane is depressed, Brontë uses John’s nickname for Jane, “Madam Mope” to show that Jane is a miserable child.
Social Contrast
“He gorged himself habitually at table, which made him bilious, and gave him a dim and bleared eye with flabby cheeks. He ought now to have been at school; but his mamma had taken him home for a month or two, ‘on account of his delicate health.’ Mr. Miles, the master, affirmed that he would do very well if he had fewer cakes and sweetmeats sent him from home; but the mother’s heart turned from an opinion so harsh, and inclined rather to the more refined idea that John’s sallowness was owing to overapplication, and, perhaps, to pining after home” (4).
This passage shows the difference between the two social classes inhabiting Mrs. Reed’s home. The upper class, in which Mrs. Reed and her children live, believes in extravagance and affluence, while the lower class, which Jane and the servants populate, do not know what it is like to live with such luxuries. Jane comments on the treatment Mrs. Reed gives her son John with a note of disapproval in her voice. Brontë uses Jane’s commentary to contrast the two different social castes and to show her own disapproval of the upper class’s behaviors.
This passage shows the difference between the two social classes inhabiting Mrs. Reed’s home. The upper class, in which Mrs. Reed and her children live, believes in extravagance and affluence, while the lower class, which Jane and the servants populate, do not know what it is like to live with such luxuries. Jane comments on the treatment Mrs. Reed gives her son John with a note of disapproval in her voice. Brontë uses Jane’s commentary to contrast the two different social castes and to show her own disapproval of the upper class’s behaviors.
Roman Slave-Driver
“ ‘You are like a murderer—you are like a slave-driver—you are like the Roman emperors!’ ” (5).
Jane compares her cousin John to the Roman emperors, who were known for their tyranny and cruelty. Nero and Caligula were two Roman emperors that Jane read about in “Goldsmith’s History of Rome” (5). Jane’s interpretations of the two emperors deemed them slave-drivers and tyrants in Jane’s opinion, and she sees similarities between her John and the emperors, which she expressed here. Brontë includes this comparison to the Roman emperors to give her audience a better understanding of John’s behavior. Although the reference to Roman emperors is now outdated, at the time Brontë published Jane Eyre, Roman emperors had not been gone for long, thus making the reference useful.
Jane compares her cousin John to the Roman emperors, who were known for their tyranny and cruelty. Nero and Caligula were two Roman emperors that Jane read about in “Goldsmith’s History of Rome” (5). Jane’s interpretations of the two emperors deemed them slave-drivers and tyrants in Jane’s opinion, and she sees similarities between her John and the emperors, which she expressed here. Brontë includes this comparison to the Roman emperors to give her audience a better understanding of John’s behavior. Although the reference to Roman emperors is now outdated, at the time Brontë published Jane Eyre, Roman emperors had not been gone for long, thus making the reference useful.
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