Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte Essay, Research Paper
Jane Eyre would have only found bad, she now also finds good. Also, du The
novel, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte is a thought provoking book that deals
with the heroine, Jane, trying to break free of the social orders of the
nineteenth century, in order to free herself from the restraints of the
"class" system of the time and to free her heart from her inner self.
In order to express this theme, Bronte creates five places that represent the
emotion of her heart: Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, Moor End and Ferndean. By
creating these five settings, Bronte leads us on a Journey, with Jane narrating,
away from the concrete situation into a world of symbolism. On this journey
Bronte uses Jane to show the proper relationship between private feelings and
moral order. Her struggle with this relationship is a searching process from
depth to even deeper depth in her own heart to reveal the nature of her ultimate
self (Weekes, 77). In order to finally win this struggle, she has to break
through the social restraints so that her buries heart can flower. The first
setting of Jane’s heart that the reader comes to know is Gateshead. This place
is the estate of Jane’s Aunt Reed, a lady who resents Jane because she has to
take care of her. Also, residing with Jane at the estate are her three very
indulged cousins, who pick on Jane even, resulting in physical violence:
"She lay reclined on a sofa by the fireside, and with her darlings about
her (for the time neither quarrelling nor crying) looked perfectly happy. Me,
she had dispensed from the group" (Bronte, 1). This quote shows how unfair
and unhappy daily life was for Jane. Even the setting outside the house
reflected the mood: "The cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so
somber, and a rain so penetrating …" (Bronte, 1). The cold represents the
frozen heartedness of the Reeds’ and the wind represents the torrent of emotions
within the household (Weekes, 8). This reflection of the weather shows how
throughout the book, the settings symbolize Jane’s predicaments. A devastating
part of her stay at Gateshead was when she was locked in the "Red
Room" for defending herself against an attack from he cousin, John. This
room was all red, and was supposedly haunted by the ghost of Mr. Reed. Jane
entered this room a quiet, placid girl, but she exited a defiant girl. As a
result of this defiance, Mrs. Reed got the excuse she was looking for to send
her away, so Jane was sent to live at Lowood. At Lowood, a corrupt Orphan home,
the setting of injustice that was seen at Gateshead takes place again, but this
time it is intensified with starvation, disease and humiliation. Ironically,
even though this new "home" was worse than the old one, this is the
time when Jane’s heart starts its slow process of thawing out. At this school,
Jane was finally a part of a community, and one person in particular in this
community who helped change her life was Helen Burns (Weekes, 79): "While
disease had thus become an inhabitant of Lowood, and death its frequent visitor;
while there was gloom and fear within its walls; while its rooms and passages
steamed with hospital smells … that bright May shone unclouded over the bold
hills and beautiful woodland out of doors" (Bronte, 69). This quote shows
how Jane’s heart is starting to flower. In a situation where once she ring this
time another change began to develop within Jane’s soul. She began to develop an
inner-conscience and a faith connected to God. This house is also the place
where a very important factor comes into play. Jane learns to paint. Painting is
one of the main symbols of Jane trying to break free from restraint (Weekes,
79). Her paintings, which were usually dark, show us that Jane’s psyche is still
bleak and very much concerned with somber thoughts. This image, on first look,
leads us to believe that her heart is not free, but on closer analysis we see
that in order to express herself in this way, her heart must be opening up
enough to let emotion come through. The next setting that the reader finds Jane
in is Thornfield Hall. Thornfield Hall is not necessarily as much a metaphor for
Jane’s heart as it is for Edward Rochester’s heart. It is a representation for
the tropical half-life that he tried to escape, but can’t get away from. Here,
at Thornfield, Jane goes to work as a governess for Rochester and now is when
Jane really starts to start her struggle to break free of the restraints of the
social classes, so that she can free her heart. This struggle begins when Jane
finds…
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