Pivotal Places In Jane Eyre

In the novel, ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Bronte, setting is used throughout the novel to illustrate the development in the character. The novel is revolved around five separate locations, ; the Reed family's home at Gateshead, the wretched Lowood School, Rochester's manor, Thornfield, the Rivers family's home at Moor House, and Rochester's rural retreat at Ferndean, these settings all play a very important part in Jane’s life as they all represent the development of Jane’s character and the different period’s of her eventful life.

Throughout Jane Eyre, as Jane herself moves from one physical location to another, the settings in which she finds herself vary considerably. Bronte makes the most of this necessity by carefully arranging those settings to match the differing circumstances Jane finds herself in at each. As Jane grows older and her hopes and dreams change, the settings she finds herself in are perfectly attuned to her state of mind, but her circumstances are always defined by the walls, real and figurative, around her.

In chapter 16 we can see Jane beginning to develop feelings for Mr Rochester: “glad at least to go downstairs; for that brought me...closer to Mr Rochester’s presence” This marks a stride in her emotional development as in this instance, rather than developing an attachment to a mother figure in the search for a family, Jane is becoming attached romantically which demonstrates that she is thinking in a more adult way and instead of wanting to join a family it seems that she is striving to create one of her own. Jane’s ongoing suspicions regarding Bertha Mason, whose existence she is at this stage unaware of, show her increasing maturity as she is prepared to look deeper into a situation and is clearly no longer as naïve as she was when she previously believed Mrs Fairfax’s explanation that the laughter was Grace Poole. However, Jane is willing to believe what she is told because of her feelings for Rochester which conveys a certain amount of naivety still present as, in a fairly childlike manner; she is inclined to believe what she is told by superiors as opposed to forming her own opinions or inquiring further. Jane’s reformed perspective shows that she has developed from previous chapters. Her opinion was that at Thornfield, everything was as it seemed, she has revised her opinions in an adult way and

As a feminist, Jane is able to protect herself when she is in a situation where she needs to be defended. For instance, when her brutish older cousin John hurls a hardcover book at her head, she pounces back by attacking him in defense. She also faces no difficulty in successfully defeating her cold-hearted aunt in a verbal fight, just at the tender age of ten. Jane is surely unafraid of the consequences that she has to face on actions that she believes as rightfully done. This amazing trait remains even as she proceeds into adulthood and meets the love of her life. She is able to deal with, and even stand up to Mr. Rochester’s unreasonable verbal attacks directed at her. She clearly shows her dauntless side of her personality, by speaking her own mind when Mr. Rochester demands for the money that he had given her. Jane refuses clear cut, and Mr. Rochester asks to then at least let him see the cash. Jane refuses again by retorting that he is “not to be trusted.” Jane has an honest and truthful soul who knows how to speak for herself, unlike many women during this period of time. Jane is never concerned about what other people would think of her if she tells them the exact truth about everything. She is able to inform her departure by cancelling off the wedding between herself and Mr. Rochester after what she had witnessed and experienced. Jane cries out “you are a married man-or as good as a married man, and wed to one inferior to you- to one with whom you have no sympathy- whom I do not believe you truly love; for I have seen and heard you sneer at her. I would scorn such a union: therefore I am better than you- let me go!” Jane is able to truthfully utter her thoughts, her true opinion without being afraid; even if it was to someone she dearly loved. When Mr. Rochester angrily cries out, “Jane, be still; don’t struggle so, like a wild frantic bird that is rending its own plumage in its

While Jane goes through a rollercoaster of romantic ideals, Charlotte Bronte reveals that her romanticism more fundamentally affect her own life in the future than even her religious ideals. This is to be expected, as Jane has a very depressing childhood while living with the Reeds and attending Lowood Institute. She makes the transition from Gateshead Hall, to Lowood, to Thornfield Hall, to Moor House, which equate to: Jane’s entrance to the real world (in Gateshead), the rock-bottom of Jane’s life (in Lowood), her encounter with young love (in Thornfield), and where Jane finds what she’s been after: a family (at the Moor House). All of these places come together to form the story of Jane Eyre and how she overcame her hardships to grow up to

When Jane enters Thornfield she thinks she is going to work for a woman named Mrs. Fairfax, but she does not. She works for a mysterious man name Mr. Rochester. This man is going to be an import aspect of Jane’s life. Jane works as a governess to a young girl named Adele. Jane encounters Mr. Rochester when she goes for a walk and runs into Rochester, whose horse is injured. After the encounter Jane and Rochester start to gain interest into each other. Mr. Rochester is a man with a large amount of money and Jane is a woman with very little money, the fact that she works for Mr. Rochester defies their unprofessional relationship. “Like governesses, these marriages between older men and younger women were viewed with great ambivalence during the Victorian period”(Godfrey). Both characters develop strong feelings for one another and become close to getting married but a discovery of a secret puts the marriage to a halt. After

It instead shows Jane’s inner struggle to do what is “right” versus what she desires. The separation between the voice of herself and her thoughts exhibits her helplessness to change her path from what her mind has already decided. This displays the heavy influence society has on Jane, which is further proven by the personification of Jane’s two strongest rivaling emotions. The heavy influence of a patriarchal dominated society is evident in her “Conscience” being a strong male figure, whereas her “Passion” is a weaker, feminine figure. Similarly, the strongest reasoning for Jane to leave Thornfield is driven by the patriarchal demand for a female to remain “pure” until holy marriage, rather than Jane’s own desire to leave, further solidifying the idea that the voice given to her mind is not just her own internal thoughts, but also the demands and expectations of

Although the isolation that defines much of Jane Eyre’s life seems only alienating, it also proves to be enriching, for Jane uses that isolation as a basis to truly appreciate the love she discovers when her family is revealed to her after she gains a large inheritance from a distant relative. She would not have been able to truly find and value the love in her family if not for the despair experienced early in life, as that despair led her to her family. She uses her loneliness to gather strength when it is most needed, allowing her to totally heal from the trauma of the red-room and enjoy the eternal warmth her new loving life

I should say I loved you, but I declare I do not love you: I dislike

The author of Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, desires the reader to understand that the torment Jane endures at Gateshead and Thornfield was worth it. Jane worked hard to exert her independence and defy the typical Victorian ideals for women by thinking for herself despite the consequences.

While at Gateshead, Jane is trapped by her relationship to the Reeds, which is reflected in the environment around her. At the beginning of Jane Eyre, Jane states that “there was no possibility of taking a walk that day” (Brontë 6). This beginning immediately puts Jane in her own bubble and exemplifies that she has no other form of positive interaction in her life. Initially, Jane is “[connected to] the natural environment, but also separate[d from it] with an unnatural boundary” (Fuller 152). Thus, this begins the recurring symbolism of how Victorian women were held back by gender roles in society. During her time at Gateshead, Jane is restrained by her

Not only does the relationship even out, the biggest way Jane keeps her independence and her character traits is that she chooses to go back to Rochester. She sets aside her brain and uses her heart fully in making the decision. “It was my time to assume ascendency. My powers were in play and in force,” (301). She went back to Rochester and married him because she wanted to. She did not need to marry Rochester for his money or his social status, she married him because she wanted to. One of the biggest themes of Jane Eyre is the ideal woman and the struggle between choosing to be passionate or suppressing it. At the very end, it is most fitting for the character to develop in such a way that she chooses to be passionate. During the time of the novel as well, women were meant to suppress their wants and desires but the novel is very ahead of it’s time. It’s showing that it is perfectly alright to marry for love and marriage won’t make you lose your independence.

Primarily, Jane had little choice but to become a governess as an intelligent woman. In Victorian England there were few alternative job prospects for a woman of her social class except for becoming a domestic servant – of which there was 750,000 in England - or working in industry. Although the role of a governess seems rather respectable, it is clear that the upper class – that actually employed governesses for the tutorage of their children – did not hold them in high regard, as shown by Blanche Ingham who says: “I have just one word to say of the whole tribe; they are a nuisance” . Jane, however, seems content with her place in society as she says of Lowood that she “[has] served here eight years; now all [she wants] is to serve elsewhere” and leaves for Thornfield. That said, however, her low social class does restrict her from socialising with the likes of Blanche Ingham, shown by Jane seeming to be hiding from the group and emphasised by Blanche’s blatant disregard for her presence and continuing to discuss her as she says that in Jane’s “physiognomy” she sees “all the faults of her class” , hence claiming that from Jane’s outward appearance she can determine her character which has been influenced by her upbringing. Similarly, Jane’s lower class causes her feelings for Mr Rochester to become confused as she tries to stop herself from

Jane Eyre is the story of a young drumroll please the heroine. (shockingly, she's named Jane Eyre), who lives with her aunt and cousins, the Reeds, at Gateshead Hall. She's an orphan in nineteenth-century England so, like everyone in that category, she's got a hard-knock life. When she graduates from the orphanage she gets a job as a governess and ends up falling in love with her hot boss and they're all set to get married when now's the real drumroll he's already married. Jane situation is more conflicted than Rochester's: because as a woman she is also a member of a colonized group, but as a specifically British woman, she is a colonizer, She is the protagonist and narrator of the novel, Jane is an intelligent, honest, plain-featured young girl forced to contend with oppression, inequality, and hardship. Although she meets with a series of people who threaten her autonomy, she repeatedly succeeds at asserting herself and maintains her principles of justice, human dignity, and morality. She also values intellectual and emotional fulfillment. Jane strong belief was in gender and social equality challenges the Victorian prejudices against women and the poor.

Jane became a good friend of Mr Rochester. By progressing time, they fall in love and they wanted to get married. But once more life played with Jane and she couldn't get married with Mr Rochester. She left Thornfield Hall. And she left alone with no family and no place to live. She lost everything and lost her hopes and dreams. This is where she said,” I must never see Mr Rochester again. My life here is finished” (51). She became hopeless in her life but she didn’t stop and continued her life. She worked in a school and thought students’ different subjects. The school was located in a very small village, where was no teacher to teach students. But Jane was an educated girl, and she accepted to work on that school. That is how she continued her life.