Symbolism in Jane Eyre

My fifteen year old brother is reading To Kill a Mockingbird with his English class, and a few days ago he came home from school and said to me, "Sometimes I swear my English teacher puts more thought into the book than the actual author did." I asked him what he meant and he said, "You know.. everything always has to mean something. Why can't a mockingbird just be a mockingbird?" Up until pretty recently I would have agreed and said that there doesn't necessarily have to be a deeper meaning for everything in a novel: I don't deny that authors often use symbolism in their writing, but it wasn't until I began reading Jane Eyre and began to study it closely, that I realized what a brilliant technique symbolism really is. I also believe it is the mark of a truly talented writer when symbolism is used in such a way that we make the connections without consciously being aware of having done so.

Charlotte Brontë uses two major symbols within Jane Eyre and perhaps part of the reason I thought them so well done is because they are not tiny, insignificant parts of the novel: it is not as though she uses a tiny object to signify a very large idea, making it much more difficult for the reader to make the connection between the two.

The first of the two symbols within the novel is Bertha Mason, Mr. Rochester's first wife who is destroyed by mental illness and locked up in the attic of the Thornfield home. Jane, when being introduced to Bertha for the first time says, "In a room without a window there burnt a fire, guarded by a high and strong fender, and a lamp suspended from the ceiling by a chain. Grace Poole bent over the fire, apparently cooking something in a saucepan. In the deep shade, at the further end of the room, a figure ran backwards and forwards. What it was, whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight tell: it grovelled, seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing; and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face." (412)

While critics believe Bertha may represent a variety of things, I believe she is a symbol for Jane's suppressed emotions and introspection in regards to Jane's marriage to Mr. Rochester. Though Jane loves Mr. Rochester, she fears the idea of marriage and dislikes the restraint a marriage puts on her. "Oh, I have not much choice! They generally run on the same theme- courtship; and promise to end in the same catastrophe- marriage." (277) Though Jane never acts on these feelings of anger and anxiety, Bertha does; she is violent and impulsive, setting fire to Mr. Rochester's bed and tearing up Jane's wedding veil. It is also the mere existence of Bertha that causes a stall in Jane and Mr. Rochester's wedding. Bertha is a symbol for all the feelings and thoughts that Jane can't express.

The second symbol used by Brontë appears early on in the novel, while Jane is living with her aunt. As I previously mentioned, Jane spends much of her life feeling ostracised from those around her. She never entirely feels like she belongs and is never really accepted by any of her peer groups. Those feelings of alienation begin at a very young age, when Jane is locked in the Red Room of her aunt's house. "The room was chill, because it seldom had a fire; it was silent, because remote from the nursery and kitchen; solemn, because it was known to be seldom entered. The house-maid alone came here on Saturdays, to wipe from the mirrors and the furniture's a week's quiet dust." (11) The mere description of the room alludes to the alienation that Jane faces later on in her life.

Aside from representing great feelings of loneliness, and serving as a memory for Jane whenever she is humiliated, the Red Room also symbolizes the kind of imprisonment Jane feels at multiple points in her life. I've already mentioned that the idea of marriage to Jane is, at first, distressing and constraining; Jane's binding feelings towards marriage are very much reminiscent of the physical anxiety she felt in the Red Room.

While Brontë used symbolism in other ways throughout the novel, using fire to represent Jane's passion and spirit, using ice to represent the repressive figures in Jane's life, I believe Bertha Mason and the Red Room are the two most prominent and important symbols within Jane Eyre. Reading Jane Eyre was one of the first times I can ever remember noticing symbolism in a book and appreciating the fact that the author had used this technique in their writing. It was also really interesting for me to look into the deeper meaning of the two, discovering how a mentally ill woman confined to live the rest of her life in an attic, could represent so much of who Jane really is as a character.

The use of symbols also helped me to appreciate, not just the writers who go to the trouble to include them in their work, but also the readers who go to the trouble of looking at something from a more in-depth angle. It would have been simply for me to have viewed the Red Room as simply a room, an unfortunate memory that would stay with Jane as she grew older, but when I was able to figure out what it represented, I was able to see the connections between Jane's experience in the room, and her experiences later on in life. Perhaps next time my brother complains about having to study symbolism in his English class, I'll be able to refer back to this blog post, and give him something to think about.

Power of First Person Narrative

Jane Eyre is a novel written entirely in a first-person narrative, from Jane's point of view. It's my belief that first-person narrative of the novel helps to establish Jane as an independent, compelling and capable heroine. Most novels with first-person narratives contain some kind of bias, however small, because the character from whom the narration comes is not a neutral part of the story; it is to be expected that the narrator will put their own opinion and thoughts into the story. Perhaps they depict a character in a negative way because they posses characteristics that the narrator does not approve of, thus encouraging the reader to see this character in the same light.

Had Jane Eyre been written in a third-person narrative, the inner workings of Jane's mind wouldn't have been revealed to us. As a reader, I would have had to analyse Jane's character based simply on her actions and by any dialogue spoken by her. While these would have been helpful, being able to find out what Jane was really thinking greatly benefited me as a reader.

One of the most beneficial things I gained from the first-person narration of Jane Eyre was Jane's thoughts and feelings toward Mr. Rochester. Outwardly, Jane is generally courteous and kind to Mr. Rochester and at the beginning of their relationship, she is nothing more than polite. Because of the first-person narrative, however, we know that Jane's feelings toward Mr. Rochester are much more than the feelings of an employee towards her employer. " I believed he was naturally a man of better tendencies, higher principles and purer tastes that such as circumstances had developed, education instilled, or destiny encouraged. I thought there were excellent materials in him; though for the present, they hung together somewhat spoiled and tangled. I cannot deny that I grieved for his grief, whatever that was, and would have given much to assuage it." (204) Jane also refers to Mr. Rochester as an idol for her, saying that he has replaced the presence of a God in her life. These two small excerpts from Jane's realm of thought reveals to the reader how she really feels about Mr. Rochester.

As I've previously discussed, the character of Jane deviates largely from any other female characters of the eighteenth century. In the eyes of many critics, Jane Eyre is seen as the earliest feminist novel. I agree with this statement in a sense, though I believe Charlotte Brontë's intentions in writing Jane Eyre were not to tell the story of a feminist heroine, but to simply tell the story of a woman who believed there was no need to pretend she was inferior to all men. That is to say, I don't think Brontë made the conscious decision to create a feminist character, largely because at the time Jane Eyre was written, the idea of feminism hadn't begun to bloom yet; it was not until 1928 that British women over the age of 21 were allowed to vote and the second wave of feminism that focused primarily on equality between the sexes did not begin until the early 1960's.

Jane, in speaking of the obscene amount of gifts Mr. Rochester bestows upon her when they are engaged to be married, says, "The more he bought me, the more my cheek burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation." (377) Jane's aversion to being "bought" and objectified by Mr. Rochester shows that she does not define herself by materialistic objects or beauty, two components that often define a woman, especially in Jane's time. Although this is a simple part of the story, it reveals a lot to us about the moral integrity of Jane and it's something that would remain hidden from the reader had Brontë chosen to write the novel from a different angle.

I believe that the first-person narrative in Jane Eyre is far more powerful than a third-person narrative would have been. Because Jane guides us through the story, and subsequently her life, I felt as though I was truly experiencing everything alongside Jane. When Jane describes her failures or hardships, when she describes the love she feels for Mr. Rochester, the descriptions made me feel as though Jane was a close friend of mine, putting her faith in me as she told me all sorts of stories about her life. I think the choice of Brontë to write Jane Eyre from Jane's point of view was an intelligent decision, one that allowed more liberty within the novel and allowed the reader to feel a deeper connection with Jane.

Underlying Theme in Jane Eyre: Desire for Love and Acceptance

I often find theme in novels a difficult topic to discuss: generally speaking, it is easier and more enjoyable for me to simply finish my reading with whatever personal message I take away from the book. However, in the case of Jane Eyre I was able to see, quite plainly, what the underlying theme of the novel was: Jane's biggest purpose is to feel accepted and loved by those surrounding her.

As a child, Jane does not truly know what it feels like to be loved. If anything, the kind of treatment she endures is quite the opposite of love and acceptance: under the care of her Aunt Reed, she suffers both verbal and physical abuse. Jane is made to feel as though she is a burden for her Aunt, not worthy of anyone's love. "And you ought not to think yourself on equality with the Misses Reed and Master Reed, because Missus kindly allows you to be brought up with them. They will have a great deal of money, and you will have none: it is your place to be humble, and to try to make yourself agreeable with them." (9) Mrs Abbot says to Jane after she fights back when her cousin John strikes her.

Although the belittlement of Jane improves considerably when she begins attending Lowood School, she receives little more affection at the school, as it is an institution for 'charity girls' and the intention of the school is to provide the barest necessities for the students, and nothing else. The fact that few of the teachers seem to care for their pupils does little to deter Jane: in speaking to her friend and classmate Helen Burns, Jane says the following, "No; I know I should think well of myself; but that is not enough; if others don't love me, I would rather die than live- I cannot bear to be solitary and hated, Helen. Look here; to gain some real affection from you, or Miss Temple, or any other whom I truly love, I would willingly submit to have the bone of my arm broken, or to let a bull toss me, or stand behind a kicking horse, and lit it dash its hoof at my chest." (91)

Because of the way Jane has been raised, she has little sense of self-worth: in many reviews and analyses I have read, Jane is described as "The Other." The other is an individual who is perceived by the group as being fundamentally different and as not belonging. The individual's differences need not carry a negative connotation, though their differences are perceived as negative by the rest of the group. I believe Jane falls into this category of the other: at the Reed house, she is different because she is not as pretty, simple and submissive as her cousins. At Lowood Institution, Jane makes few friends, preferring to be alone with her books or her studies, thus being perceived as strange by the rest of her social circle. The constant perception that she is too different to ever be considered part of a social group strengthens her desire for the approval and love of others.

In essence, Jane's strong desires to feel as though she's gained the approval and love of others are met when she begins working as a governess at Thornfield Hall and meets Mr. Edward Rochester. I believe that Jane's aspirations to be accepted are so strong that she is willing to be with Mr. Rochester because he loves her, regardless of the treatment she receives from him. At one point in the novel, Mr. Rochester apologizes for often treating her like an inferior, and Jane responds by saying she will allow him to "hector" her (hector meaning verbally bully) because he forgot that she was his employee.

The smallest amount of attention given to Jane by Mr. Rochester appears, at first, as though it will satisfy her hunger for love: "So happy, so gratified did I become with this new interest added to life, that I ceased to pine after kindred; my thin crescent-destiny seemed to enlarge; the blanks of existence were filled up; my bodily health improved; I gathered flesh and strength." (304) Although Jane does find 'true love' in Mr. Rochester, I believe the initial reason she exhibits such great affection for him is because he pays her any attention at all, something she is certainly not used to.

The fact that I was able to so quickly determine the theme of Jane Eyre greatly helped me to garner a better understanding of why the characters, Jane especially, acted the way they did. I believe it's incredibly important for a novel to evoke some kind of emotion within the reader: because I knew how badly Jane wanted to be loved and accepted by others, I felt much more empathy for Jane than I would have had I not understand her feelings of isolation, something I believe made my reading experience much more enjoyable.

Parallels Between Charlotte Brontë and Jane Eyre

When Charlotte Brontë was in the midst of writing Jane Eyre, she told her sisters she would show them a "heroine as plain and as small as myself." (Brontë) That is exactly what she proceeded to do. Brontë created a character that strayed wondrously far from the stereotypical convention of the beautiful but weak heroine. She was able to create such a character because Brontë herself didn't fall into the standard definition of what a woman was supposed to be in the mid 1800's; she was not beautiful, nor was she docile or resigned.

While Jane Eyre is a work of fiction, there are many autobiographical aspects embedded within the story. Jane Eyre's upbringing parallels in many ways with that of Charlotte Brontë's. Both had incredibly difficult childhoods. Jane's parents died when she was very young, while Brontë, at the age of five, lost her mother to cancer.

After the loss of their respective family members, both were sent to live with and be raised by their aunts. While not much information is given in regards to the treatment Charlotte Brontë received while remaining under the care of her aunt, Jane gives a detailed account of the abuse (both physical and verbal) she endures at her Aunt Reed's house. In speaking of her cousin John, Jane says, "He bullied and punished me; not two or three times in the week, nor once or twice in a day, but continually: every nerve I had feared him and every morsel of flesh on my bones shrank when he came near. Mrs Reed was blind and deaf on the subject: she never saw him strike or heard him abuse me, though he did both now and then in her very presence; more frequently, however, behind her back." (5)

Both Jane and Brontë were sent away to boarding school before they'd reached the age of ten: Brontë attended the Clergy Daughter's School at Cowan Bridge in Lancashire, while Jane attends Lowood School for Girls. Brontë maintained that the poor conditions at the Clergy School permanently affected her "health and physical development." (Brontë) The school was a breeding ground for illness and vermin: Charlotte Brontë's two elder sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, contracted typhus during their time at the school, and both died while at the school.

Brontë used both her observations of and experiences at the Clergy School to create the harshness present at Lowood School; "Our clothing was insufficient to protect us from the severe cold; we had no boots, the snow got into our shoes and melted there; our ungloved hands became numbed and covered with chilblains as were our feet." (77) Jane says, telling of the inadequacy in the clothes Lowood students were made to wear.

Jane and Brontë also both found love in unconventional places: Jane in Mr. Rochester, a rude, abrupt man twice her age and Brontë in Constantin Heger, a married man who was the master of a school where she taught. Brontë eventually left the school, but sent pitiful letters to Heger, some of which are mirrored in prose to the way Jane reacts in the presence of Mr. Rochester. An excerpt from a letter sent to Heger from Brontë reads, "Nor do I, either need much affection from those I love. I should not know what to do with a friendship entire and complete- I am not used to it. But you showed me of yore a little interest and I hold on to the maintenance of that little interest- I hold on to it as I would hold on to life." (Brontë) Charlotte Brontë is willing to sacrifice being properly loved if she can be with Heger, and Jane acts in the exact same manner, even as Mr. Rochester grows more and more abrupt and abrasive with her.

When I first began reading Jane Eyre, I knew of the obvious resemblances between the two women: the fact that they had both suffered the mutual loss of parents and that both attended unfit boarding schools as children. The deeper I took my research into the life of Charlotte Brontë, and the more of Jane Eyre I read, I was able to draw a startling number of similarities between the author and her fictional protagonist.

As I read, the existing knowledge of these similarities enabled me to relate to Jane Eyre in a much deeper way. Because I understood that Charlotte Brontë had put so much of her personality and so many of her intimate sorrows into the character, Jane instantly gained more depth and became much more personable for me. One of the largest criteria that must be present in order for me to really enjoy a book is some kind of personal connection. I was having a lot of difficulty making any kind of connection to Jane Eyre, partially because her character simply was not someone I could relate to, but also because she lived in such a different cultural period from the one I live in today. However, my awareness of Charlotte Brontë's background and the way she turned her hardships into a critically acclaimed novel, allowed me to feel more allied with Jane, thus making my reading experience much more enjoyable.

Welcome Post

Whenever one hears the words "classic novel" there are a medley of titles and names of authors that come to mind: Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Mark Twain. I have chosen to read Jane Eyre, a novel by Charlotte Brontë, another classic novelist we hear about so often. It is the compelling story that takes us through the life of Jane, beginning as a young girl living an incredibly unhappy childhood, through her time as a student and teacher at Lowood Institution and her career as a governess.It is while Jane is working as a governess that she meets Mr. Rochester, at which point the slow unfolding of a love story begins.

My initial purpose in reading Jane Eyre was simply to determine whether or not I thought it worthy of it's place in the mind of many readers as a great classic novel. When I began reading, there was no doubt in my mind that it was worthy of such a place, though the further I got into the book, the more my mind began to change.

I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about the book, as I haven't quite finished it yet, so I won't go as far as to say I think it should be removed from the list of classic novels. For the time being I am simply keeping an open mind.

Below are a list of links in relation to Jane Eyre and Charlotte Brontë that I've compiled so far. Some look at the themes within the novel, the historical and social context of the book, while others draw parallels between the life of Brontë and Jane.