Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte is a novel about a regular girl named Jane. This novel is being told to the audience by Jane as an adult looking back on her life. Jane was an orphan who was in the household of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. After being terribly mistreated in that household Jane has the opportunity to attend a school meant for orphan children called Lowood. After eight years at Lowood Jane becomes a governess at Thornfield working for Mr. Rochester. Slowly Jane and Mr. Rochester fall in love and plan to get married. At the wedding it is found out that Mr. Rochester has a lunatic wife in which he has been hiding in the attic. Jane runs away but after a while comes back to Thornfield to find it had been burnt down, and Mr. Rochester is crippled and blind. Despite him being crippled Jane marries him. While reading this novel I found it interesting to see the growth in which Jane and Mr. Rochester goes through from start to finish. Another aspect that I found engaging was Bronte’s use of religion along with the supernatural throughout the novel.
Bronte does a great job at character development particularly with the main character, Jane. At the beginning of this novel Jane is a very different person that at the end. When Jane was living at Gateshead she appeared to be very sad but still had a fiery spirit. Once she moved to Lowood, particularly after she met her friend Helen, Jane begins to build confidence. As this story progresses Jane goes from a meek little girl to a fairly strong independent woman. Jane tells Mr. Rochester of her newfound independence when she first sees him after he has been blind, “I told you I am independent, sire, as well as rich: I am my own mistress” (420). This quote is a huge steppingstone for Jane because she is telling her former master and potential husband that she is now her own person and is therefore capable of being on her own if need be.
Along with Jane, Bronte also develops a big change with Mr. Rochester. When first introduced to Rochester he seems fairly controlling and rude. A good example of this is when he proposes to Jane the first time. Instead of asking her in a nice and respectful way Rochester leads her to believe that he is marrying someone else and that she will have to find a new job in Ireland. After she is in destress because of this he reveals to her that he is actually planning on marrying her. When Jane returns to Thornfield Rochester is blind and cripple. This physical change also creates and inward change. Rochester is a lot more humbled at this point and with that also more kind. Together with Jane and Rochester’s development they become more equal to one another. At the beginning Rochester seemed to be pushing his power around on Jane because she was a dependent. Though now Jane is more independent, and Rochester is more dependent. In developing these characters in this way Bronte was able to make Jane and Rochester fit together as a well-balanced couple.
Bronte references religion throughout the whole novel along with supernatural aspects. The way in which she intertwined these two concepts were fascinating. The first supernatural event that happened was when Jane went into the red room at Gateshead. In this room Jane felt as if there was a ghost in the room with her. Later on, once she is in Lowood religion is a common topic. What I found interesting is the fact that this story relayed heavily on religion and it was a common theme throughout the story. But even though religion was a huge part, so was the supernatural parts. These two concepts seemed to almost challenge each other and make the reader unsure of Jane’s personal beliefs. As the reader, not having a clear picture of what Jane did believe in made her an even more diverse and complex character to read about.
Overall this was a very captivating novel, which I enjoyed reading a lot. Bronte does a very good job at developing the characters. Along with the character development Bronte made the novel interesting and thought provoking with the religious and supernatural elements.
Work Cited
Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Edited by Beth Newman. Bedford St. Martins, 1996.
