There's a lot going on in Jane Eyre which parallels the tropes of Gothic novels. One of the key features in Jane Eyre which strikes the reader as Gothic is its use of buildings and landscapes almost as characters in their own right—the windswept, Yorkshire landscapes are representative of the Gothic hinterland, the unknown, and the various houses Jane moves between are anchors of their own within this landscape. Outside on her own, Jane isn't safe; but the novel gives the distinct sense that she may not be safe, either, within these grand and drafty houses which are, in their own way, prisons.
The female protagonist, Jane, is far from being a delicate flower, but as a woman in distress, a virgin, she is similar to many Gothic heroines. Gothic literature often deals with preserving the virtue of young women from the abuses wreaked upon them by men, and in this story we see this expressed not only in the way Jane is treated by men in her early life, but also in the figure of the rather frightening Mr Rochester. While he is gentle towards Jane, there is another woman in his life who is literally imprisoned by him: the woman in the attic, Mrs. Rochester. In imprisoning Mrs. Rochester in the attack, Bronte created a trope which is now iconic—the woman locked away, out of sight, because of her supposed madness. The first Mrs. Rochester represents the suppression of female expression by men; Jane is haunted by her cries in a way which turns out not to be supernatural, but is still symbolic. The cries of the first Mrs. Rochester can be interpreted as an expression, not only of an individual's pain, but of female pain as a whole.
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre has it all when it comes to Gothic literary elements. Bronte uses violence, injustice, creepy settings, as well as the supernatural all throughout the novel. The first few chapters introduce us to Jane's horrifying childhood with her aunt and cousins at Gateshead Hall and as she is sent off to Lowood school for girls. Her first traumatic experience sets the stage for the whole novel as she is physically beaten and manipulated by her older male cousin, mistreated and misrepresented by her aunt, and then thrown into the "red-room" as punishment overnight. Jane's superstition and connection to the supernatural plays out in chapter three as she explains to her aunt that she thought she had seen her uncle's ghost in that room:
“. . . he died in that room, and was laid out there. Neither Bessie nor any one else will go into it at night, if they can help it; and it was cruel to shut me up alone without a candle—so cruel that I think I shall never forget it.”
And she's right--she never forgets her traumatic experience in the red-room and she carries it with her to Lowood school and onto Thornfield where more supernatural, superstitious, and violent things...
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happen to Jane. Other Gothic elements employed inJane Eyre are mystery, intrigue, loneliness, solitude, and inner conflict as Jane discovers the dark secrets of Thornfield and her employer Mr. Rochester.
It must be noted that near the end of the novel, just as in the beginning in the red-room, Jane encounters the supernatural when she seems to hear Mr. Rochester call to her. This motivates her to run to his side for her happily-ever-after. It would seem, then, that Jane's connection to the supernatural had been with her ever since her childhood.
How is Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre a gothic novel?
While Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre is not traditionally (and singularly) considered a Gothic novel. It is, rather, a "trifecta" (triple) of sorts. The novel is Gothic (mysterious regarding character and setting), romantic (regarding love and relationships), and a Bildungsroman (regarding Jane's development over the course of the text).
A typical Gothic text focuses upon "ruin, decay, death, terror, and chaos, and privileged irrationality and passion over rationality and reason" (eNotes "Gothic Literature Study--"Introduction"). The setting shows "in large, often ruined, castles" (eNotes "Gothic Literature Study--"In-Depth). In Jane Eyre, the character of Edward Fairfax Rochester, while he begins the novel as handsome, he is broken and blind by the end of the novel. Essentially, Rochester is in ruin. His home, so dank and green were its decaying walls," illustrates the ruin typical of the Gothic novel. Readers also face the mysterious nature of the things which happen in the home (as with the mysterious sounds and the fire). Bertha Mason Rochester, Rocherster's deranged wife, sparks the most mystery. Readers question who she is, what her position is, and why she lives at Rocherster's in the first place.
What Gothic elements are used in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë?
Several Gothic elements are used in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. In many ways, the novel belongs to the Gothic genre.
The first, and most obvious, is the setting, a remote manor filled with secrets and mysteries. Rochester, the ruggedly handsome hero with a mysterious past, is also a standard element of the Gothic, as is the heroine, an orphan who also has somewhat of a mysterious past and an abusive step-family. Also typical of the Gothic is a mystery that ends up with a rational explanation. Madwomen and bigamy are also themes both of the Gothic novel and its successor, the sensation novel.
The heroine-in-distress theme is also typical of the Gothic, as is the way Jane keeps her virginity until she can marry Mr. Rochester legally. Another classic Gothic theme is the poor orphan who is revealed as an heiress at the happy conclusion of the novel.
Is Jane Eyre a gothic novel? If so, in what way?
Jane Eyre is not traditionally catagorized as a gothic novel, but it does contain several gothic elements. It is generally considered to be more socially and psychologically driven than those novels established as specifically "gothic". Th implication is that gothic novels are less well-developed, and perhaps less well-written than Jane Eyre. Yet Bronte makes use of certain aspects of gothic literature in her text.
One such aspect is melodrama, which Jane Eyre certainly employs. Jane's situation as a child, at both Gateshead Hall and Lowood Institution, is one of loneliness and isolation, with dramatic architecture and possibly evil authority figures thrown in. The entire courtship of Jane and Rochester involves melodrama, with lots of tears, secrets, passionate encounters, and flights across the unforgiving wilderness. The setting itself is another gothic consideration. The wild landscape of Jane's life plays an important role, such as during her aforementioned flight. The storm which splits the tree before Jane's discovery of Bertha is yet another example. The houses too fall into this category. Thornfield Hall is quite mysterious, with its unexpected nighttime visitor (who is herself a gothic figure). Finally, Rochester can be considered a gothic or Byronic hero. Again, he has an air of mystery about him, and he seems determined to get his way, no matter the consequences.
What makes Jane Eyre a gothic novel?
There are numerous Gothic elements in Jane Eyre. For one thing, Jane has a very powerful, vivid imagination, which she uses to construct images out of Bewick's History of British Birds in her own unique, individual way. The Gothic tradition in literature also incorporates elements of the supernatural. One such example in Jane Eyre occurs when our heroine encounters the ghost of Uncle Reed in the spooky red room at Gateshead. The dark, brooding manor house is a regular feature of Gothic fiction, and Gateshead—a place of misery and suffering for Jane—fits the bill to a T.
Mr. Rochester's hidden wife Bertha, though not a ghost, conforms to the standard Gothic trope of the madwoman in the attic, a figure of terror, mystery, and infinite strangeness. She's also the dark secret at the heart of the book, whose constant gloomy presence in the background drives much of the plot, especially the relationship between Jane and Mr. Rochester.
What is gothic in and about Jane Eyre?
The gothic has deep roots in our culture dating back to the Middle Ages. It delves into our fascination with the dark side of humanity, the evil within. This novel gives us those elements that interested Bronte not only in the form of Rochester, the dark hero, and Thornhill, as a setting, but also, more importantly in the lingering presence of Rochester's wife. Trapped within Thornhill is a mad wife who is out to destroy any and all she can get her hands on. We have ghostly scenes as she haunts Thornhill. This motif adds to the melodrama in the novel, an element of the gothic. The gothic explores our "deepest, darkest fears." What could be worse than to find your wedding veil shredded, your husband-to-be already married, and even worse, wedded to a monster????
What is gothic in and about Jane Eyre?
Although the Gothic novel rose to literary eminence much earlier than Charlotte Bronte's time, Bronte owes much to the Gothic style with her moody hero, violent and disturbing events, and sense of mystery that surrounds Jane Eyre. Thornhill itself is a gothic setting that is both grand and gloomy, and the mysterious figure upstairs raises the reader's anticipation in typical gothic fashion. Bertha Mason's death scene is flamboyantly violent, and Rochester's passionate, brooding personality makes him a classic gothic hero.
In what ways can Jane Eyre be considered a Gothic novel?
"Jane Eyre" shares many of the common characteristics of the gothic novel as exemplified by writers such as Anne Radcliffe. The heroine is portrayed as a orphan, who tries (and ofyten fails) to find rational exdplantions for the mysterious events surrounding her and tries (often failing) to remain strong, resolute, and moral in face of dangers and temptations.
The setting of Rochester's estate is like the isolated castles and abbeys of the gothic, in which the heroine is removed from the safety net of ordoinary society. She is surrounded by mystery and danger that appear supernatural (but are usually proven the outcome of human evil).
The plot resolution depends on a deus ex machina, often in the form or a revelation of identity or inheritance, in which the poor orphgan is shown rich and/or noble.