How does Charlotte Bronte draw on Gothic tradition in Thornfield?
In this essay, I hope to outline the ways in which Charlotte Bronte uses Gothic tradition to describe Thornfield. Also, I will look at the reason that she would do this. I will start with Jane’s journey to Thornfield and continue with the description of Thornfield.
Chapter 11 begins with Jane sitting by a warm fire in the George Inn at Milcote. She is ‘warming away the numbness and chill attracted by sixteen hours’ exposure to the rawness of an October day’. This line shows that Jane has already had a long journey and has not yet reached her destination. We are also told that it is misty. The word ‘rawness’ gives the reader the impression that the weather is bitterly cold. It doesn’t, however make the reader think of the oppressive, stormy weather that Jane experienced at Gateshead. The difference between the two is that the oppressive weather often came at times of violence, for example, when John Reed hits Jane and when she is locked in the Red Room. Whereas, this freezing and misty weather, in my opinion, represents loneliness in Jane, a kind of emptiness, as at this point she has nothing. She has not reached her destination, so has no reassurance from that perspective, but also she has left behind any stability that she had at Lowood. Her future seems unclear. These are Gothic aspects as they show use of pathetic fallacy, representation of mood through weather, and also show isolation.
