With special reference to the first nine chapters of Jane Eyre (Gateshead and Lowood) how does the novel fit the pattern of a bildungsroman? What elements of the Gothic literary tradition do we find in these chapters?

Authors Avatar

Will Price 11S

With special reference to the first nine chapters of ‘Jane Eyre’ (Gateshead and Lowood) how

does the novel fit the pattern of a ‘bildungsroman’? What elements of the Gothic literary

tradition do we find in these chapters?

‘Jane Eyre’ was written By Charlotte Bronte in 1847. The novel follows the pattern of a bildungsroman and has a large amount of gothic features present. A bildungsroman is a novel whose main character grows as a person (physically and mentally) through encountering certain turning points in the story or specific events. I am going to talk about the structure of the novel and find out how the novel fits these patterns and whether it is necessary and effective. I will also be finding out whether the uses of these 2 genres help to make the novel more effective and contribute to the plot. The Novel is written ‘by’ Jane as an adult looking back over her life.

The novel starts with Jane in a depressed state at Gateshead: her prison. She is depressed and the mood is very negative. As we go on through the novel Jane develops and the mood becomes more positive as she becomes more fulfilled and independent.

In the first chapter Bronte uses pathetic fallacy to set the mood (the environment sets the mood). She uses phrases like “. .  The leafless shrubbery” and “Clouds so sombre and a rain so penetrating” The first quote reflects how Jane looks, skinny and maltreated. The next quote really emphasises Jane’s mind set: she is sombre as well as the cloud looking so.

When we meet the Reed family, they first appear as a happy loving family from which Jane is excluded. These are 2 extremes which reveal how life at the Reed household is for Jane.

When we first meet Jane we get the impression that she is self contained, independent and has a thirst for knowledge. Jane is intensely interested in reading. She is reading Bewick’s history of British birds. She finds the captions rather enthralling - “The words in these introductory pages connected themselves with the succeeding vignettes, and gave significance to the rock standing up alone in a sea of billow and spray . . .” I think this shows Jane to us as a rather capable girl who takes a intelligent and logic approach to the development of her mind. She appears rather intellectual judging from her reading preferences.

Join now!

Relating back to Jane’s passion for reading - She takes refuge in novels. She is not happy in her own reality so she tries to lose herself in novels. In this case Bewick’s History of British Birds. She sits on the windows seat with the curtain drawn. I think this symbolises the barrier between her and the Reeds. It also depicts her isolation to. The Reeds have the whole house whilst Jane is in a small confined space, the outside being the wilderness she wishes to visit. The window symbolises Mrs. Reed’s restraining of Jane.

“With Bewick on my ...

This is a preview of the whole essay