"The Gothic is an outlet for the repression of the society" Discuss.

“The Gothic is an outlet for the repression of the society.” Discuss

The gothic is shown as an outlet for the repression of the society in many ways. In Jane Eyre, immorality, women, madness and sexual desires/passions are being suppressed to ensure that they do not occur on the surface. However, the Gothic uses archetypal symbols, unexpressed passions, the double, madness, death, darkness and supernatural as an outlet for repression.

Irrational and aberrant desires are shunned upon in any conservative society that functions on reason and logic. Therefore institutions like religion and moral codes are established, hitherto to modern days, to maintain a status quo and repress such behavior. The Gothic, on the other hand, provides its reader with a vicarious thrill of unleashing such behavior through its fascination with the supernatural. Through her dreams, Jane Eyre projects her inner rage towards Thornfield hall it confines her. She believes that “[t]o pass its threshold was to return to stagnation”, subjected to the darkness and repetition of women’s work. Whereas the “rayless cells” and the “viewless fetters” of Thornfield” are sources of her dread because they represent the lack of a “power of vision” that would connect her with wider knowledge, more varied activity and a larger world. Hence, the latent desire to dismantle such a form of repression is expressed in her dream whereby “Thornfield Hall was a dreary ruin, the retreat of bats and owls”, in the state of the aftermath of its destruction. Her immense desires for a mother figure and her “inner voice of feminist consciousness”(some critique) are also reflected in her dream of the “moon mother” before she flees from Thornfield. The moon (The moon is an archetypal symbol of feminine qualities like fertility and chastity) (ask Miss Chua!!!) The idea that such desires can only be portrayed in the unconsciousness of a dream shows how, ironically…..

It can be argued that religion is used as an outlet for repressed romantic passion as seen in the case of St John’s Rivers. As a man of religion, “(h)e will sacrifice all (including his romantic passions for Rosamond) to his long-framed resolves (of Christianity)”. Although “he hides (the) fever in his vitals” and “locks every feeling and pang within”, he “could not bound all that he had in his nature… in the limits of a single passion”. He becomes overtly involved in the driven ambition to attain a high position in his vocation and to go to heaven. ...

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Women are being repressed in Jane Eyre and through the use of Gothic as an outlet, this repression from society is conveyed. For example, outlets such the use of Archetypal symbols, the Double and Madness as an outlet for repressed women helps to convey the repressed feelings to society.

The use of the symbol of fire helps in portraying Bertha Mason's anger towards Rochester, her husband. She burns down his bed and his Thornfield Residence, as the quote, "she sets fire first on the hangings of the room next her own" shows, it portrays, through the use of fire which signifies Bertha's anger towards Rochester's attitude as he isolate her from society. The symbol of fire is a device in which expresses Jane's passion and rage without doing so explicitly or directly offending anybody, as the quote from page 428, "whereas I am hot and fire dissolves ice" shows show she warns St John that she cannot be dominated or controlled.

The Double is also used as an outlet in which Bertha Mason as a projection of Jane's own dark potentials. Bertha's constant outbursts of fury represents Jane's suppressed desires; a woman's desires. This can be seen in page 168 through the quote, "tongues of flames darted round the bed: the curtains were on fire in the midst of blazes and vapour, Mr Rochester lay stretched motionless, in deep sleep." This shows that perhaps Bertha projects Jane's jealousy towards the fact that Rochester has plenty of mistresses and uncontrollable sexual appetites.

Madness is also used as an outlet, in the case of Bertha Mason as a repressed woman. She inflicts terrifying violence only on men because men are known as agents that tyrannize and reinforces patriarchal values. This can be seen through her actions of biting and tearing Mason and homicidal grappling with Rochester. Her madness in her actions helps to portray her repressed feelings towards the unfair patriarchal society.

By the end of the novel, Jane marries Rochester, Bertha Mason dies and Rochester is symbolically castrated. This shows that everything that is being unleashed have been reestablished. However, Jane and Rochester’s union takes place in Ferndean, an isolated place, showing that their passion are still being repressed and not accepted by the society. In conclusion, the Gothic serves as an outlet for the repression of the society to a large extent in Jane Eyre.