What features of Jane Eyre can be considered gothic?
Irana Tarling
English Coursework
What features of Jane Eyre can be considered gothic?
Gothic:
• Adjective 1: Relating to the ancient Goths or their extinct language.
• Adjective 2: Of the style of architecture prevalent in Western Europe in the 12th-16th centuries, characterised by pointed arches and elaborate tracery.
• Adjective 3: Portentously gloomy or horrifying.
• Adjective 4: (of lettering) Derived from the angular style of handwriting with broad vertical down strokes used in medieval Western Europe.
• Noun 1: The language of the Goths.
• Noun 2: Gothic architecture.
Description
Gothic novels were introduced in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They are typical horror stories. They are tales of the supernatural, full of clichés about haunted castles, ruined abbeys and graveyards landscapes. The characters are stereotypical people; the hero is young, and handsome battling the villains to gain his bride, the heroine is also young and beautiful, and is a victim until her handsome priest comes and saves her. The villain is often a relative of the heroine, and will do anything to get what he wants. Ghosts and monsters haunt the places in the novel, and the minds of the characters. The pathetic fallacy is used to create atmosphere and suspense - storms to show sadness and anger, and sun to show happiness.
There are lots of different styles, and often humour is used to create atmosphere. An essential feature of gothic writing is its prose. It tries to create an atmosphere of dread and mystery so it is written in an appropriate style. Old English is used to give a feel of history and description is constantly detailed;
"The western wave was all a-flame.
The day was well nigh done!
Almost upon the western wave
Rested the broad bright sun:
What that strange shape drove suddenly
Betwixt us and the sun."
Gothic styled writing came about because in the early eighteenth century the style of writing and life in general was very rigid and rational. The later half of the century was almost in rebellion - they became almost aggressive with their writing, exploring the dark side of nature and the supernatural aspects of life.
Setting and location:
Jane starts her life at Gateshead, which is one of the worst places in her life. She is depressed and lonely, withdrawn from her abusing family. She escapes her situation through reading and thinking. Her surroundings are typically gothic with the building being dark and dramatic with large rooms. The pathetic fallacy is used with the weather - it is rainy and dull, like her moods. She feels unwanted and lonely and the size of the house emphasises this. The people who she lives there with are cold and unfeeling, and treat her like they don't even know her, when they are the only family she thinks she has.
She is eventually sent to Lowood School, where she is mistreated along with the other girls. The school again is large and scary, with awful conditions - there is not enough food for everyone and many of the children are starving. There clothes do not keep them warm and they have to travel many miles to the church in which the children are freezing. They are made to look plain with hair hidden, high-necked brown dresses, wool stockings and country-made shoes with brass buckles. It is in this school however that Jane grows up, and makes a friend ...
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She is eventually sent to Lowood School, where she is mistreated along with the other girls. The school again is large and scary, with awful conditions - there is not enough food for everyone and many of the children are starving. There clothes do not keep them warm and they have to travel many miles to the church in which the children are freezing. They are made to look plain with hair hidden, high-necked brown dresses, wool stockings and country-made shoes with brass buckles. It is in this school however that Jane grows up, and makes a friend in Helen, who teaches her to except her punishments, and act like an adult. She learns to share, even when she has a great need of what she gives away. A lot of the girls there died of typhoid before the conditions improved, including Helen. There is a teacher there, Miss Temple, who she looks up to and learns a lot from. When Miss Temple leaves she does to, and becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall.
Thornfield is again a very scary place, with lots of corridors and rooms she is not allowed to enter. The grounds are beautiful, and Jane enjoys most of her time there. There is an atmosphere of secrecy in the air and Jane hears a ghoulish laugh, which haunts her. This gives a feeling of the supernatural and builds up suspense. The laugh is brushed of as Grace Pool, a drunken servant there, but it is later discovered that it is in fact Mr. Rochester's wife, who is locked away in the room like a trapped animal.
Jane meets Mr. Rochester on a walk to post a letter. The atmosphere is very scary, as she is alone in the dark, and suddenly a horse approaches. Mr. Rochester falls off his horse and she helps him, although she does not realise that it is Mr. Rochester until she returns to Thornfield.
She gets on well with the child she is teaching there and enjoys it, but she finds it strange how Mr. Rochester spends so little time at Thornfield, especially as it is so beautiful, and also his mood when he comes back is withdrawn and moody.
Characters:
Jane is an orphan, and is brought up by her aunt, Mrs. Reed. She is plain and quiet, and enjoys learning and simplicity. She becomes engaged to Mr. Rochester, and tells him that she doesn't want to have gowns and jewels, but would rather carry on the way she is now. Jane is a believer in God and turns to him to find strength is the hardest parts of her life. She finds out she has an uncle who she was never told about, and receives an inheritance from she shares it with the Rivers family, who she later discovers are her family. She is a very brave and forgiving person, who always thinks of others before herself. She is the heroine of the story, kind and gentle, and put through hardships, before finally marrying her handsome prince, although she is not the conventional heroine, as she is considered plain.
Mr. Rochester is the master of Thornfield hall. He seems withdrawn and thoughtful but eventually Jane sees through this and they become engaged. He is a serious and stern man. He is already married, but his wife is crazy, and he keeps her locked in his house, and he tries to get sympathy from Jane. His wife sets fire to the house, and she is killed, and Mr. Rochester is left blinded, although he eventually regains some of his sight. He is the hero of the story, although he is not a handsome prince, but he falls in love with Jane and tries to help her, all the time harbouring his secret wife.
Mrs. Fairfax is the housekeeper at Thornfield hall. She is welcoming, and she and Jane become quite close. She looks out for Jane and warns her to be careful about getting to close to Mr. Rochester.
Adele Varens is the girl that Jane has to look after at Thornfield School. Jane looks after the girl well, and teaches her English.
Grace Poole is a servant at Thornfield, and is an alcoholic. Jane thinks that she is the responsible for the laugh and for trying to kill Mr. Rochester, and Mr. Mason, when really she is just there to look after his wife.
Bertha Antoinette Mason is Mr. Rochester's wife. Her family has a history of madness, and attacks anyone who comes near her. She is described as an animal. She eventually burns down Thornfield hall and kills herself. Her crazed laugh is the one that Jane hears, and she is the one who set fire to Mr. Rochester's bed. Mr. Rochester does not want to send her away because he feels sorry for her. She is the evil person who tries to ruin everything for Jane, although because she is crazy it is not all her fault.
Mr. Mason is Bertha's brother. He knows about how bertha is treated and eventually tells everyone what is going on, and stops Jane and Mr. Rochester's wedding.
Mrs. Reed is Jane's aunt and mistress of Gateshead. She promised to take care of Jane but mistreated her, and sent her away to Lowood. She tells Jane that her uncle is dead, even though he is alive and the only family she has left. She is a cruel harsh woman, but eventually her and Jane make their peace, before she dies.
Georgiana, Mary, and John Reed are Mrs Reed's children. They treat Jane badly. Georgiana is beautiful, but is very concerned with herself and not much else. Mary is industrious and cares more about her position and finances than anything. John treated Jane the worst, teasing her and beating her, and eventually ended up an alcoholic with huge debts, before finally killing himself.
Miss Temple is the superintendent of Lowood School. She is caring and sympathetic towards the girls. Jane admires her greatly and becomes good friends with her when she becomes a teacher there.
Mr. Brocklehurst is the manager of Lowood. He is cruel man, who lies about Jane. He thinks he is following God when he is actually just doing what he wants to do. He does not provide enough food or clothing for the girls and only after typhoid kills so many girls is something done.
Helen Burns is Jane's first real friend. She does not complain about anything, and cares about all the people around her. She tries her hardest to do well, and encourages Jane to do the same. She eventually dies of consumption. She leads Jane and helps her through, so in a way she is a heroine to, because she encouraged Jane to become the person she is.
Bessie and Robert are the nurse and coachman at Gateshead. They are kind to Jane and watch out for her. They are married.
John and Mary are the married couple who worked at Thornfield. They are kind to Jane, and when Mr. Rochester loses his sight they look after him, until Jane comes.
Key events:
Red room:
At Gateshead Jane is sent to the red room for misbehaving. She fights all the way there and is very scared. It is when she is in there that the first element of the supernatural comes in, when she thinks she sees a ghost. This shows her vivid imagination and also an element of gothic. There is a lot of suspension built up, as Jane has to be tied down and talked to, before she will stop struggling, and then there is a lot of description, so you know something is going to happen. The room was cold and silent, and there had been a death in there, all common scenes in horror stories.
The fire:
At Thornfield Bertha, Mr Rochester's first wife escapes and tries to kill Mr. Rochester by setting his bed on fire. This is where you see how much Jane cares for Mr Rochester, and the main sign that he cares back. Although Jane is scared when she hears a laugh, she goes to investigate, and as soon as she realises Mr. Rochester is in trouble all her own fears go out of her mind and she only cares about making sure he is alright. In return when Mr. Rochester shows his feelings for Jane by prolonging the time he spends with her, persuading her not to go back to bed. This is not the normal gothic storyline, because this is the second time that Jane ahs helped Mr. Rochester, whereas normally it is the hero saving the heroine, although the setting and atmosphere is the same as in most gothic scenes.
Masons attack:
This is where Jane's bravery comes through strongly, as she does everything she is told, when normally a woman at that time would have just fainted. Mr. Rochester repays her unkindly by talking about his marriage to Miss Ingram. This makes Jane feel even more withdrawn and plain than she did before. The attack showed the viciousness of Bertha - her comments about sucking Mr Mason's blood emphasise that. The description of Jane's thoughts and feelings show the fright that she is feeling, even though it seems as if she remains very calm.
Jane's wedding:
Jane is excited about getting married to Mr. Rochester although she is not sure how she feels. The wedding is destroyed when Mr. Mason tells the priest about Bertha, and Jane is shown her. This is similar to a gothic novel in some ways, because Bertha (the bad element) has destroyed Jane's happiness, which is a normal gothic tale, but at the same time it is not, as there is no one to help Jane get through, and nothing she can do. Also Bertha is not directly responsible, as it is her brother who causes the story to come out.
Jane and Mr Rochester ending together:
Jane goes back to Thornfield to find Mr. Rochester, only to discover that there had been a fire and Bertha had been killed, and Mr. Rochester had lost the use of his sight, and his hand. She immediately accepts this and decides to look after him. They marry. This shows Jane's strength of character and also Mr. Rochester's weakness, as he is self-pitying and relies on Jane for strength.
