As I have been reading Jane Eyre, the Gothic aspects of this novel have really stuck out to me. In the beginning, Jane Eyre is sent to the Red Room after John Reed picks on Jane and she starts yelling at him to stop, which causes Mrs. Reed to become upset at her. Jane hates the Red Room because it was where her uncle had died and she believes she sees his ghost. This scene is a big example of one of the aspects of Gothic literature because it describes a creepy and ghoulish room with a "supernatural creature" within it (Uncle Reed's ghost), but the reader cannot know for certain whether the ghost is real or part of Jane's imagination. Whether the ghost was real or made up, it still presents two major Gothic elements.
Another example is when Jane begins to investigate Grace Poole, one of the servants at Thornfield manor. During the scene where Jane was saving Mr. Rochester from the fire that had started in his room, she believes she heard a laugh. Jane says, "This was a demoniac laugh" (Bronte 139), which Jane later says she believes Grace Poole was the one who laughed. Later on, when Jane was helping Mr. Mason after he was attacked, Jane describes Grace Poole as a creature and many other things which are usually associated with supernatural creatures. Although Grace Poole is not really supernatural, the way she is described gives Grace Pool and this novel a more Gothic feeling.
Sources:
Perils of the Night: A Feminist Study of Nineteenth-Century Gothic by Eugenia C. DeLamotte
History of the Gothic: Gothic Literature 1825-1914 by Jarlath Killeen
I agree that the Red Room is a perfect example as to why this book is Gothic. Jane was forced to go into the "haunted" room when she was being disobedient towards Mrs. Reed. The room was used as a sort of torture chamber for Jane and had scared her so bad that she fell ill.
ReplyDeleteGrace Poole is another great example of one of the Gothic characters of this book. She is an extremely mysterious character and no one really understands why Rochester is keeping her around. She definitely provides a Gothic and mysterious feeling to this book.
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ReplyDeleteYou do a great job of connecting the book to the Gothic theme. I think that you explain your examples very well and go into the depth of each one. All of the scenes that you describe from the book strongly relate to Gothic. Great job going further into each major Gothic part of the book.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Red Room is a great example of the gotic theme in the book. You had very good support for the claim and went into detail. You have two good examples and support to back them up. You could also maybe talk about the setting and weather in the novel and how that helps incorporate the gothic theme
ReplyDeleteI think that there are many examples that prove that this novel has aspects of a Gothic literature. I agree with you that Grace Poole fits right in with Gothic literature because she is a very mysterious character in the story and how she acts. Bronte also does a great job of portraying the story so it has a mysterious effect on readers as well.
ReplyDeleteThroughout most of her time at Thornfield Hall Jane Eyre thought of Grace Poole as an unnatural being. I think that this example is a perfect way to show how the Gothic elements are used within the novel. Great job going into detail about your connections to the Gothic theme!
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