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And the winner is: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall!

The next Brontë Bites read along will start on 4th August. This means everyone can have a bit of a break, as well as allowing newcomers more time to find us and subscribe.

Which reminds me - if you haven't subscribed to Brontë Bites and would like to read Anne Brontë's The Tenant of Wildfell Hall with us later this year, you can do so here.

We'll be back soon! See you in August!

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Could it really have been anyone else? 💜

Reader, we've finished Jane Eyre!

Thank you to everyone who read along over the past few months. I hope you enjoyed your journey through Charlotte Brontë's most famous work. All thirty-eight chapters of Jane Eyre are now available in our archive here, for anyone to read at their leisure.

As with last time, this blog will continue posting for Chapter XXXVIII until the end of the week.

But what next? Well, we're going to be watching the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre on Discord this Saturday (24th May) at 6pm BST. If you'd like to join and watch along with us, you can find the link to the Discord in our pinned post. It's a small group, so don't be afraid of being overwhelmed!

For now, I'll leave you with another character poll. Keep your eyes peeled for more Brontë Bites updates!

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To commemorate her death, today we're announcing Brontë Bites' next read through will be an Anne Brontë novel! Have your choice of which below.

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The bloodstained handkerchief belonging to Anne Brontë, used in the weeks leading up to her death from tuberculosis in May 1849

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On The Death Of Anne Brontë

By Charlotte Brontë

There's little joy in life for me, And little terror in the grave; I've lived the parting hour to see Of one I would have died to save.

Calmly to watch the failing breath, Wishing each sigh might be the last; Longing to see the shade of death O'er those belovèd features cast.

The cloud, the stillness that must part The darling of my life from me; And then to thank God from my heart, To thank Him well and fervently;

Although I knew that we had lost The hope and glory of our life; And now, benighted, tempest-tossed, Must bear alone the weary strife.

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Reader, we've finished Jane Eyre!

Thank you to everyone who read along over the past few months. I hope you enjoyed your journey through Charlotte Brontë's most famous work. All thirty-eight chapters of Jane Eyre are now available in our archive here, for anyone to read at their leisure.

As with last time, this blog will continue posting for Chapter XXXVIII until the end of the week.

But what next? Well, we're going to be watching the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre on Discord this Saturday (24th May) at 6pm BST. If you'd like to join and watch along with us, you can find the link to the Discord in our pinned post. It's a small group, so don't be afraid of being overwhelmed!

For now, I'll leave you with another character poll. Keep your eyes peeled for more Brontë Bites updates!

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finally finished Jane Eyre. i will not recover from this as long as i live.

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the kisses of jane eyre (2006)

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Remaining Thoughts About Jane Eyre:

Diana may be the best character. Love Diana. Maybe the best-adjusted person in this story. When she responds to Jane's refusal to marry St. John with, "You're absolutely right, girl." So good. Not used to that level of sanity here.

St. John fascinates me. He's a foil to Rochester and Jane, but also similar to them in ways that he doesn't see. He's all about suppressing personal attachments and emotion, so you'd think he doesn't care about others' opinions, and yet, all his ambition is because he wants to be something the world considers great. He says himself he wanted to be some great statesman or lawyer or whatever--missionary's just the path he chose since he was already a clergyman. The religion is secondary at best--at worst, he values it because it's a means of power over people. His religion is all about duty--it's not a relationship. His inability to relate to people as anything other than a tool for his own glorification extends to his approach to God.

Also, the fact that Jane sees this, yet still insists he's a good man...I'm not onboard. He probably means well, may well be doing his best, but there's an insidious underlayer to everything that undermines it. He's kind of the definition of Eliot's, "This last temptation is the greatest treason/Doing the right thing for the wrong reason."

I'm still sad that he's dying in India, though. He should come back home disabled just like Rochester, and gets to learn some humility by needing help from other people.

Pretty darn convenient that Jane's prayer to know what to do gets answered immediately via miraculous means in the middle of her conversation with St. John. It's a good thing Jane's got God looking out for her, because she wouldn't have done anything in this story without miraculous guidance.

It's such overt author interference--so easy and simple--that it's hard for me to buy into a Providence reading. Wilkie Collins did it better in No Name.

I did love how Providence brought Jane to her family. It should have felt so cheap that she just happened to run into her only remaining cousins, but the fact that running away from the sinful romantic love of Rochester allowed her to know the love of a family--that got to me.

Okay, anyway, back on track.

Jane coming back to Rochester and immediately assuming they're going to get married now feels uncomfortably like, "Oh, good, now that your wife's dead, we can get married now." Like the only issue between them was the existence of his wife and not his incredibly toxic behaviors and history.

Curayl did this much better. Recognized that the convenient death of a spouse makes it awkward to pursue another relationship.

Also, Rochester's character development isn't complete enough. Like, Rochester's humbled, he recognizes that God was punishing him, but I get the vibe that he feels like it was only for the attempted bigamy and not for all the other things he did wrong.

No one calls him out for how horribly he treated Jane. No one calls him out for the mistresses--maybe they did mention it and I'm forgetting. There's a lot of bad stuff they gloss over because they love each other and they're perfect for each other, so of course they should be together.

I do like how Rochester called Jane out for just leaving with no money and letting her know that she could have asked for help.

I like how they handled Rochester's blindness. His eyesight gets better over time, so he's not completely helpless, but it's not like it's a miraculous cure. Nice way to have a happy ending while maintaining some realism.

"A good English education cured Adele's French defects" may be one of the worst lines in the book. I still feel like I'd rather have Adele's story. (You especially have to wonder how she feels about the about-fifteen-ish-years-younger "brother" showing up.)

I really worry about how Jane and Rochester are going to raise children. Their attitude toward Adele doesn't give me much hope that they're going to be affectionate parents.

For all my issues with it, the book did work much better than I expected it to going in. I'm glad I reread.

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The psychology of Jane Eyre in adaptation

Analysis of the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847), and its adaptations (Zeffirelli, 1996, and Fukunaga, 2011)

Abstract

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is a psychological Victorian novel which tackles the issue of a lower class woman`s condition, and how she can overcome it, finding both independence and true love. While both adaptations make the romantic subplot more central to the story, they also explore the psychological aspects of the novel, interpreting them in a more modern way. In this essay, I will focus on the effects of trauma in the characters` lives, especially Jane`s, and how the adaptations illustrated this concept using visual cues.

Introduction

The novel being published in 1847, it was written almost half a decade before the birth of psychology as a science. However, as many novels from the Victorian era, it contains an incipient form of psychological analysis, using techniques and philosophies common at the time. The film adaptations modernize the ideas already present, for example making the effects of trauma on Jane`s life more noticeable.

Reeds` house

It is clearly established in the novel, as well as the adaptations that Jane grew up in an abusive household, being severely mistreated by her aunt and older cousins. In the novel especially, she is viewed as a difficult child because she often talks back to them, and she can even be aggressive sometimes. She is treated as if she were a ‘wicked child’, but her behavior can be easily explained. Firstly, she had already suffered the loss of her parents at a young age and had been thrust in a house full of strangers, which would give any child that age an instinct of opposition, and secondly, Jane`s behavior was unpleasant not because of her innate bad character, but precisely because of the ill will shown to her by her caretakers.

One key scene in the novel is Jane`s fight with John Reed, which he instigated, but for which only Jane is punished when she hits her cousin in self-defense. In Fukunaga`s adaptation, Jane fights back after her cousin hits her head against the wall with a book, her revenge being seen as worse than his extreme violence. The scene immediately following is the Red Room scene, in which Jane is punished by being locked in a dark and allegedly ‘haunted’ room. Judging by her reaction, the room has an infamous reputation in the house, and it is implied that this is a punishment Jane had already gone through before. In Zeffirelli`s adaptation, the Red Room is decorated fully in red, and Jane looks terrified into a mirror. According to De Moraes (2007),

When Jane is left in the red-room, she faces herself in a mirror, desperate, crying and the viewer is led to experience how she is feeling through the use of camera movements, which show the room in unusual, obtuse angles, quickly rounding as if she were fainting. The mirror has a great impact in this scene, (…) creating a trapped image of Jane, and the tones of red in the room can reflect her bleeding inside, but as well her passionate and strong nature. (De Moraes, 2007)

In Fukunaga`s adaptation, the Red Room is much lighter and less red in color, but Jane`s suffering is shown by her bleeding forehead and her terrified reaction to smoke coming out of the chimney. The Red Room has a strong effect on Jane, and it will continue for the rest of the narrative to symbolize her feeling of being closed-off from the world. Jane`s character arc will only be complete when she finally goes from feeling trapped to escaping, thus finding her freedom and independence.

Lowood School

This school was where Jane received her education, going from one abusive environment to the next. The views previously expressed by Mr. Blockenhusrt that Jane is an evil child who will inevitably end up in hell are now echoed by all of the teachers in the school, except Miss Temple. This sentiment is generalized to all of the students, all of the girls enduring unnecessary rules and cruel treatment. However, even in this environment of harsh, but seemingly indiscriminate punishments, Jane is singled out as a ‘liar’, and is made to stand still on a chair without food and water for the whole day.

It is in this moment that Jane meets Helen Burns, her best friend and her inspiration, when Helen does a small act of kindness by giving her a piece of bread. In the Zeffirelli adaptation, this act of solidarity is reciprocated in the scene when Helen is forced to have her hair cut off, and Jane resolutely volunteers to have hers shaved off as well. In the Fukunaga version, this scene is absent, which somewhat weakens the way the friendship between the two friends is illustrated. The main role of Helen in the novel, aside from serving as Jane`s only friend, is to show her a healthy way to rapport herself to God, up to that point only having known fear and condemnation. This is very important because Jane, in her adult life, guides her life around her religious principles, but not in the way taught to her by characters such as Mr. Blockenhusrt or the Lowood teachers, but in a way mirroring the kind of faith that Helen modeled. As a contrast, Mr. Rochester is rather a skeptic, because of his disillusionment with life, and also complete lack of good role models in his formative years. It is only when he meets Jane that he begins to let go of his cynicism.

In the movies, the religious element of Jane`s conscience receives much less focus, especially in Fukunaga`s adaptation, instead concentrating on Jane`s value of education and independence, as modeled by Miss Temple. In Zeffirelli`s adaptation, Miss Temple comforts Jane and Helen by teaching them that the value of education is not what is imposed by the other teachers but cultivating ‘independence of spirit’. In the two years in which Jane works as a teacher at Lowood, she and … become very close friends and Jane sees her as an important role model. Indeed, being one of the only kind and patient teachers in the school, Miss Temple is the only one able to make a change. This is the first instance in the story where the attempt to end the cycle of abuse is illustrated, another such instance being the moment in which Jane forgives Mrs. Reed, even though she does not accept this forgiveness.

Thornfield Hall

Finally becoming an employed woman, Jane is on her way to becoming more independent, but she is also aware that her new position might put her at risk of further abuse. She is very guarded and reserved during her first few meetings with Mr. Rochester, which he perceives as her being too self-restrained. Almost diametrically opposed to her opinionate and argumentative childhood self, she appears now almost shy, or even scared, because so far in her life her speaking her mind sincerely has been punished with very little exception. According to Andersson, “during her years at Lowood Jane learns rationality and how to keep her anger in control to better fit in to the patriarchal society`s expectations of a young woman‟s conduct” (Andersson, 2011). I would suggest her response is more than just social conditioning, and veers more into a trauma response, but it could also be argues that the condition of woman at that time was in itself traumatizing, as illustrated by Jane and later, Bertha.

Mr. Rochester is initially offended by her reactions, jumping to the conclusion that she must think him unpleasant to look at. He does not help ease the mood at all when he tries making her advances, which further distance her. In Zeffirelli`s adaptation, Mr. Rochester`s flirting is emphasized, along with the addition of various scenes in which he drinks, which are absent from the novel. In Fukunaga`s version, he is generally more bad tempered. The scene of their first meeting, when he falls off his horse is visualized in such a way as to focus more on Jane`s fear than Rochester`s reaction to seeing her.

A key scene is the one in which Jane saves Mr. Rochester`s life by putting out the fire. It is notable that in the novel, she puts it out all by herself, and in both adaptations, she first wakes him up before they can put it out together. This is relevant because in the novel this is one of the first scenes in which she acts completely independently, and she faces two fears at once, the obvious and imminent danger of the fire, but also the more subtle fear of approaching Mr. Rochester. In the films, the choice to have them put out the fire together serves a different purpose, namely to indicate the first key moment in which they were forced to collaborate, thus strengthening the relationship. Both in the novel and in the movies, this scene serves as a moment in which both of them change the way in which they previously regarded each other. Both adaptations focus on the contrast between desire and restraint, showing through her body language that Jane was inclined to say more to him, or even kiss, judging by how close they were standing, but she pulls away, claiming that she was trembling because of the cold, with the obvious implication that she was trembling from emotion.

One of the most important scenes taking place at Thornfield Hall is the party which Blanche Ingram attends. Jane, surprised by her own feelings, gets jealous of the attention given to Blanche by Mr. Rochester, and she is even more disappointed at the thought that a marriage between the two is inevitable. It is at this moment that Jane remembers her lowly condition once more, leading to her powerful words towards Mr. Rochester. Jane is truly honest to him for the very first time, and she asserts herself while also admitting to her feelings and how vulnerable she feels. She emphasizes that the reason it would be so hard for her to leave Thornfield Hall is because it is the only place where she had been treated fairly. She also declares her equality to him as independent human being. This is crucial in her character development, because she now stands up for herself, in the face of what she perceives to be mockery, for the first time in a decade. Not only that, but she has learned not to identify with the labels society would put on her, such as ‘plain’ or ‘lowly’, instead being now more aware of her worth. During the scene, what takes her completely by surprise is that not only is she allowed to express her frustration, but she also learns that Rochester reciprocated her feelings, and the bride he was referring to was her, not Blanche. Only now are they able to be completely honest and vulnerable with each other, and the scene concludes with a marriage proposal and a kiss.

Their seemingly harmonious relationship is endangered by the shocking revelation that Rochester was already married, albeit against his will and to a madwoman whom he locked in the attic. Rochester promptly tries to use this in order to justify himself, regarding Jane as his ‘real wife’ in a way. She, however, as a religious person, and also in view of her personal dignity and freedom, refuses to continue the relationship with Rochester, whom she loves, because it would degrade her in more ways than one. There is an interesting parallel between Jane and Bertha, Mrs. Rochester, according to Smith (2016).

Just as Jane sees herself becoming Bertha should she enter into an unequal marriage with Rochester, she also sees Bertha expressing the rage Jane feels after experiencing the unfairness of Rochester’s domestic scheme. Through her shocking encounter with Bertha Mason, her lover’s secret wife, Jane experiences the violent confrontation of herself with “the other” as she simultaneously recognizes the blurring of the line separating them, solidifying Bertha’s symbolic place of the abject in Jane Eyre. (Smith, 2016)

Being a Victorian novel, and thus written in times when information about mental health was scarce, the purpose of Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre is not to explore the condition of the mentally ill, but to present Jane`s biggest fear in human form: a woman maddened by the oppression she has to endure in this world, helpless under the power of her husband. This is heavily emphasized in the imagery of the films, especially Fukunaga`s, with Rochester saying the line “meet my wife” while both Jane and Bertha are in the room, both of them dressed in white, both of them sharing the identity of Mrs. Rochester. Not allowing herself the indignity of becoming a mere mistress, Jane feels forced to run away from Rochester.

Rivers` House

Jane arrives at her cousin`s, St. John Rivers, where she attempts to rebuild her life from the ground up, finding purpose in her work as a teacher in a poor country school. She misses Rochester, but she has learned to be content with life despite never being able to fulfill her dream of love. Understandably, after her life only consisted of chaos, she prefers a ‘mediocre’ but peaceful life, rather than taking any risks again. She even finds companionship in St. John`s sisters, and she would have spent the rest of her life there if it had not been for St. John`s proposal. Although the idea of becoming a missionary in India does not displease her, she completely refuses because he insists they go together as a married couple. In the book, she argues that they could just say they are brother and sister, as they are already cousins and close as siblings, but he insist going together without being married would be a moral impropriety. In the films, St. John is interpreted as being motivated by his secret love for Jane, without mention of the moral interdiction of going as siblings.

The detail of his being her cousin was omitted in the movies probably due to modern views on the subject, finding it unacceptable that he should not only fall in love with her, but place a moral obligation on her to marry him. Instead, the films approach this issue in terms of compatibility, with Jane not reciprocating his feelings because she didn`t have a close enough relationship with him, and obviously, because she was still in love with Rochester, even though she might have tried to deny it. Fukunaga`s version illustrates this more directly, with St. John`s view of Jane being more clearly romantic, whereas in the Zeffirelli version, St. John proposes a sort of marriage of convenience.

The Ruin of Thornfield Hall

In the Zeffirelli version, Mr. Rochester is shown directly battling the flames of Thornfield Hall in order to try to save Bertha, whereas in the Fukunaga version, this episode is narrated by Mrs. Fairfax, who approaches Jane from the ruins. In Zeffirelli`s film, the couple reunites in a candlelit room, and in Fukunaga`s film, they reunite in the garden. It is my opinion that the latter illustrated the scene more effectively, in part because of the symbolism of the outdoors, representing a final escape from the ‘trap’ in which both were stuck, and their meeting outside would represent that they had both finally found freedom.

It could be seen as a Deus Ex Machina that Jane suddenly became an heiress and that Bertha died, making her relationship with Rochester acceptable again, but it could also be seen as a commentary on the condition of woman during that time: she could never free herself from poverty, a man having to do that for her, and divorce being disallowed even for legitimate reasons could trap people in unhealthy marriages. However, Jane is far from a character without agency just because she did not obtain her own wealth: the true independence she had to obtain was the ‘independence of spirit’ taught to her by Miss Temple. Until she finally got free from her mental prison, and until she built her life anew without dwelling on the past, she could not be truly free. The same principle can be applied to Mr. Rochester: until his past metaphorically died through Bertha`s death, he could not be truly free. Finally being on equal footing financially, socially and mentally, the two could live happily together without trapping the other or feeling trapped themselves.

The overall portrayal of trauma

This is idea is deeply explored in Fukunaga`s film, in which the events are not in chronological order, the opening scene being her escape and arrival at Moor House. All of the other events in the plotline are interspersed through flashbacks, as she tries to heal, both physically and emotionally. She remembers her childhood abuse when St. John and his sisters say a prayer, and she remembers more and more about Rochester when she tries to sleep, eventually leading to the present when she supernaturally hears Rochester calling her and decides to return. In Zeffirelli`s film, the events take place chronologically, but this does not diminish the illustration of trauma. In fact, due to the larger amount of time spent on scenes from her childhood in the beginning of the movie, it can be noticeable, even if in a more subtle way, how she was influenced by her life.

What is interesting in the parallel between Jane and Rochester is that they both feel to an extent victims of their circumstances, and they are both bound to their condition. Jane, in her desperation, accepts that there is nothing more she can achieve than to teach as a governess or teacher, never being allowed either independence or true love, because of her social status, identity as a woman, and also her upbringing, which conditioned her to expect the worst in any situation. Rochester, having been betrayed by his own family, and bound to a woman he is repulsed by, became disillusioned and cynical. In his youth, he tried to live hedonistically, but as he grew older, he also grew more desperate. It is clear that he has also experienced much trauma, but, compared to Jane, he much more easily gives into despair, and hardens his heart so as not to be bothered by his troubles, which in the end leaves him uncaring towards other people, including his daughter Adele. Jane, despite having suffered continually since childhood, and fully expects even more suffering, is patient, kind and steady in her personal convictions, keeping her dignity in the midst of desperation. In this way, Jane is an example to him, and, indeed, he begins to soften and warm up to her and others.

Conclusion

Although more subtle than in modern literature, the Victorian novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte presents many elements of human psychology, including the theme of one`s past and upbringing influencing their life, which corresponds to the modern notion of trauma. The modern film adaptations by Zeffirelli and Fukunaga translated these elements in more easily readable formats, such as flashbacks. The former focusing more on Jane`s development despite her circumstances, and the latter concentrating on the romantic aspect of the story, both adaptations believably build Jane`s and also Rochester`s character.

Cited works

Andersson, Angela, Identity and Independence in Jane Eyre, 2011, Mid Sweden University, p. 10

de Cássia Eleutério de Moraes, Rita, A Narrative Analysis of Zeffirelli’s and Stevenson’s Jane Eyre, Federal Univerisity of Santa Catarina, 2006, p. 60

Smith, Abbie, “Meet My Wife”: Bertha Mason as the Abject in Jane Eyre and its 2011 Film Translation, University of West Georgia, 2016, p. 4

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Why do you think the epilogue of "Jane Eyre" gives so little attention to Jane's becoming a mother? Just once sentence that doesn't even touch on Jane's feelings about it, only that Rochester regained enough of his sight to be able to see his firstborn son. Why should such an enormous, life-changing aspect of her married years be so deemphasized?

Hi!

If you ask me, I think the very simple answer is that Charlotte Brontë didn't like children. Even Adele herself in the novel is very little more than a plot device to have Jane at Thornfield (this is one of the reasons why the 1996 heavy focus on childhood and the consequences of unhappy childhoods, ending with Jane and Rochester adopting Adele and raising her as their own is both a strong departure from the text but also an interesting commentary on it).

I feel like Elizabeth Gaskell explains it in a way that makes sense in her The Life of Charlotte Brontë:

"...teaching seemed to her at this time, as it does to most women at all times, the only way of earning an independent livelihood. But neither she nor her sisters were naturally fond of children. The hieroglyphics of childhood were an unknown language to them, for they had never been much with those younger than themselves. I am inclined to think, too, that they had not the happy knack of imparting information, which seems to be a separate gift from the faculty of acquiring it; a kind of sympathetic tact, which instinctively perceives the difficulties that impede comprehension in a child’s mind, and that yet are too vague and unformed for it, with its half-developed powers of expression, to explain by words. Consequently, teaching very young children was anything but a “delightful task” to the three Brontë sisters. With older girls, verging on womanhood, they might have done better, especially if these had any desire for improvement. But the education which the village clergyman’s daughters had received, did not as yet qualify them to undertake the charge of advanced pupils."

"No doubt, all who enter upon the career of a governess have to relinquish much; no doubt, it must ever be a life of sacrifice; but to Charlotte Brontë it was a perpetual attempt to force all her faculties into a direction for which the whole of her previous life had unfitted them. Moreover, the little Brontës had been brought up motherless; and from knowing nothing of the gaiety and the sportiveness of childhood—from never having experienced caresses or fond attentions themselves—they were ignorant of the very nature of infancy, or how to call out its engaging qualities. Children were to them the troublesome necessities of humanity; they had never been drawn into contact with them in any other way. Years afterwards, when Miss Brontë came to stay with us, she watched our little girls perpetually; and I could not persuade her that they were only average specimens of well brought up children. She was surprised and touched by any sign of thoughtfulness for others, of kindness to animals, or of unselfishness on their part: and constantly maintained that she was in the right, and I in the wrong, when we differed on the point of their unusual excellence."

From a letter from Charlotte to Gaskell:

"Whenever I see Florence and Julia [two of Gaskell's daughters] again, I shall feel like a fond but bashful suitor, who views at a distance the fair personage to whom, in his clownish awe, he dare not risk a near approach. Such is the clearest idea I can give you of my feeling towards children I like, but to whom I am a stranger;—and to what children am I not a stranger? They seem to me little wonders; their talk, their ways are all matter of half-admiring, half-puzzled speculation."

I wonder how her feelings would or wouldn't have changed, had she survived her pregnancy and gotten a child of her own with the husband she loved.

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Yes Jane should have married Rochester:

1. Even at the beginning of the book, Jane talks about needing something to take care of. This is something fundamentally intrinsic to her. She believes human beings are literally wired to take care of others. By the end of the book, who do you think takes care of who?

2. During her initial engagement to Rochester, she actually fights back against him when he calls her “elfin” and ethereal. She wants to be seen as a woman, not a vision. It’s very telling that she actually marries him at the end when he changes his view and learns his lesson. It’s very telling she marries him when she is a woman of her own means and discovers her family. She only marries him when she herself realizes she is her own independent person. It is not a “girl no,” moment. It’s a marriage where she actually has the upper hand.

3. Girl doesn’t marry him immediately when she finds him. They talk first. They talk for a long time. They tease each other. I would argue this is where she truly falls in love with the man at this point. (Same thing with him)

4. I am tired of the narrative that true female empowerment is to be single. True empowerment differs from woman to woman, and as we established at point one, Jane’s character is literally someone who wants to take care of others. Furthermore, being in an equal partnership, being in love, is empowering and I’m tired of people saying it isn’t.

5. It’s not that she “should.” She wanted to. She likes him. They have fun conversations. The end.

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I think my enormous obsession with Jane Eyre boils down to the fact that they’re both “unattractive” (so they are described) protagonists who are actually allowed to be in this strong and all-consuming love that, in your typical romance, is usually only reserved for the ultra-beautiful.

ALSO, the power-dynamic shifting is mwah and Jane’s insistence of equality: “equal, AS WE ARE” (That scene is devastatingly gorgeous) to her overtaking of power as his caretaker by the end is perfection. It’s my favourite favourite favourite novel of all time. AS WE ARE!!!

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One of the most fascinating concepts of Jane Eyre is the use it makes of Providence as a hidden force working behind the curtain. All sorts of terrible things happen to Jane Eyre; the wickedness of men and the tragedies of nature again and again are trying to destroy her, but there is a mysterious hand always watching for her. Jane could have had a loving family with her parents. If her aunt had loved her, she could have had family even in orphanhood. If Mrs Reed hadn't hated her, she would have had another uncle to call family in Madeira. If Rochester had not despaired, much grief for both could have been avoided. If St John was less proud and selfish, Jane would have had an even bigger, happier family. If, if, if... but the story isn't a bitter account of living in a cold and uncaring world. There was Bessy at Gateshead and there was Helen and Miss Temple at Lowood, there was help for Jane when she most needed it; it was written that she was to find love and family and sympathy, no matter how much people and circumstances conspired against that end. It's the surprise and wonder of hope till the very end, and that is probably one of the main reasons why it has such a staying power.

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Jane Eyre is different from other classic literature I've read, in that it presents romance as a question of identity. Your ideal romantic partner is the person who allows you to be your most authentic self. They match your ideas and your personality, so when you're around them, you can just be you, and they understand you perfectly because they're a lot like you.

There's no question of growth, or responsibility, or appreciating other personality types. No suggestion that differing personalities can balance each other out. It's all about unconditional acceptance of who you already are.

I'm not sure if Bronte means to present this as a general theory of romantic love, or if it's just how Jane's story works out, but Jane's personality means that this idea of romance comes through very strongly.

Jane is a people-pleaser. She spends her childhood among people who hate her for having the wrong kind of personality. She makes some friends who shape her character and interests, but once she leaves Lowood, the only people she wholeheartedly connects with are people who are similar to her. The main connection between her and Rochester is that their weird personalities are a lot alike. They understand each other. Rochester likes Jane just as she is--she doesn't have to do anything special to please him. She leaves Rochester because he asks her to enter an immoral relationship, but she still firmly believes that he is her one and only soulmate--the only thing standing between them is the existence of his previous wife.

When she's out on her own, the people-pleasing tendencies come out full-force. Diana and Mary share a lot of her interests, so she fits in with them just as she is. St. John has a very different personality, and a very forceful will, and when Jane is with him, she can't stop herself from molding her personality to please him. The marriage is presented as horrific not just because he doesn't love her, but because it would erase Jane's true personality.

Once Rochester's wife is dead, there's no question that Jane will go back to him. He and Jane still have matching personalities, still accept each other exactly as they are, and that's the ideal marriage. It doesn't have much to do with character growth or learning to work together through the struggles of life. Sure, Rochester gets humbled and disabled and he learns that he was wrong, but it seems like Jane was planning to marry him even before she knew all that. It didn't matter if he'd changed, because he didn't need to change in her eyes--he was her perfect partner. In this framework, romance is all about the identity of the two people--find the partner who's your perfect match, and you'll have a perfect marriage.

You can see why that's appealing. There's truth to it--unconditional love is good, and you need to have someone who loves your true self. But it also feels shallow. Too simple. All you need for the perfect marriage is to find someone whose personality matches yours. And in the end, that's kind of the tragedy. Jane and Rochester don't grow as much as they could, because they've found a partner who accepts them as they are.

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"Rochester is problematic" yes?? that's the point? There's literally a bit in the book when Rochester tells Jane that he thinks she could fix him and she tells him that he should fix himself. And later in the narrative, when he's made the decision to work on himself and feels regret for his past actions, only at that point does Jane marry him. The point is that Rochester is a deeply flawed man who needed to realise that he had the capacity to improve on his own, without asking someone else to make him into a better person.

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Reader, we've finished Jane Eyre!

Thank you to everyone who read along over the past few months. I hope you enjoyed your journey through Charlotte Brontë's most famous work. All thirty-eight chapters of Jane Eyre are now available in our archive here, for anyone to read at their leisure.

As with last time, this blog will continue posting for Chapter XXXVIII until the end of the week.

But what next? Well, we're going to be watching the 2011 adaptation of Jane Eyre on Discord this Saturday (24th May) at 6pm BST. If you'd like to join and watch along with us, you can find the link to the Discord in our pinned post. It's a small group, so don't be afraid of being overwhelmed!

For now, I'll leave you with another character poll. Keep your eyes peeled for more Brontë Bites updates!