1. Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë

2. Themes Christian love and forgiveness Moral conflict Spiritualism
Love and the need for autonomy
The system of social class
Gender relations

3. Symbols The moon=change Food=deprivation and want Fire=passion
Chestnut tree=Jane and Rochester’s relationship
Bertha Mason=the “trapped” Victorian wife; the prevailing attitude towards other cultures; Jane’s subconscious rage
The red room=what Jane must overcome in order to find love and independence.

4. Charlotte Brontë

5. The Gothic Novel
Definition: Gothic novels, originally from the European Romantic Period, have a prevailing sense of mystery and terror.
Called gothic b/c its imaginative impulse is drawn from the rough and primitive grandeur of medieval buildings and ruins.
Dark and tempestuous – full of ghosts, madness, outrage, superstition, and revenge.

6. Gothic, cont.
Settings often castles or monasteries with underground passages, dark battlements, hidden passages, and trapdoors.
Examples: Frankenstein, Dracula
Jane Eyre is not strictly gothic, but many elements can be found.

7. Elements of gothic motifs in Jane Eyre
Romantic and desperate escape/flee from site of male hero.
Setting is castle-like structure
Haunting mystery and suffering
Secrets
Dark, disturbing characters
Emotional trauma
Alienation

8. Motifs, cont. Fire and ice Prevalence of mystery Suspense Ghosts
Imprisonment
The appearance of a fortune teller
Portentous dreams

9. The Byronic Hero So called from poet Lord Byron’s heroes
A type of antihero who is a romanticized but wicked character
Defies authority
Associated with destructive passions
Brooding, alienated
Persistent loneliness
Fiery rebellion

10. Hero, cont. Arrogant High level of intelligence
Suffering from unnamed crime
Troubled past
Powerfully seductive
Moody
Jaded, world-weary
A good heart in the end

11. Victorian fashions

12. cont

13. cont

14. Victorian architecture

15. more

16. more