Gina's College Collection

Quotation: “‘Down superstition!’ I commented, as that spectre rose up black by the black yew at the gate. ‘This is not thy deception, nor thy witchcraft: it is the work of nature…’ I…fell on my knees; and prayed in my way-a different way to St. John’s, but effective in its own fashion. I seemed to penetrate very near a Mighty Spirit; and my soul rushed out in gratitude at His feet.” (p. 640-1)

Comments: The Jane we see in these later chapters is shown to have far been changed from the Jane we encountered in the beginning.  She has gone from God-questioning, as when she spoke with Helen Burns as a child, to God-fearing, despite her many misfortunes.  This is very interesting, as the author seemed nearly anti-Christian in the beginning, though we know from the introduction she eventually marries a clergyman.  As seemingly logical and irreligious as she was, as she does not mention going to church or prayer while at Thornfield and still bears resentment towards Rev. Brocklehurst, one would not have expected her to have such a change of heart, despite the fact something unexplained happened.  Most people today, as Jane appears to be more like than those of her time, if they had heard voices on the wind as she had, would have attributed it to stress, though perhaps would have been more believing later when Mr. Rochester told his half of that night’s events.

Questions: Why did Bronte incorporate such a change of heart? Why did she seemingly encourage questioning of religion early on only to go back on it with a supernatural occurrence? Though containing Gothic aspects, the story was realistic fiction up to this point, so why turn to the supernatural? Did the author have a change of heart towards Christianity in reality in the midst of writing the novel, or did she always plan it this way?

Quote: “‘I [Mr. Rochester] was walking late one evening…when something came up the path. I looked at it. It was a little thing with a veil of gossamer on its head…It was a fairy, come from Elf-land…”Put [this ring],” she said, “on the fourth finger of my left hand, and I am yours, and you are mine; and we shall leave earth, and make our own heaven yonder…” ‘[Jane] is a fairy.'” (p. 407-408)

Comment/Connection: This anecdote by Mr. Rochester illustrates his apparent obsession with marrying Jane. He has consistently viewed her as something otherworldly, from when he referred to her as some strange fairy the night Jane witnessed his horse fall. The gossamer veil may symbolize this mysterious air he believes she has, as well as a bridal veil, and the ring clearly signifies marriage. He views being with her as an escape from his current unsatisfactory life, which though he has spent in material comfort, has been lonely and tainted with the pain of betrayal by his former love Celine Varens.

Notably, Rochester is describing this so-called fairy in such a way that is different from how we think of fairies now with their minuscule bodies and delicate wings. The figure he speaks of is short but not the size of an insect and looks more human, and belongs to its own world rather than being a unique part of ours. This closer resembles the figure of fairies described by Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy Stories,” in which he defines not only what fairy-tales are, but what fairies are: beings that come from the land of Faerie, which arises from our imaginations. I have also read about such creatures in the fantasy novel “Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell,” which is about the return of sorcerers in England in the early 19th century and their struggle with faeries. In that story, faeries were often tricksters and enjoyed making deals with humans at a price, such as when the faerie king heals a sick girl but as payment took her to be his bride for “half her life” and bringing her to his palace to dance with him all night, every night, ultimately making her tired and bitter during the day. Rochester seems to feel he is under a spell of sorts too, and often refers to “being conquered by” Jane later.

Question: Why does Rochester view women so differently than the other men in the story, and possibly real men of this era, seem to? Is it due to his romantic experiences solely or did his parents have something to do with his view of Jane as someone of interest, despite lacking beauty and charisma?

Quote: ” [Helen’s] grave is in Brocklebridge churchyard: for fifteen years after her death it was only covered by a grassy mound; but now a gray marble tablet marks the spot, inscribed with her name, and the word ‘Resurgam'” (p. 81).

Comments: I searched for the meaning of “Resurgam,” and found it is Latin for “I will rise again.” Mentioning this detail on Helen’s grave demonstrates Jane and potentially the author’s disdain for blind belief in religion. Jane often questioned the doctrines of Christianity, even directly to Helen, who was pious. And here this faithful girl lies, dead young, with a message on her grave saying she’ll be back that was even only added long after death. This description makes religion sound vain and pathetic in its apparent hopefulness, interesting in literature for this time period.

Questions: Why did the author choose to have the message added long after Helen’s death? Is this based off real experiences of hers, with a grave of someone she knew perhaps having the same epitaph?

Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. NY: Dodd, Mead & Co. 1847.

Quote: Frankenstein referring to the manner in which he told the magistrate about the creature: “…there was a frenzy in my manner, and something, I doubt not, of that haughty fierceness of which the martyrs of old are said to have possessed” (p. 171).

Comments: This quote illustrates an example of Frankenstein’s internal monstrosity in the form of his hatred for his creation shining through. It therefore emphasizes the idea of the duality of man that Shelley may have been trying to communicate through this novel by contrasting Frankenstein with his project. The creature was terrible on the outside yet innately good, and while Frankenstein was not evil, his focus on appearances was a major character flaw and ultimately his doom when it caused him to continually condemn his experiment.

Question: Why does Shelley refer to saints that were typically revered at this time as “haughty?” Is this a hint at rebellion against the church in her writing?

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein (Third Edition). Editor: Smith, Johanna M. Bedford/St. Martin’s. 2016.