Jane Eyre: Fanning the Flames and Seeing Double
nineteenth century culture she depicts is her own, of course, one in which female's imaginations were not encouraged, and their voices were not heard; hence, Brontë wrote under a male pseudonym (Currer Bell) to ensure successful publication of her work. Indeed, autobiographical elements (a girls' school, life as a governess) throughout the novel support such a reading. Perhaps, then, Jane is Charlotte's alter-ego and by association, Bertha is as well. As looking-glasses will attest, the possibilities for such reflections are endless.
Quotes are from: Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Ed. Beth Newman. Boston: Bedford Books, 1996.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Loved reading it the first time and simply don't have time to revisit the text? Check out a recent screen adaptation, which received favorable customer reviews, or the 1944 classic , starring Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*,Eyre sounds uncannily like ire. Coincidence? I think not! Throughout Jane Eyre, a bildungsroman novel with menacing gothic overtones and mystery, Jane journies to overcome various forms of repression. Circumscribed by a patriarchal culture that dictates women's limited roles, opportunities and passions (both creative and sensual) and which similarly suppresses the underclass to which Jane belongs, she maintains her genteel composure, as she conforms to society's restrictions. Jane embarks on a quest, seeking her true self. And in her travels, she will confront numerous obstacles, as foreshadowed in the opening line of the novel: "There was no possibility of taking a walk that day" (19). As the cold winter landscape provides the backdrop for her thwarted walk, images of redness and of fire underscore the passions buried within Jane, passions which will surface quite forcibly in her alter-ego, the tempestuous and crazed Bertha. In Jane, Charlotte Brontë creates a strong, independent heroine who struggles to find a voice in a world intent on denying it.
The first place of entrapment from which she will escape is named, appropriately, Gateshead. She is grudgingly adopted by her father's family, the Reeds. Out its door (or gate) she will begin her travels when her own anger displaces her. After retaliating to the taunts of the young John Reed, she is punished with solitude in the imposing red room, the room of the deceased Mr. Reed (the family patriarch). Frightened in the overbearing room, she seeks out her mirror image (her first double): "I had to cross before the looking-glass; my fascinated glance involuntarily explored the depth it revealed" (26). In
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