Jane Eyre by Charlotte

THE NOVEL

Preface

35 ‘I mean the timorous or carping few…in whose eyes whatever is unusual is wrong; whose ears detect in each protest against bigotry—that parent of crime—an insult to piety...’ – Brontë is defending herself against those who saw Jane Eyre as an attack on the Puritan/Evangelical tradition that is represented, at its worst, in the Reverend Brocklehurst, and, at its best, in St John Rivers. Those who saw the novel in this way were, in many respects, justified (see Introduction above).

36 ‘the very master of that working corps who would restore to rectitude the warped system of things’ – Brontë’s dedication of Jane Eyre to Thackeray aligns her with those Victorians who wished to reform society. No doubt, she will have had the ‘Woman Question’ at the forefront of her mind. It is interesting also to recall that Thackeray’s most famous novel, Vanity Fair , which began its serialisation in 1847 – the same year as the publication of the first edition of Jane Eyre – took its title from Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress , which is such a key text for Brontë herself.

Chapter 1

39 ‘I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons’ – This is, of course, most unlike a Brontë, and most unlike the woman Jane will become. She is presented at the opening as a small, timorous creature, without the spirit and strength she will later acquire.

39 ‘humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority’ – Emphasises her meekness and lowly sense of status at the beginning of the novel.

39 ‘a more attractive and sprightly manner’ – Aunt Reed’s criticism of Jane may seem fair comment at first, but the reader can already sense that Jane’s reticence and quietude is a consequence of her exile from the family group. She is deliberately kept ‘at a distance.’

39 ‘“What does Bessie say I have done?” I asked.’ – The first indication that Jane has a little more spirit than might first appear.