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I found feminism to be a pretty important sub-theme coming up in this book. Jane is seen as a very unusual person to many of the male, and female, characters in this book due to her frank speech and her zesty personality. This also is shown by other characters within the story. You can kind of see it from the beginning of the novel, as it starts with Mrs. Reed being the head authority of her home. Additionally, you can see the opposites, if you remember, Mrs. Reed’s two daughters, Eliza and Georgiana, were praised for their beauty and grace, but lacked intelligence or skills. That is, of course, where Jane acts as a foil of the two girls. Similarly, Bessie is seen as a more “useful” character as she can cook, clean and rear children, whereas Mrs. Reed cannot control John and has a fundamental misunderstanding of how her family acts. Much later in the novel, you can see the representation of kindness in a position of power in Miss Temple. Then, as perhaps the most striking circumstance, Jane acts as the protector of Mr. Rochester after he receives a “The Outsiders” send off. She pretty much becomes his “eyes” and his legs. Likewise, she is a strong independent woman, “‘I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with independent will, which I now exert to leave you’” (293). (Disregard that she eventually caves in on that.)

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I think that one of the most powerful examples of this is in the beginning of the novel where Jane is locked in the “Red Room” (which is similar to “Redrum” in a kind of funny way.) Elements of a Gothic Literature present in Jane Eyre are, mansions, powerless women, ghosts, and my favorite, Romantic Language. (Think of it in terms of chapters 17 and 18 in Frankenstein -when Victor is in the mountains,- not like Mr. Rochester’s backhanded compliments to Jane.) What I mean by that is that Jane has these really intense emotions while locked in the room. “...but then, prepared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world. My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings: something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down…” (21).

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I feel that this is the easiest of all the topics to talk about. I believe that due to the novel opening up with Mrs. Reed telling Jane, “Jane, ‘I don’t like cavillers or questioners; besides, there is something truly forbidding in a child taking up her elders in that manner. Be seated somewhere; and until you can speak pleasantly, remain silent’” (10). Really, for this topic, mostly anywhere in Jane’s timeline between beginning and leaving Lowood would work. Jane choosing to leave Gateshead, however, represents her empowerment. At Lowood, you can draw many comparisons between the book “Matilda” and Jane Eyre. The isolation that Jane feels when the headmaster tells her that she is a liar and no one should speak with her (around chapters 7-9) is reminiscent of when Principal Trunchbull puts Matilda in the “chokey.” In both cases, the female protagonist is rescued by the sweet teacher, Miss Temple or Miss Honey. (You know, thinking more about this, the book Jane Eyre is actually really of similar to Matilda. If we were to extrapolate Matilda’s plot, it would be very similar to Jane Eyre. Both come from homes where they are ostracized or hated for being intelligent and frank. Then, both are sent to school -their own request- where they face much adversity from the headmaster and just generally feel excluded. There, they meet good friends who come under unfortunate circumstances -Helen dying, that kid being thrown by her piggy tails and the chokey.) This theme is less prevalent once Jane goes to Thornfield, because she is nice to Adele.

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I think an interesting aspect of this novel is that it almost parallels with the life of the author, Charlotte Bronte. Some consider it to be almost an autobiography. When considering the character of Jane and the situations life puts her in, Bronte also went to school, became a teacher, and even turned down proposals from clergymen. She later fell in love while teaching with a man she would never marry; because he was already married. Constantin Heger was his name and while she was working with him and wrote numerous love letters; his wife became jealous (as she should). Interestingly enough this love triangle occurs after the death of Charlotte Bronte's aunt. Although she never married Heger and had her happily ever after, I believe that this is the reason that Jane describes Bertha as such a demon, and how Bertha tears Mr. Rochester and Jane apart. In the true story of Bronte's life she marries another man ten years later. Maybe this story is her fantasy about the what ifs of her life.

This is the link to the biography I looked at if any of you guys are interested.

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Lucian- I found this theme fairly easily, all through the book. I believe that is was largely reflected through Jane's decision  to leave Gateshead, then to leave Lowood, then to leave Mr. Rochester. In each scenario she seemed to have felt traped, but then was able to muster the courage to leave (the Feminist part). Here are some pages I found to be significant in regards to this topic;  14, 30, 35, 110

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Lucian- as I mentioned earlier, this is similar to the dis-empowerment of children topic, but different in other ways, like through the social class struggles that were shown between Blanche Ingram and Jane. In a similar way that Mrs. Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst despised and repressed Jane, Miss Ingram shunned and hatted Jane because of her lower social class. Here are some pages I found to be significant in regards to this topic;   13, 16, 18, 115, 205-206

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For this I mostly focused on Jane and Mr Rochester. For Jane the most significant ways in which her character was developed throughout the book were through; Resenting Mrs. Reed, meeting Helen Burns, Having a Mother-like Mrs.Temple at school, Love, Forgiveness, leaving Mr.Rochester and meeting ST John. Through the story her character was refined through these encounters, by giving her discipline, respect for others, compassion and humility, but reminding her to stay passionate. However, I think the main way in which Jane's character developed was by growing into a women and finally gaining the courage to act on the fire that was always in her. For Rochester I noticed that Passion was his main trait (as ironic as that is). Here are some pages I found to be significant in regards to this topic;   44, 66 and 93, 100, 129, 149, 170, 177, 215, 266, 370, 417

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I actually thought of this topic in a slightly different way during the time in which I read the book. In the beginning I saw Mrs. Reed’s problem of hating Jane but being bound by word to keep her a reflection of this theme, and Jane’s early on predicament of either to stay with those who are rich but hate you or with those whom are poor but love you (page 30). I saw this theme portrayed through Jane’s moral dilemma with Loving her master, she had passion/love for him, but in reality she was in a different social class than him, making this complicated. Here are the pages that show this; 189, 204, 217-218

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The disempowerment of children topic, while most prevalent in Jane’s ventures, can also hold true in regards to Adele. She is brought from France (on her own accord in this matter) to England to find that she is “lied to” by her guardian that she will live with him because he is never home. When Rochester is assumed to be marrying Blanche, it is said that Adele was to be shipped off to school, and when Rochester is courting Jane/ is to marry Jane, the same fate is attached to Adele ("I'll have no brats!- I'll have only you" 306), rendering her less important that Mr. Rochester’s plans and future endeavors despite him being her guardian. She is second, and a nuisance, despite her living with him being his own choice. And when Adele is sent to a school, it is one in which Jane finds her thin and in an unhappy state ("She looked pale and thin: she said she was not happy" 518). Adele comes second to the wishes of the adults around her, and really has no say in the discourse of her life.

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Additionally I have found that this topic is, though different, very similar to the, more general, Repression theme. This theme is surrounded by Janes encounters with Mrs. Reed, Mr. Brocklehurst, and even Miss. Ingram. Here are some pages I found to be significant in regards to this topic;   10, 27, 33, 38, 64, 78-79

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I should add that I think another place of the novel that struck me as Gothic is the mystery of Grace poole, and all the encounters with Bertha Mason- how she was depicted as an evil figure… Here are some pages I found to be significant in regards to this topic;   28, 127, 173, 223, 243, 327

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Feminism is also found interwoven through the novel in Jane’s unwillingness to bend to any man’s will. The fact that she never compromises her convictions, even for the one she loves, shows her commitment to keeping herself independent and her own person. Jane does not submit to Mr. Rochester when he goes into a frenzy after their wedding plans were cancelled, even when he threatens violence. Neither does she let herself be overpowered by the strong-willed St John later on in the novel, when he has his own wedding plans. Feminism can also be found when Jane does not give herself/ abide by a “place” so to speak. She boldly asks St John questions that she even acknowledges as unusual for a woman to ask (“Again the surprised expression crossed his face. He had not imagined that a woman would dare to speak so to a man. For me, I felt at home in this sort of discourse” 432). Jane never backs down or shies away from defending her beliefs or furthering her own understanding ("I could never rest in communication with strong, discreet, and refined minds, whether male or female, till I had passed the out-works of conventional reserve" 432) in a way that could be deemed “improper” to please or avoid offending a man. Her mere commitment to making her own way in the world, in consideration of the time period, shows a degree of feminism. In a time period in which a woman’s fate was determined by who she married, and was oftentimes rendered weaker without a man, Jane goes against the grain. She never renders herself unable, and strikes her own path all without the help of anybody. Mr. Rochester even stated that he would have given her half of his fortune had he known her plan, but Jane never asked for aid and knew her own self to be capable. Even when she did marry Mr. Rochester, it was on her terms that she did so. It was her choice to return and her choice to marry him in the end. For a period in which a woman had lesser power than today’s women, Jane holds herself equal to men (“Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel… It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or lean more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex” 129-130) and no less able, which speaks clearly to the feminist undertones within the novel.

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Yes through Jane’s strong willed/independent/ courageous personality, the topic of Feminism is sprinkled throughout the novel. It is evident that, since her childhood, she recognized injustice as a crime and wouldn't stand for oppression (with Mrs. Reed), she would not only stick up for herself and face John Reed but for other girls that were mal-treated at Lowood. She then would take initiative to advertise and get a job and salary on her own accord, as an independent women, leaving as she pleased. Eventually, as Mckenna said, only doing things on her own terms. Here are some pages I found to be significant in regards to this topic;    20, 30, 58-59, 66, 119, 121, 129-130, 157, 365, 501

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Gateshead (the Reeds house), Lowood school, Thornfield manor (Millcote), The Moor house (in Morton), The school house (in Morton), and Ferndean Manor.

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With regards to what Lucian said, I think that is really what makes this a feminist novel. Jane grew as a person, but Mr. Rochester had to morph. He had to calm down for Jane, while she just had to grow and further develop her sense of self. This use of character development connects to the aspect of feminism in this novel in my opinion.

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Jane oftentimes shows a level of repression when she is holding herself to standards. When Jane is in love with Mr. Rochester towards the start of her time, she remembers her 'place' and doesn't act on her notion or her feelings, believing that he could never feel the same even though it was clear he felt similarly ("You have nothing to do with the master of Thornfield, further than to receive salary he gives you... Be sure that is the only tie he seriously acknowledges between you and him... keep to your caste" 189). In doing this, Jane represses her own emotions.

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Many sets of foil characters can be found within the novel: Mr. Rochester and St John, for example, one wants to marry Jane for love, and the other for her abilities that could potentially benefit himself. Jane and Mr. Rochester's wife, Bertha, Jane is mentally sane for one, but also is her own person and is very honest and upfront about who she is with Mr. Rochester. Bertha, who was insane, but also in courting Mr. Rochester was very different from who she actually was, Bertha was also from a wealthy family whereas Mr. Rochester would not having been gaining any more fortune when he originally wanted to marry Jane. Jane and her cousins the Reeds can also be contrasted, Jane is simple, educated, reasonable and caring. Her cousin Georgiana is excessive and money hungry, her cousin John wasn't smart or reasonable as he was draining the family's fortune and threatening his own life when he didn't get his own way, and Georgiana isn't caring towards her dying mother, when even Jane is. Jane's other girl cousin Eliza, shows her own lack of care with her utter disgust towards Georgiana.

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Passion vs. Reason too can be personified between Mr. Rochester and Jane. Mr. Rochester embodying passion and Jane reason. Especially when Jane decides not to marry Mr. Rochester, and he goes into a frenzied, yet passionate, state. Jane largely remains calm, and is unswerving in the face of his pleads and threats, understanding that at the present moment, things will not work out in their relationship despite how much they each want them to. Because of the logic led argument and course of action Jane takes in leaving, she shows reason. Mr. Rochester shows passion while he is doing everything he possibly can to keep Jane.

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This is one of the coolest topics on the list. I believe this because at times, it is very difficult to determine if Jane acts on passion or passionate reason. Jane is a very frank person, so she has some strong opinions on most things. An example is when she discusses Miss Scatcherd’s constant beratement of Helen Burns. Jane says to Helen, “‘But I feel this, Helen: I must dislike those who, whatever I do to please them, persist in disliking me; I must resist those who punish me unjustly. It is as natural as that I should love those who show me affection, or submit to punishment when I feel it is deserved’” (69). Helen responds with, “‘Heathens and savage tribes hold that doctrine; but Christians and civilised nations disown it’” (69). This topic of Passion vs. Reason is not too different from the topic of natural (as in what animals do) actions versus principled human actions. If you have ever read “The Oresteia,” by Aeschylus, the idea that the animalistic Furies (the personification of vengeance and revenge) are conquered by Athena (the Greek Goddess) when she institutes a judicial court in Athens to try Orestes for murdering his mother. Or in “King Lear” where Shakespeare uses the characters of Edmund and King Lear to show opposite sides of human nature: survival of the fittest (animalistic or passion) and compassion and unity (principles or reason). In the end of both, principles and reason triumph. Now, back to Jane Eyre, this theme comes full circle throughout the plot. As previously mentioned, in the beginning, Jane is a passionate person, as she rashly decides to: leave Gateshead, condemn Miss Scatcherd, go, and leave, from Thornfield, and marrying Rochester. Toward the last third of the book she begins to act more rationally. In this time, she considers her feelings about each event, then she asserts her decision with more confidence and reason: she refuses to marry St. John because, “St. John; but it is your own fault that I have been roused to speak so unguardedly. You have introduced a topic on which our natures are at variance - a topic we should never discuss: the very name of love is an apple of discord between us. If the reality were required, what should we do? How should we feel? My dear cousin, abandon your scheme of marriage- forget it’” (471). Later, when she returns to see Rochester, she sees him severely damaged and broken. This helps remedy the former situation of such a power imbalance between the two. Whereas before she was merely just his governess and he was her master, now they are on a more equal terms as, even though he is still her master, he needs her to take care of him and “serve as his prop and guide” (516).

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Repression not only applies to the females of Jane Eyre, but can also be found in Rochester.  Until late into the novel,  Rochester hides and represses his own shameful past of a botched marriage and the ensuing asylum in Thorn-field Hall (Pg. 335). Here, Rochester uses this deception to achieve a kind of catharsis by essentially ridding himself of his past by abandoning its remnants in favor of a positive future with Jane.  When his world crumbles with fire and fury, Rochester represses himself.  In shame and still reeling from the denial of Jane, becomes a hermit, and his previous zest and vigor for life decay with his ailing frame. He only again blossoms under the passion of Jane during their renewed marriage, with his love rekindling as his body heals.

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One of a character foil is Mr. Brocklehurst with Helen Burns. The administrator at Lowood, Brocklehurst takes an almost Puritan view on religion, and expresses that often. He calls fire and brimstone down upon the sinners and liers, such as Jane, and preaches a lifestyle devoid of vanity or pleasure. He is his own foil in this regard, as he forces the students in his charge to subsist on the most meager of resources while his own family cavorts around in a life of plenty. Brocklehurst is also contrasted by Jane's childhood compatriot Helen Burns. Her view of God is one of a loving father, waiting to embrace His children in the comfort of heaven. Her view of God is ingrained in Jane, and provides her with a bit of a moral compass in the later chapters. Another foiling pair is that of Jane with Rochester's suitor, Miss Ingram.  Miss Ingram has everything that Jane does not. She is outwardly beautiful, terrific in the social sphere with her array of talents, and comes from good standings. On the inside, however, she is a sham. She holds most others in contempt, and berates those below her. She eventually concludes her courtship when she hears of a drop in Rochester's wealth, showing her greed and poor character. While Jane pales in comparison to ostensible qualities, her more human qualities crush Ingram. Jane is passionate and sincere with her feelings and motives where Ingram only puts on a show. This is why Rochester, caring not for the superficial, advances only on Jane.

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The Gothic theme is often prevalent in Jane and Rochester's budding relationship. When Jane first encounters Rochester, unbeknownst to her, she believes his accompanying beasts are apparitions and monsters that she labels the Gytrash. This forebodes the mystery and occasional malice that Rochester had ensnared himself and his past in, and that Jane may have to face some dark truths as she finds herself drawn closer to him. Also in this first encounter, Rochester begins to call Jane a sprite or witch, which persists throughout the novel. This expresses Rochester's fascination at Jane's mystery and peculiarity in the face of contemporary societal expectations. The supernatural returns when Jane and Rochester reunite at his manor of exile, where Jane is seemingly enticed by Rochester's lachrymose call "Jane, Jane, Jane," with Rochester receiving her reply "Where are you?" (Pg. 515). This inexplicable connection seems to tell us that Jane and Rochester's love is insurmountable and must one day be finally acted upon.

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Bronte's theme of feminism especially shows through the frequent role reversal in the relationship of Jane and Mr. Rochester. From their first encounter, Jane has been the savior of Rochester, a role frequented by males. After his horse takes a tumble, Rochester is forced to lean on Jane to get back in the saddle.  This is just the beginning of Rochester's reliance on Jane, which culminates in the conclusion.  As Jane marries the crippled aristocrat, she is destined to be his senses and lead him through the coming years, stating "I served both as his prop and guide" (Pg. 516).  Where man was usually the lead, Jane now commands.  With Rochester now her dependent, and independently wealthy on her own, Jane now is out from under any thumb of her past and is the embodiment of power. From Rochester's omnipresent weakness came the out bursting of Jane's feminine strength.

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Gothic novels tend to have several components of mystery, realism and horror. A component that I noticed in Jane Eyre is that of the supernatural. Although no phantoms or other creatures as such present throughout the text, I did notice many metaphors pertaining to Jane and her likeness of a fairy or a pixie. Beggining in the second chapter of the novel, when Jane looks at herself in the mirror she saw that,  everything, " looked colder and darker that visionary hollow than reality: and the strange little figure there gazing at me, with a white face and arms specking the gloom, and glittering eyes of fear moving where all else was still had the effect of a real spirit”(18) . Jane as a child sees herself as a fairy or ghost like being. Even through adulthood, Jane is characterized by others in a similar manner, especially by Mr. Rochester. " “she comes from another world - from the abode of people who are dead…. I’d touch you, to see if you are substance or shadow, you elf!” (282). I believe this is why Mr. Rochester is so interested in Jane; she is different, as cheesy as that sounds. The supernatural is a predominant element of gothic literature. The theme of supernatural is presented in this novel through the characterization of Jane through her own perception of herself and the eyes of others.

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I agree with both of you. Rochester's purpose in the story was to be Jane's love interest and to be a large source of her feelings of repression, enclosure and escape. This is apparent in their interactions in the early part of the novel. During that time, Jane was newly hired by Mrs. Fairfax, and in that, she was mild and was "obliged to be plain" (117). The young women that populate Thornfield toward the middle of the novel then act to contrast with Jane, both physically and in their personalities. Blanche and Mary Ingram were two of Mr. Rochester's chief guests, and, according to Jane, "Blanche and Mary were of equal stature - straight and tall as poplars. Mary was too slim for her height, but Blanche was was moulded like a Dian" (200). Blanche was the more impressive of the two, however, Mary is more similar to Jane than Blanche is, and, in an interesting turn of events, Mr. Rochester starts a few rumors that he will marry Blanche (despite his actual intentions of marrying Jane) and that his fortune is much less than it really is. This event, was done (as described by Rochester) to make Jane jealous and to test Blanche to see if she would be loyal to him. "What love have I for Miss Ingram? None: as I have taken pains to prove: I caused a rumour to reach her that my fortune was not a third of what was supposed, and after I presented myself to see the result; it was coldness both from her and her mother. I would not - I could not - marry Miss Ingram" (294). Then, as Jane accepts Rochester's marriage proposal, and then, as their marriage ceremony is disrupted, Jane realizes that she needs to leave Rochester to ensure that she can continue to grow as a person. Jane then reaches emotional maturity when she refuses St. John's marriage proposal, claiming that he does not love her, and it is in neither of their best interests to do so. "You [St. John] have introduced a topic on which our natures are at variance - a topic we should never discuss: the very name of love is an apple of discord between us" (471). Afterward, Jane returns to marry Rochester, just this time, they are equals.

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One theme that I found to be interesting is the idea that most characters find superficial things to be more important than inner traits or personality, or, for that matter, usefulness. This theme is present in one manner or another throughout the entire plot, but is most notable in the beginning and the end. In the beginning of the novel, Jane quarrels with John Reed and winds up in The Red Room. During that time, she reflects on the unjust way people judge her with her cousins. "Her [Georgiana] beauty, her pink cheeks and golden curls, seemed to give delight to all who looked at her, and to purchase indemnity for every fault" (18). Additionally, Jane is the only young girl at Gateshead with the ambition to improve herself, hence the reason she goes to Lowood to improve her mind and distance herself from the others. Moving forward to the end of the first third of the novel, Jane recognizes that she physically cannot compare to the likes of the Ingrams or the other young women Mr. Rochester invited to Thornfield. Despite this, Mr. Rochester is enamored of her. To him, she was unique because she had talent with drawing, sewing and being loyal. Jane's loyalty strikes him the most. Whereas Blanche Ingram left Rochester just because of a rumor that he wasn't as rich as people were lead to believe, Jane leaves Rochester, but comes back in his darkest hour to take care of him. By this time, Rochester is missing one eye, has lost a hand and is going blind in the remaining eye. However, Jane returns and says to him, "I will be your companion - to read to you, to walk with you, to sit with you, to wait on you, to be eyes and hands to you. Cease to look so melancholy, my dear master; you shall not be left desolate, so long as I live'" (502). At the end of it all, Rochester realizes that he has wasted his time pursuing the materialistic, superficial women, when, in his hour of need, it was plain Jane that came to take care of him.

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Janes relationship to Rochester also plays into the Gothic theme by the novel portraying Rochester as a sort of predatory male character such as Dracula but not exactly in the same sense. Where Dracula is more of a deadly predatory character Rochester is more sexually predatory however where Dracula has helpless victims such as Jonathan Harker, Rochester has Jane but she teases him with his desires and making  her less of a damsel in distress that we most commonly see in Gothic novels. An example is that she states that she would often “rather have pleased than teased him”(I don't remember the chapter I am pulling this from memory) meaning that she herself exercises a sort of power over Rochester lessening his power over Jane.

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I can't really add to the aforementioned pieces of evidence except for the fact that since Jane’s childhood she’s always had that independent spirit from the start of the novel. Even though as mentioned before by Justice that Jane was able to rear children, cook, clean and become what many people of the Victorian Era would have seen as the “Perfect woman” she also never lost sight of her independence even in her marrying of Rochester as stated before by McKenna that she did so on her own terms as she had done in many cases throughout the novel.

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A very easy topic, but one that is of great import to Jane's development and that of the story. As Justice and McKenna  mentioned before the development of this theme is most prevalent in Jane but also in characters such as Adele who were also disempowered and the connection to the character of Matilda (haven't read the book just seen the movie). However Jane in the beginning of the novel at Gateshead is not only disempowered by Mrs Reed but also by characters like John Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst. An excellent example of this is when Mr Brocklehurst punishes Jane in front of all of the teachers and students at Lowood and she describes how she was placed on a “Pedestal of infamy” (Pg.79). However this disempowerment of Jane backfired and instead brought her pity from both Miss Temple and Helen Burns.

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Very good points on both ends but I see the idea of Passion vs. Reason as a way of seeing Jane progress throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel for example her decision to leave Gateshead was ill thought out at best and she believed that it would be better at Lowood than to stay. Back to the previous point made by Lucian of how Janes predicament to stay with those who are rich but hate you or go with people who are poor but love you is also reflected in her time at Lowood when she lives through her first winter, when she is scolded and punished by Mr. Brocklehurst she describe that she would not trade the hardships of Lowood for all the luxuries of Gateshead due to the simple human kindness (Pg. 89). This shows that she values people's capacity for kindness over material things. As far as Rochester is concerned Jane is very impulsive and very much child like in the way that she teases him in his desires, however she does begin to see reason as Justice said before and helps Rochester in his time of need by marrying him and ‘serving as his prop and guide’(516).

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I agree very similar to the disempowerment of children and most often the two are one and the same. As far as class is concerned we see the differences right from the beginning between Mrs Reed’s children and Jane. Where Jane is an adopted child from a poor family the Reed children, especially John are entitled and live as such. For example John consistently taunts Jane, all of which happens under the nose of Mrs Reed. Jane is also repressed by Mr Brocklehurst at Lowood although this isn’t the best example due to the fact that after Jane’s punishment at the hands of Brocklehurst she was supported by Miss Temple and Helen Burns. Another good example is the repression of Adele at Thornfield.

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The variety of places in the novel do have a specific purpose in the way that they illustrate Janes characterization throughout the novel for example Gateshead is a negative place for Jane and as such she acted in a negative fashion. In the case of Lowood she goes through a sort of re-birth or rather she finds her purpose in life by becoming an attentive student and then later a teacher. Though not to do so much with her own characterization Jane's eventual stop at Thornfield Hall which ties into the gothic elements of the novel based upon the description that the author gives, which connects to the character of Rochester and how he himself adds to the Gothic element

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I find myself in agreement with Lydia on the matter of what makes Jane Eyre a fantastic example of a feminist novel: the fact that Jane in the end dictated the terms under which she lived particularly in her marriage of Rochester as Justice has mentioned. However I don't believe that

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The only really obvious foil other than the previous ones listed I could find was Rochester’s anger. His anger consistently got the better of him throughout the novel, such as when the  as well as his more sexual and base desires. I suppose Jane’s impulsiveness could also be seen as a foil but I see it as more of a positive character trait than a negative one throughout the novel.

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I feel as though Jane's departures, were often sort of a mixed bag, demanding her return to her former place of suffering for positive closure. Jane leaves Gateshead for Lowood, but finds friendship among the discrepancies and death. Years later she returns to Gateshead, and discovers she has grown to morally surpass the Reeds who once ruled her, showing the fruitfulness of her toils. Jane flees her teaching position at Lowood soon after she loses her mentor, Miss Temple, feeling unfulfilled and almost bored. Yet after she leaves her isolated sanctuary for the exciting outside world, she eventually builds up her own academy in the nearly equal isolation of the English back country.  And the obvious one of her return to Thornfield and Mr. Rochester to act upon her desire for catharsis in her tumultuous life of disappointment and despair.

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I feel that Lowood is a crucial setting with impacts felt throughout the novel. Lowood is a place of strict rules, demanding adherence to Mr. Brocklehurst's law. Such an environment is bound to foster rebellion in its inmates, and these rebellious traits soon develop in the character of Helen Burns. In direct opposition to Lowood, Helen preaches a welcoming, patriarchal God as opposed to the fire and brimstone of Brocklehurst, and Helen also uses this pious manner to shake off the omnipresent punishments of Lowood. Jane adopts many of Helen's morals, beliefs and tolerance of adversity, thus making Lowood the source of many of the cornerstones of Jane's character. Jane's time at Lowood is also crucial to following plot. It is here at Lowood where Jane picks up her calling as a teacher of fine English girls. Without this experience, Jane would not have been employed as a governess at Thornfield, thus preventing her affair with Rochester, and so on. Lowood also really perpetuates the theme of child disempowerment. During any child's multi-year stay at Lowood, their beliefs, their clothing and nearly any other aspect of their lives are forced upon them with little to no choice. The constant ingraining of the hypocritical Brocklehurst's will puts children in the ultimate of weakness and impressionability, although as Jane grows Lowood really becomes the source of her strong willed, pious independence.

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I believe that the disempowerment of children really builds up Jane's own strength.  At Gateshead and Lowood, Jane is often beat down and oppressed as an unwanted ward or a corrupted, non-pious burden. It is because of these experiences that Jane strives to be independent and powerful. Using her advanced morals and spirit of independence picked up from Helen Burns, Jane shapes her actions of adulthood to avoid repeating her childhood. When the arrangements at Thornfield and the Moor House become unhealthy or she loses her place, like at Gateshead, Jane is able to use her independent spirit to flee, when at Gateshead she was shoved away. And later when she returns to Gateshead, the beginning of her youth of suffering, she is granted confirmation of her own power when seeing the demise of her cousin and aunt, as well as the impiousness of Georgiana and the judgement of Eliza, in the face of her own success, love and morality.

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A final instance that can be labeled enclosure and escape can be Jane leaving the Rivers' household and town. What once was a safe haven, soon became a place that was more oppressive to Jane. First with St John's efforts to exert his will over Jane, with her employment outlook and then with his wish to marry her, Jane's own will at times was close to being overshadowed. And while in the Rivers' household, Jane is refraining from being with her love, Mr. Rochester. Jane was never trapped with the Rivers', but certainly sheltered/enclosed from her true life in the beginning (while using a different name), and from her true wants in the end. Jane eventually does 'escape' her rut and makes action to be where she truly wants to be and where she can freely exercise her own will without any impediments.

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While I don't want to reiderate what's already been said, at different times Jane does struggle with the "damsel in distress" trope that's common in Gothic literature. She is largely the victim of her circumstances more than her own actions, whether it's imposing men, family members or institutions. She overcomes through agency though, which is a departure from the tradition gothic female role.

Bertha also described more as a creature out of a monster novel than a woman, her presumably exagerated characteristics such as larger lips and wild eyes feed into a feeling of inherent danger around her, even before she's revealed to be a murderer. Along the same lines, the mystery surrounding Bertha and Grace Poole feeds into the gothic themes.

The novel is rife with decadent settings and motifs both obvious and implied. Thornfield isn't quite overgrown, but for much of the novel it sits a shell of a house, sparsely staffed and infrequently visited. When it is first visited by Jane it seems to be in a state of decline. The Reed family line also demonstrates decay, with the only surviving male heir contributing to it's destruction. When Ms Reed dies, Jane, Georgianna and Eliza all go their seperate ways, effectively ending the significance of the "Reed" name.
This might be personal opinion, but the vast demonstrations of wealth that Mr Rochester puts on to entertain his guests seem like the symptoms of a decadent culture. The focus is far too much on worldy pleasures, and even the courtship is heartless. Contrast this to the intesne feelings Jane has and her own austerity, it seems perfectly clear that wealth contributes to the decay of the spirit.

Other assorted gothic elements include important scenes happening often at night, like with Jane and Rochester in the garden, Bertha's attacks, Jane's first coming to Thornfield, her travel to Lowood, her experience in the Red Room. Mystical events like Jane and Rochester calling out to each other over great distances, etc.

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I disagree with Ben strongly that Jane's sense of self empowerment or independence came from Helen; it's apparent in the first chapter. Helen was an extremely obidient child and her morals elevated her own (for want of a better term) "degredation".

So I'm going to take a bit of a tangent here because I think her character is really interesting. Helen is extremely christlike in her characterization.  She doesn't resist oppression, or begrudge her lot in life. She doesn't even consider that it might not be fair. These might be consdiered as weakness in some people, but Helen is clearly not a weak character. She isn't broken, rather she has exected the inevitibility of suffering, embraced her agency where it exists, and through this transcended her situation. This parallels the passion story almost perfectly, especially when you consider that she died more or less for Jane's sins - because in the aftermath Jane embodies the best attributes about Helen.

Detour over, but this contributes to the idea of disempowerment of children. I do see that children are generally "disempowered" in Lowood, especially by Brocklehurst, but this is overshadowed by the presense of Miss Temple. I struggle with this because the same oppressive environment gave Helen and Jane a non-traditional empowerment, the kind that affirms your ability to endure tragedy. It builds inner fortitude, which later allowed Jane to leave Rochester and resist St. John. Honestly the only TRUE disempowerment I found was placating Adele and the whole situation at Gateshead. It didn't seem like a particularly pervasive theme.

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Covered Already: Jane and Miss Ingram, St. John and Mr. Rochester, Georgiana and Eliza?

So I'm going to add to some of the ones already covered and then offer my own. St John and Mr Rochester differ in a few more ways. Jane loves Rochester, but he is a morally tainted man. He has a questionable past, is prone to fits of violence and anger, and was willing to make Jane into a mistress for his own gratification. Jane does not love St. John like that, but he is a morally upstanding man by any standards of the day. He is completely devoid of passion though, he does what he does out of a sense of duty. Rochester is more of a romantic, who throughout his life has been lead by his emotions and personal search for fullfilment. His anger can even been seen as an expression of this passion. As Jane's two "romantic interests", St. John's proposal really serves to highlight how much better suited Jane is to Rochester.

Jane and Miss Ingram has been covered extremely well already, props to Ben

Helen and Jane I think are better foils than Helen and Mr Brocklehurst, because Helen and Mr Brocklehurst essentially ascribe to the same ideology. Jane's expression of her agency is radically different than Helen's, but the both have the same internal fortitude. They are two sides of the same coin.

Georgiana and John Reed foil each other when it comes to thrift. Georgiana isn't greedy, like I saw suggested somewhere else in this padlet, she's extremely frugal so she can be charitible with her time and resources. She is pious, responsible, hard working and driven by order and duty. John Reed is her polar opposite. He gambles away the family fortune and ends up committing suicide instead of facing the reality of his life.

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Wow that prop and guide quote is getting a lot of usage in this padlet.

Okay, I'm going to try and not reiterate what's already been said, butI want to empasize the fact that Jane's passion is a dynamic characteristic in the novel. At Gateshead and early Lowood she is driven largely by her passion; her passion to learn, her passion for justice, her desire to be loved (whether that be by her adopted family or her teachers). This is tempered as she matures, and in the second third of the book with Rochester her emotions take a backseat to her reason.

This often borders on repression, where she forces herself into a box defined by societal standards. It really stood out to me when she painted a picture of Miss Ingram and herself to remind her of her own failings. She rarely lets herself engage in fantasy. She reminds herself, "keep to your caste" in multiple situations. I am not a therapist, but her coping mechanism of essentially beating herself over the head with reality seems like an unhealthy balance between passion and reason.

You almost see this again when St. Jonh is proposing to Jane, but this I think is where her development is complete in regards to this issue: she rejects his proposal not just on the grounds of reason, but on their differences of opinion on what constitutes "love". Neither passion or reason are fully in control or dominating Jane's life, they share equal and important roles in her decision making. Having completed her journy in this arena gives her the power to eventually return to Rochester, the man she left out of fear of her own passion.

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Justice's analysis of Rochester and Jane developing in parallel I think is spot on. I'll add that immaturity on the part of both Rochester and Jane made them not quite ready to marry the first time, as evidenced by Rochester's attempts to turn Jane into some sort of noblewoman. He is well meaning, but his inability to understand humility is a barrier in their relationship. Jane, in turn, is unable to reconcile her iron clamp of reason with her strongly felt emotions until much later in the novel. When she returns, she returns as a self-confident, fully developed woman. Rochester has been humbled but remains more or less the same man she fell in love with. Their respective growth makes them effective  partners by the novel's conclusion.

Most of the other characters are pretty static, Georgiana, Eliza and John Reed all grow into adults that mirror them as children. Mrs Reed dies as she lived, hating Jane. Helen dies without changing, St John is static, so are HIS simblings... the only real development you see is in Jane and Rochester which is why I think everyone is focusing on them.

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Okay, so something I see not being mentioned is the connection between religion and repression.  Often when Jane represses her personal needs it's because of a moral standard she is holding herself to. I don't want to get too much into Jane because that's been covered half to death in this column, but St John seems to be the poster child for repressed emotions in this novel. He subjegates his own needs for a higher good he identifies with religion. His romantic interests, intellectual pursuits, everything is repressed in the service of his faith.

He isn't portayed as particularly admirable either - in fact with associating religion so closely with repression I feel like it can be interpreted as a critique of christianity

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Enclosure and escape as a theme also adds to the gothic feel of the novel.

This theme comtributes to the development of the plot; when Jane feels enclosed she escapes to a new place, which in turn moves the story forward.

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The book is broken up into three major sections; Gateshead/Lowood, Thornfield, and Moor House/Ferndean. I mentioned in enclosure and escape how her transition from environment to environment drives the plot, but each location also serves to develop the character of Jane. Lowood develops her discipline, faith and abilities, Thornfield she discovers her passion, and at Moor House she reconciles the two. It's very hero's journy, where each location brings her into contact with different people that reveal different things about herself.