Jane's Encounters with the Natural and Supernatural Worlds in Jane Eyre - Essay Example

Janes encounters with the natural and supernatural worlds in ‘Jane Eyre’ Successive use of supernatural and natural elements, remote locations, complicated family histories, dark secrets, and mysteries are considered as the most important elements of Gothic novels. The character of Jane and Rochester in Jane Eyre constitutes the background of suspense and fear and they represent the mysterious and intricate histories of families. Jane’s encounter with the ghost of her uncle Reed and Jane’s communication with Rochester gives numerous examples of supernatural elements in the work Jane Eyre. At the very beginning of the novel one can see the psychologically trapped and submissive life of Jane inside the red room. Regarding the super natural elements one can see Charlotte Bronte makes the supernatural situations in her novel that plays absolutely supernatural because of the way which Jane uses to express them. Through her words and thoughts readers get a clear picture about her life. Author portrayed the first meeting between Jane and Rochester in a mood of emotional detonation and a reader can see Jane tried to hide her disturbance through covering her face. Charlotte Bronte presents the character of Jane in a background of excessive emotional vibration. She receives the news of Rochester’s marriage with Blanche Ingram without emotional outburst. But the author portrays Jane’s encounter with material sufferings more calm and profound. Through her body language a reader can easily identify Jane’s inner conflicts and frustration. The web article entitled Charlotte Bronte “Jane Eyre” helps the reader to fix the above mentioned idea. It remarks; “Jane does not explicitly describe her feelings; however, her description of their conversations is suggestive psychologically” (Bronte, 2004.). Jane’s character is severely tortured and anguished by number of male character such as John Reed, Brocklehurst, Mr. Lloyd, and Rochester. When analyzing Aunt Reed’s attitude one can easily find that Jane’s searching of her own identity is more visible and comprehensible. Rochester and Jane’s cousin John Reed show their rude behavior against Jane and often her reaction is narrowed in a deep silence. Through Jane’s encounter with natural and supernatural situations Bronte reveal s her realization that liberation of women from the restraints of the patriarchal society could not be achieved within her time. When Jane meets Mr. Brocklhourst Jane’s religious struggle began and her answers do not satisfy his expectations and that forces him to reach an assumption that she is “wicked”. Helen Burns gives a new world of Christianity. Unfortunately Burn’s absolute tolerance and forgiveness never satisfied Jane’s religious thirsts. Finally she met John River and she realizes that the ideologies and practices of all religion are against her own ideal world and she is forced to withdraw her own dark world. “On the other hand, it should be noted that all three of these characters also devalue Jane’s selfhood in some way (Bronte, 2005. p 31-32). Three of them concentrate to utilize Jane for their own self intention and satisfactions. Brocklehurst used her childlike e pleasure and physical comfort, Helen looked for her earthly attachments and need for love and finally John Rivers approached her through the way of romantic level. The end of the novel Jane’s character struggle with isolation and accompanied with great pain she realizes that she has no family, relative, and fellow beings and she searches the breast of the universal Mother Nature for shelter. Jane’s religious encounter ends with her decision to moves between the world of Paganism and Christianity. Charlotte Bronte portrayed her heroine Jane not a pretty girl and Jane is small and not highly attractive. Jane’s physical appearance inspires others to handle her in a submissive way. The cloudless sky lead Jane to a new world of renewal, the plants and trees below fixed her encounter with emotion. Like the renewal of the nature Jane’s life also moves in a world of ultimate peace. The web article entitled “Painting with Words: Natural and Spiritual Landscapes in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea” promotes valuable comments about the Jane’s sufferings with natural contexts. Lauren Smith states; “Soon after Jane assists Rochester with Mr. Masons wounds from Bertha, the dialectic of the Gothic supernatural and Christian discourses is clearly signified through the natural world”( Smith, 2004.). Jane’s ambitions, sorrows, disappointments, expectations and hopes are formed through her relationships towards her fellow beings and both her joy and sorrows located with natural situations. The wrought landscapes in the novel Jane Eyre reveals Jane’s psychological development and one can see that Jane’s emotional states closely associate with natural formations. Jane’s encounter with natural elements include her religious dilemma, physical stature, her thirst for ideal world, her fellow beings, existing social system and the nature itself. Literary world regard Charlotte Bonte’s Jane Eyre as a gothic novel that attracted the attention of many readers. Different writers have identified the natural and supernatural elements that embody the mood of its title character, Jane Eyre. Regarding the view points of critics, one can feel the use of many images, apt usage of similes, metaphors, and so on. An evaluation of the novel makes clear that “the perceptive reader can take hardly a single step nor turn a single turn without confronting the omnipresence of the Supernatural” (Waddington, 1998.). It makes clear the fact that the novel has filled with many supernatural and natural elements which maintain its features as a gothic novel. These natural and supernatural elements mould the character of Jane that she confronts with a lot of real life situations. Her suffering is incessant which begins from the very young age itself and follows her all through the life. Natural elements tend to move supernatural and the readers are forced think beyond realism. As an evident of the presence of the supernatural elements, readers can cite plethora of instances like the distortions of human form, the appearance of devilish animals, ghosts and vampires. One can also feel the presence of the witches and devastating storms as in a Shakespearian play accompanied with various grotesque paraphernalia. As an orphan, the outcaste state of Jane in her Aunt Reed’s house is heart breaking. The novelist has portrayed the natural and supernatural elements as intensifying the feeling of Jane, and the same leading Jane out of that house. One of the notable encounters of Jane; though not a success, was to her aunt who always wished to keep Jane under her feet. It is the effect of one of such encounters that throws Jane to the “red room,” which presented her many horrible nights. It was the room which adults avoid in the fear of its frightening atmosphere. Here one can visualize the supernatural plays its predominant influence in molding the character of Jane. As she was only a ten year old girl, the nights she spent in the room was really horrible to Jane. The “red room” incidents are capable of revealing the character of Jane and “Charlotte Brontë makes careful use of the supernatural in order to externalise the internal workings of character” (Waddington, 1998.). The “red room” scene is also exposing the resemblance between Jane and the preternatural. Along with such a similarity, it is also possible to identify conflict in it. But to Jane she could not identify the dual faces of men and it is her wrong assessment on the character of her cousin partially caused for her suffering. Regarding the supernatural as a whole, it is not possible for one to conclude that the rendering of supernatural is only for evoking fear. Contrary to her expectation, Jane is really thunder struck at the realization that Mr. Reed’s spirit is sympathetic to her. While Jane is shut up in Reed’s room her mind is filled with many evil thoughts including her hallucination at the arrival of Uncle Reed’s ghost. The mystery of Thornfield Hall, Rochesters dark past, and the supernatural laughter heard in the dead of night are all common enough tropes in the Gothic tradition that elicit both fear and exhilaration, both terror and awe (Smith, 2004.). As a governess in Thornfield Hall, Jane come across with some supernatural elements and the mysterious Mr. Rochester. She could visualize a ghostly woman wandering in the night. It is in such a situation readers feel the stubborn nature of Jane who does not wave in any critical juncture, though she appears as a plain girl. The ‘supernatural laughter’ that Jane and Mrs. Fairfax hears at Thornfield Hall is another occasion when the author inviting the attention of readers to supernaturalism. The laugher they heard is a loud, low-pitched laugh-one that sounds more tragic than humours (Milton, 1984. p.55). To conclude, one can infer that there are a lot of incidents and situations in the novel portraying Jane’s encounter with natural and supernatural worlds. Author resorts to supernatural at the very beginning of the novel. The encounter of Jnae with the supernatural and the natural forces continues whole through the novel. The prominent natural forces that encounters Jane includes her aunt and other males she meets in her life. Her own state as an orphan is also a challenging factor that distills her vitality. But her stubborn mentality and will power, formed by facing the hard realities of life, helps her to stand upright against all the natural and unnatural forces. Works cited: Waddington, Keith. "Supernatural elements in Jane Eyre". 3 Sep 2009 . Milton, Joyce. Bronte Jane Eyre. Barrons Educational Series, 1984. Smith, Lauren. “Painting with Words: Natural and Spiritual Landscapes in Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea.” 3 Sep 2009 Brontė, Charlotte. Jane Eyre, Barnes & Noble Classics, Educational Publishing, 2005 Bronte, Charlotte. “Jane Eyre” 3 Sep 2009.Chapter 22 (pages 244-251). Read More