Gothic Features in Jane Eyre:
Chapters 11-20
In this portion of the novel, Jane embarks on a new phase of her life at a place called Thornfield Hall,
where she will serve as a governess. At Thornfield, the novel takes on a more gothic feeling. Gothic novels
take place in gloomy or eerie settings, such as old castles or dark mansions, and emphasize horror, mystery,
and the supernatural. Gothic novels, read mainly for entertainment, were especially popular in England in the
early 1800s.
This gothic element is what I call “The Metonymy of Gloom.” Metonymy is a kind of metaphor, in which something
(like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow). For example, in the book of Genesis 3:19, it refers to
Adam by saying that “by the sweat of your brow, you will eat your food.” Sweat represents the hard abor that
Adam will have to endure to produce the food that will sustain his life. The sweat on his brow is a vivid picture of
how hard he is working to attain his goal. Another example is how the film industry favors metonymy as a quick
shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in funeral scenes.
While Jane Eyre is not a gothic novel, it does contain gothic features. Even in earlier chapters, there is a
reference to the supernatural, when Jane, in the red-room, thinks she sees a ghost. As you read Chapters 11–20,
look for gothic features. The reverse
page has a list of possibilities, but don’t limit yourself!
Then my own thoughts worried me. What crime
was this ... that lived incarnate in this
sequestered mansion, and could neither be
expelled nor subdued by the owner? – what
mystery, that broke out now in fire and now in
blood, at the deadest hours of night? What
creature was it, that, masked in an ordinary
woman’s face and shape, uttered the voice, now
of a mocking demon, and anon of a carrionseeking bird of prey? Jane Eyre
I looked up and surveyed the front of the
mansion. It was three storeys high, of
proportions not vast, though considerable: a
gentleman’s manor-house, not a nobleman’s
seat: battlements round the top gave it a
picturesque look. Its grey front stood out well
from the background of a rookery..."