Jane Eyre Gothic Analysis

Jane Eyre is a novel written by Charlotte Bronte, published in 1847 under the pseudonym Currer Bell. Jane Eyre is a bildungsroman, following the development and story of the governess Jane, as told by Jane herself ten years after the last events take place. This novel also has the characteristics of a gothic novel: there are gothic, fairy tale and supernatural elements throughout the story. The gothic genre was popular in the late 18th century and in the 19th century, but “Gothic atmospheric machinery continued to haunt the fiction” (Britannica.com) of writers in the Victorian Age; and it can be found in Jane Eyre. The most prominent Gothic elements in this novel are the decayed, dark places, remote landscapes, sinister plots, dark secrets

There is a contrast between childhood and adulthood regarding the way fairy tales are received and perceived, and similarly to Lewis Carroll’s approach in Alice in Wonderland , childhood stories become twisted in Jane’s imagination "with a vigour and vividness beyond what childhood could give" (Bronte).

“Jane inverts children 's and adult 's values in the same way Carroll does in Alice. A child, we expect, would find fairy tales more horrible than adults. Since the reverse holds true for Jane, the reader infers that she still possesses a fanciful, girlish nature. The imagery here also gives us a clue of her immaturity.” (Jackson)

In conclusion, Jane Eyre is not just a bildungsroman; it carries traits of a Gothic novel that create an atmosphere of mystery. The Gothic elements help set the scene, are used for sinister plot twists and for the descriptions of places and weather, which are closely linked to the heroine’s emotions, experiences and views. A sense of fantasy is achieved through the use of dreams and reveries, which play an important part in the novel, and through other fantastic elements and references to fairy