1. At Gateshead, Jane is a rank outsider. What factors alienate Jane from the rest of the household, even the servants and the other children? How does the reader respond to Jane in consequence of her social isolation?
2. Explain how the dual narrative point-of-view (Jane as an adult recounting the story of Jane as a child) affects the presentation of the experience in the Red Room, and of Mrs. Reed's subsequent reaction to Jane's screaming.
3. Contrast the curriculum and discipline of Lowood School with that of the typical North American public school. Consider such matters as the number and types of teachers, subjects taught, length of school day, the number of students, the age range among the students, and the central place of Christian dogma at Lowood.
4. Thornfield is the novel's third and major part, for here the romantic plot supersedes the Bildungsroman. Prior to the period in which Brontë wrote Jane Eyre, the major divisions in the English novel had been fairly straightforward: the novel of society and manners, the picaresque, the Gothic, and the pseudo- autobiography. Wilkie Collins was yet to invent the novel of crime and detection, but this too is anticipated by Jane Eyre. How does Brontë combine these various sub-genres?
5. In Rochester we see the kind of hero that the Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron, created in Manfred (1817) and Don Juan (1819-1824). Lonely, defiant, angry at the universe and God for his alienation and disappointments in life, and (above all), brooding, ruggedly handsome, physically powerful, sexually attractive, and mysterious because of some secret associated with his past, the Byronic Hero rejects the judgments and conventions of his society. How does Rochester fit this type?
6. The importance of fire imagery throughout the novel is evident. For example, in "as if I had been wandering amongst volcanic-looking hills, and had suddenly felt the ground quiver" (Ch. 18) we have an image that suggests one of the novel's major themes. How does Brontë employ fire both literally and figuratively in the Thornfield section?
7. As in Wilkie Collins's The Moonstone, duplicity and deceit are key features of the novel's plot. In addition to deceitful characters who have something to hide from Jane, there are a number of plot secrets that help to generate suspense. One might argue that each section of the book involves duplicitous characters and at least one major plot secret. Explain these elements with specific reference to the text.
8. Jane's 'preternatural' dreams are intended to suggest her extrasensory perception, which of course is vital to her eventual reunion with Rochester. In Chapter 25, how does Brontë anticipate the dream psychology of Freud and Jung? Notice that these dreams are comments on Jane's situation as well as presentiments.
9. Comment on the fairy tale patterns and allusions in the novel: what purpose do the Cinderella and Bluebeard allusions serve, for example?
10. Distinguish between the preternatural and the supernatural elements in the novel's conclusion.
11. To what extent does the conclusion of the novel support the concept of nemesis or poetic justice? Explain.
12. Upon its initial publication, the novel was derided as immoral: what elements in the story might have led more straight-laced readers to respond in this way?
Last modified 2 November 2000