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“I AM A FREE HUMAN BEING WITH AN INDEPENDENT WILL”: A JOURNEY TOWARDS FREEDOM WITHIN THE SPACES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË’S

By

CLAIRE BETH KARNAP

A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

2018

© 2018 Claire Beth Karnap

To my Mom, Dad, and Katiebug

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Sometimes tasks appear impossible, and you need specific people in your life to provide encouragement throughout the journey. Similar to Brontë’s Jane Eyre, I often search for corner spaces where I can create safe environments for myself—a place to become intellectually stronger, resilient, and free. When I read from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the corner spaces appear within the stories, providing a refuge where I can use my own creativity to interpret the texts. This is what makes me happy and I thank my parents for their unwavering support throughout my education and for their belief in my abilities. I thank Dr.

Judith Page, my professor, committee chair, and advisor, who always offered guidance through this process and assisted in the revisions. I thank Dr. Roger Maioli for his encouragement and advisement, as both my professor and reader. Lastly, I would like to thank Dr. Leah Rosenberg who encouraged me to complete my thesis and continues to provide advisement with my studies.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

page

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... 4

ABSTRACT ...... 6

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION ...... 8

2 GATESHEAD ...... 13

3 LOWOOD SCHOOL ...... 23

4 THORNFIELD AND THE MOORS ...... 30

5 CONCLUSION...... 47

WORKS CITED ...... 56

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...... 57

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Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Master of Arts

“I AM A FREE HUMAN BEING WITH AN INDEPENDENT WILL”: A JOURNEY TOWARDS FREEDOM WITHIN THE SPACES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTË’S JANE EYRE

By Claire Beth Karnap

May 2018

Chair: Judith W. Page Cochair: Roger Maioli Major: English

Despite scholars’ thorough account of the third- space and as Jane’s

Doppelgänger within Jane Eyre, fewer studies address how Charlotte Brontë uses other spaces that contribute to the main character’s development. Brontë uses architectural and metaphysical spaces and spaces of nature to prove that these environments can shape a character, in this case towards developing her maturity and reaching independence. To support my claims, I incorporate Gaston Bachelard’s concept of “the corner” and Yi-Fu Tuan’s discussion of children using corners for safe spaces; I argue that Jane uses corner spaces to maneuver through patriarchal spaces, as she also achieves freedom through her self-created enclosure. Gillian

Rose’s text describes how women experience confinement and exile by different classes and genders, which will bolster my argument concerning Jane’s feelings of inferiority within certain spaces of the upper class; Mona Domosh and Joni Seager’s analysis of the Victorian armchair and the confines within the domestic space inside Victorian will contribute to the discussion of Mr. Rochester’s armchair and control over physical spaces at . The diverse spaces contribute differently to Jane’s development, but each environment tests the character’s ability to withstand oppression within a patriarchal society. Within her journey, Jane

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searches for corners of safety in both physical and metaphysical settings, which provides the character with freedom from the oppressive environments. In addition to the corner, Brontë uses nature to provide a second form of freedom—the protagonist often searches for the horizon and yearns for the freedom she believes it can offer. The different spaces that Jane encounters contribute to the shaping of her character’s development and assists her with obtaining freedom from oppression and in reaching maturity—she must encounter each of the spaces to reach autonomy.

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CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847) is widely studied by scholars for its exploration of abandonment, female development, gothic romance, imagination, and as a travel narrative. In fact, a common theme within the novel is the heroine’s journey from childhood to adulthood. When speaking of Charlotte Brontë’s writing method in The Madwoman in the :

The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination, scholars Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar describe how “the young novelist seems here definitively to have opened her eyes to female realities within her and around her: confinement, orphanhood, starvation, rage even to madness” (Gilbert and Gubar 336). Gilbert and Gubar closely analyze the significant influences, such as female characters that Jane encounters in her journey. Instead of only analyzing significant characters and their influence on Jane during her pilgrimage towards adulthood, this paper analyzes the places and spaces with particular attention to Gaston

Bachelard’s concept “the corner” in The Poetics of Space (1958) that the heroine encounters. I demonstrate that Brontë uses the locations to develop Jane’s character in hopes of contributing to the ongoing debate of Jane Eyre as a female . Jane’s ultimate goal is freedom and she can only obtain freedom from the oppressive patriarchal environments once she reaches a point in her life of independence and maturity. The physical and metaphysical spaces within the architectural spaces and the spaces of nature contribute to shaping the character. Jane’s metaphysical spaces that she encounters often reside within her mind as psychological environments, while the physical spaces include environments, such as architectural spaces and nature. Each of these spaces results in a different outcome, and Jane’s character development results in her obtaining freedom and witnessing a shift in positions from the dependent lonely child into an independent and nurturing woman.

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Within the novel Jane encounters architectural spaces from her childhood through adulthood, that contrast with the spaces of nature. The varying environments she encounters contribute to her Bildungsroman, and attempt to prove that these spaces affect Jane's development into adulthood in both negative and positive terms. Although the heroine often searches or creates a corner space that provides security and comfort for the character, the space does not negatively affect her development. Instead, the small environment provides Jane with a secure area to avoid the oppressive nature of the patriarchal found within the prominent settings of Gateshead, Lowood, Thornfield, and Moor . In addition to

Bachelard’s concept “the corner,” which establishes Jane’s method of maneuvering through the different environments towards her development to independence, other scholars, such as John

Sung Han and Deanna K. Kreisel, analyze Bertha's space of confinement within the third floor and its impact on both Bertha and Jane. This paper contributes to the conversation by addressing the other spaces, specifically the exterior and interior spaces that affect Jane—her development from adolescence to independence. Since the heroine is often perceived as Bertha's doppelgänger it is equally important to analyze the spaces that confine the heroine and the spaces that enable

Jane's character development within the novel. Through her encounters with architectural spaces and spaces of nature, Jane develops into her womanhood. Clearly, Brontë uses specific physical and metaphysical environments to shape the heroine and portray her development.

Recent critics address the significant use of space within Jane Eyre. Charlotte Borie effectively argues that the heroine’s progress throughout the novel leads to the character’s self- identity. When she uses the curtain to describe a veiling of Jane’s inner thoughts Borie describes both a symbolic and literal curtain of space, which contributes to the notion of the physical and metaphysical spaces within the novel. In addition to Borie’s close analysis of space, John Sung

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Han addresses that Charlotte Brontë and Samuel Richardson employed the same type of eighteenth century “symbolic associations” and “deployed the lumber- as a symbolic space of storage, liminality, and transformation” (Han 529). While these critics spend a considerable time analyzing the “lumber-room” or third floor attic space and its influence on the development of the heroine and the novel form, scholars provide less attention to other spaces within the novel, such as the corner or outside world—nature. The other spaces are equally important to the heroine’s development towards her Bildungsroman, and analysis of both physical and metaphysical environments within Jane’s surroundings and psyche outline her progress from childhood into adulthood. Sharon Locy also discusses Bildungsroman in relation to the novel and analyzes Jane’s progression throughout the text through her interactions with certain spaces. She addresses how “Jane often chooses to escape when she can into hidden and confined spaces”

(Locy 109). The scholar also pays particular attention to Jane’s narration as similar to the nineteenth century male figure who journeys towards adulthood. Analogous with Locy, Gilbert and Gubar view the novel as “a story of enclosure and escape, a distinctively female

Bildungsroman in which the problems encountered by the protagonist as she struggles from the imprisonment of her childhood toward an almost unthinkable goal of mature freedom are symptomatic of difficulties Everywoman in a patriarchal society must meet and overcome: oppression (at Gateshead), starvation (at Lowood), madness (at Thornfield), and coldness (at

Marsh End)” (Gilbert and Gubar 339). Scholars, Gaston Bachelard and Yi-Fu Tuan’s concept of the corner will structure the idea of Jane’s self-created corner spaces and address how these enclosures help develop the characters independence. As the novel progresses, ideas of confinement and masculine control arise, and Gillian Rose’s argument concerning female confinement and geographical spaces will assist in explaining the restrictions placed on Jane and

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how the heroine learns to maneuver through these patriarchal obstacles. Because there are a considerable number of spaces that influence Jane’s development, I draw on the most significant to explain the importance of corner spaces as a form of self-created safety and environmental spaces on Jane’s progress towards maturity and freedom.

French philosopher, Gaston Bachelard approaches the significance of domestic spaces and analyzes the corner that people often use as a self-created space of shelter. He describes how every part of a house is important in understanding the human mind and its association with intimate spaces. Bachelard explains that “every corner in a house, every angle in a room, every inch of secluded space in which we like to hide, or withdraw into ourselves, is a symbol of solitude for the imagination; that is to say, it is the germ of a room, or of a house” (Bachelard

136). He goes on to explain that individuals often perceive this seclusion negatively, because placing oneself in a corner prevents an individual from facing the dangers or trials of the outside environment. However, for Jane the corner space represents a free environment where she can cultivate her independence and develop her character. Addressing the corners within architectural settings and the open spaces within nature, this paper contributes to the ongoing debate by these prominent critics concerning Jane Eyre as a Bildungsroman. Brontë uses physical and metaphysical environments and self-created spaces, such as corners to prove that the physical and metaphysical environment can shape a character. When disruptive events and trials interfere with Jane’s journey she often searches for a corner to reside in, develop her maturity, and protect herself. Within nature the outside environments offer both large vistas and possible corners of safety for Jane. The heroine, Jane Eyre, desires freedom from the oppressive forces within the patriarchal society, and these spaces that she encounters on her journey guide

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her to developing her character—Jane must reach maturity in order to obtain the freedom and agency that she yearns for.

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CHAPTER 2 GATESHEAD

The reader’s first encounter with Brontë’s attention to space occurs within the opening paragraphs when the heroine’s description of her attitude towards the interior and exterior of

Gateshead is shadowed by a negative connotation. Brontë’s specific use of negative words and her differentiation between the interior of the house and the exterior clearly establishes how the spaces at Gateshead contribute to Jane’s miserable existence and loneliness. As the opening paragraph begins with “there was no possibility of taking a walk that day” and concludes with

“the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question,” the author clearly identifies the negative feeling that erupts within Jane’s countenance from the spaces that confine her (Brontë 5). But why do these spaces create a feeling of deprivation and negative perceptions? Jane’s confinement within the perimeter of Gateshead and the property that the Reed family owns appears as the only space that the child encounters until leaving for Lowood. Such confinement for Jane makes her perception of the world narrow and confined, especially since her only outlet from the negative environment transpires within books. Unfortunately, access to the books that she escapes within are still controlled by a male presence—the tyrannical cousin, John Reed.

Brontë creates a miniature world for the young Jane Eyre within the books that she studies. It is within this particular space that the heroine encounters magical and mystical places, which she believes are real and hopes to travel to in order to escape the confinement within

Gateshead. Jane’s imagination exists within a safe space, but only when she reads in privacy and hides in a self-created corner from the Reeds. She describes how “I mounted into the - seat: gathering up my feet, I sat cross-legged like a Turk; and, having drawn the red moreen curtain nearly close, I was shrined in double retirement” (Brontë 5). Brontë describes how Jane

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carefully crafts a secure place within the Reeds and creates a type of secure, sanctuary for herself to read books—books that allow the heroine to escape the constraints and tyrannical prejudices that surround her. These passages are significant because they prove that the child’s imagination pleads for a place of escape and hopes to encounter a journey. When turning over pages Jane describes to the reader how “each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting” (Brontë 6-7).

Jane’s direct acknowledgment that as a child she possessed “undeveloped understanding” identifies her desire to expand her knowledge and experience a journey similar to the books she reads (Brontë 6-7). Within the corner of the window-seat the heroine searches for freedom in the texts and feels secure in the self-created safe space. Jane’s adolescence is plagued with physical and mental abuse; therefore, she turns to both a literal corner and a metaphysical space of safety in books, attempting to widen her understanding of the world through literature—a private corner of physical immobility that allows her mind to explore the world (Bachelard 137). Jane uses the window-seat to read the texts, while tucked away from her reality and masked by a curtain veil.

She encounters the outside world through these stories and spaces, escaping the confined spaces within Gateshead, while safely secured inside a corner of the room. This self-created corner within the window-seat allows the protagonist to read texts of another world—an environment that appears mystical and adventurous without oppression. Within the corner space Jane discovers who she wants to become—an explorer of the world and independent. Unsatisfied with merely living in her current circumstances within the confines of Gateshead, Jane wishes to discover the outside sphere and go beyond what she perceives through the . Though the narrator often places herself in self-created corners of safety, she uses the areas to help her develop her strength and to attempt avoiding oppression. While living at Gateshead, Jane’s only

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ability to escape the physical and mental abuse happens through her books and seclusion—it is her attempt to go unnoticed by the relatives who despise her, but who she also financially depends upon. For Jane, the corner embodies positive associations where she can encounter a different world and feel secure within the confines of the environmental space. Yi-Fu Tuan explains how children often search for corners in both architectural spaces and in nature, and further posits that young children prefer to reside within smaller spaces. He states, “Do they feel a need to be in places that conform to their own sizes? Hints of such need exist…Older children in their play seek out nooks and corners both in man-made environments and in nature” (Tuan

31-32). The young protagonist creates a corner of safety within the window-seat to explore her reading and to shelter herself from the physical and emotional abuse within the household. The corner’s small enclosure provides a safe and temporary place for her mind to wander and develop imaginatively, explore uncharted territories, and view a different type of world uncontrolled by the oppressive family who in vain attempt to stifle her development, which she is forced to live with at Gateshead.

While Jane creates spaces of solitude and safety for herself, other characters often disturb these small spaces. The first major encounter of this within the novel occurs when her cousin, John Reed physically abuses her, while she quietly reads in the window-seat. After clearly and impertinently explaining or rather yelling at Jane that she is “a dependent… [and has] no money” he states that “I’ll teach you to rummage my book-shelves: for they are mine; all the house belongs to me” (Brontë 8). John Reed’s statements demonstrate the patriarchal control within the spaces of Gateshead, and his actions towards his cousin express a desire to keep Jane within her designated space as the poor, inferior female cousin. In addition to the passage illustrating the disturbance that John creates in Jane’s imaginary world through oppressive

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imagery, the passage also describes the physical abuse that she encounters while living at her cousin’s home. As the adult Jane narrates the story she explains that “the volume was flung [by

John], it hit me, and I fell, striking my head against the and cutting it. The cut bled, the pain was sharp: my terror had passed its climax; other feelings succeeded” (Brontë 8). Jane succumbs to the pain of the physical abuse, the mental manipulation, and the disruption of her imagined world, and she learns to accept the challenges that she faces within Gateshead’s . Though these spaces are confining and ultimately debilitating, they lead to the protagonist’s ability to withstand the turmoil she will face in her journey to womanhood.

Another crucial space within Gateshead is the red-room, which Jane associates with confinement, death, and illness, because it is the location where her uncle, Mr. Reed succumbed to his death. The room’s interior design is entirely covered with a dark red hue that greatly affects Jane and provokes terror in the young child. The large-scale , the , the curtains, the locked door, and the red color all attribute to enforcing distress upon the young protagonist. She describes how “it was one of the largest and stateliest chambers in the mansion.

A bed supported on massive pillars of mahogany, hung with curtains of deep red damask…blinds always drawn down…the carpet was red” (Brontë 11). This large space with all of its grand furniture forms an important contrast to the miniature world that Jane encounters while reading the literary works from the Gateshead library and from the self-created corner in the window-seat. In the red-room Jane encounters a darkness, which provokes fear of the unknown, the unseen—the supernatural. Within her miniature world, Jane possesses control over her destiny and exploration; however, the large room’s physical environment makes the heroine feel exposed and insecure. When Jane is locked inside the red-room, as punishment for her reaction to John’s abuse, she expresses extreme terror of the environment. In fact, her fear and

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imagination of the room creates a metaphysical space of the supernatural within the confines of the physical environment that is neither seen nor heard by anyone except Jane. The supernatural experiences that Jane believes occur inside the closely drawn curtained room are reminiscent of future remarks by Mr. Rochester, where he facetiously accuses Jane of witchcraft and of possessing supernatural tendencies. However, as a child Jane demonstrates fear of the supernatural spaces, and within the red-room passages Jane experiences a connection with the supernatural world. This paranormal presence that Jane encounters within the confines of the red-room enables Jane to use her imagination and develop her resilient nature, which assists her with future moments of terror and oppression at Thornfield Hall. While secluded inside the red- room’s space, Jane becomes emotionally stronger. Although she does faint the protagonist exhibits resilience to the oppressive nature within the Reed environment. Mrs. Reed uses the room as punishment for Jane because it instills the patriarchal control over her and reinforces the seclusion that she encounters within the Reed family. During these trials and encounters with the supernatural the heroine learns that she can overcome the tyrannical spaces and maintain control over her own development by remaining resilient towards despotic settings. Jane’s ability to control the supernatural, an uncontrollable space, proves that she possesses a strong sense of autonomy that will develop throughout her journey towards adulthood.

Brontë’s use of imagery is necessary for this section of the Gateshead home because it expresses Jane’s early encounters with patriarchal space through the description of the heavy style furniture, the red color distributed throughout the decor, and the isolated location. After describing the minute details, Jane explains the reason the room is often undisturbed and attributes it to the supernatural—describing it as a “spell” placed upon it after Mr. Reed died

(Brontë 11). The narrator continues “superstition was with me at that moment; but it was not yet

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her hour for complete victory: my blood was still warm; the mood of the revolted slave was still bracing me with its bitter vigour; I had to stem a rapid rush of retrospective thought before I quailed to the dismal present” (Brontë 11). For a young child, Jane demonstrates a distinct sense of strength and resistance to the patriarchal controlled space within this passage. Her response to the male-dominated atmosphere clearly shows the reader that unlike many children her age, Jane has encountered several tribulations thus far in her life. The comparison of herself and a

“revolted slave” depicts how the young child feels oppressed by both the individuals surrounding her and the spaces that they inhabit and control (Brontë 11). The red-room prevents Jane from creating a space, such as a corner of safety; however, the traumatic and oppressive environment enables the character to face her fears of the red-room, and through the experience the young child becomes further aware of the cruelty within the Reed household. Jane’s strenuous journey while living at Gateshead prepares the heroine for the uncertainty of life and the unstable spaces within her future. The novel reflects on the poor and abusive treatment she receives from the

Reed family members, showing how each of the events assists in strengthening the character.

While Jane’s fear and overly excitable nature as a child prevents her from managing the experience calmly and ultimately results in her becoming temporarily unconscious, the red-room passages still reinforce that the confining spaces at Gateshead develop Jane’s sense of individuality and self-reliance. The red-room represents a test for Jane to decide whether she can control her emotions and maintain control over her mind. Gilbert and Gubar describe how “her experience in the red-room, probably the most metaphorically vibrant of all her early experiences, forces her deeply into herself. For the red-room, stately, chilly, swathed in rich crimson, looming out of the scarlet darkness, perfectly represents her vision of the society in which she is trapped, an uneasy, and elfin dependent” (Gilbert and Gubar 340). Though as a

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child she depends upon her relatives, she yearns for freedom and independence which she temporarily obtains within her self-created corner spaces. During her time at Gateshead, the space in which Jane finds herself trapped represents her inner feelings towards Gateshead and the treatment she receives from the relatives. The masculine space of the red-room, the seclusion, and the paranormal experiences test Jane’s ability to withstand excruciatingly cruel treatment.

Although this space is negative and places mental abuse upon the protagonist, Jane does learn to survive in a cold, uncaring world while living at Gateshead. Though the events at Gateshead are traumatic, Jane develops her imagination through literature, and thus, supplements knowledge for the neglect she encounters among her aunt and cousins. This experience, in turn, assists in preparing the character for her time spent at Lowood School.

As the young heroine lives within the confines of Gateshead, she lacks parental figures and struggles to form an identity without the familial relationship that children usually have with their parents. This lack of relationship indicates Jane’s reason for secluding herself and avoiding her cousins, while living with her aunt and cousins. Because of her ill-treatment, Jane does not have a place in the Reed family. They view Jane as a dependent and they ensure that she remembers this through the physical and mental abuse that she receives. Since they exclude her from their family and create their own space that prohibits her from forming any type of bond with them, Jane emotionally yearns for the companionship of a mother-figure and a safe space.

This is essential in Jane’s development, because she has to be independent and cultivate her knowledge without the guidance of her birthmother or her aunt. Because Mrs. Reed does not provide the space of security within their home, Jane lacks a safe place that she can view as a supportive space. Although the maid, Bessie possesses motherly characteristics, the maid cannot protect the heroine from ill-treatment and abuse. The only safe spaces that Jane possesses while

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living at Gateshead are self-created, such as her reading corner that she creates behind the curtain on the window-seat. When considering how a child depicts place, Tuan states, “How does a young child understand place? If we define place as broadly as a focus of value, of nurture and support, then the mother is the child’s primary place…places stay put. Their image is one of stability and permanence. The mother is mobile, but to the child she nonetheless stands for stability and permanence. She is nearly always around when needed” (Tuan 29). For Jane, these notions of place are not implementable within Gateshead, since Mrs. Reed cannot serve as a mother-figure because of her resentment and contempt. The aunt’s insistence on isolating Jane and the cousins’ cruelty towards her create conflicting spaces, which prohibits Jane from associating the place—Gateshead—as a safe, secure space.

There are few encounters with nature while the protagonist lives within the confines of

Gateshead. However, shortly after meeting Mr. Brocklehurst and learning that Jane will attend

Lowood School, the narrator provides a brief passage of the outdoors at Gateshead Hall. In the following passage Jane describes her emotional state, which expresses a sense of concern for her future at Lowood School but also exemplifies a sense of maturity:

I covered my head and arms with the skirt of my frock, and went out to walk in a part of the plantation which was quite sequestered: but I found no pleasure in the silent trees, the falling fir-cones, the congealed relics of autumn, russet leaves, swept by past winds in heaps, and now stiffened together. I leaned against a , and looked into an empty field where no sheep were feeding, where the short grass was nipped and blanched. It was a very grey day; a most opaque sky, ‘onding on snaw,’ canopied all; thence flakes fell at intervals, which settled on the hard path and on the hoary lea without melting. I stood a wretched child enough, whispering to myself over and over again, ‘What shall I do? —what shall I do?’. (Brontë 32)

Immediately within the passage Brontë establishes that the exterior space—the natural world—is cold when the heroine states that she covers herself with her frock (Brontë 32). The covering of herself expresses awareness of exposure to herself and a need to protect herself from outside

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forces. Again, the protagonist attempts to seek shelter within her current environment. Returning to Bachelard’s concept of the corner, the heroine uses her clothing to create a form of shelter—a safe space in the outside world. As Jane ventures outside, towards an isolated location the narrator expresses disappointment in what she finds. Within this sheltered corner she feels comfortable in expressing her fears and concerns. The descriptions possess no excitement in the trees or the autumn weather that one would expect a child at the age of ten to enjoy. Instead, the narrator explains how she found herself “leaning against a gate” that prevented her from escaping the boundaries of Gateshead and her own reality (Brontë 32). Although this passage of

Jane Eyre does not express happiness and positivity, it does show how the spaces at Gateshead develop Jane’s character and prepare her for the experiences at Lowood School. The metaphor of looking through a gate will reoccur throughout the novel—Jane often looks from the inside of a confining space at an exterior environment that provides more freedom but also more uncertainty. In the previous passage, the gate that she looks through towards an empty meadow foreshadows her future experience while at Thornfield Hall and as a teacher at Marsh

End. Though Jane will encounter new locations, the spaces will continue her journey of always staring through the bars of a gate, while contemplating her circumstances and questioning the future until she can grasp the independence and maturity she longs for. This exterior space within nature represents a place of uncertainty for Jane. While Brontë portrays nature as neither benevolent nor punishing, the author suggests that the natural world exposes the heroine to an environment that does not allow her to hide, such as the corner of a window-seat within the interior space of Gateshead with the horizon also representing freedom for the child. Though

Jane stares through the bars of the gate and perceives a different world uncontrolled by the Reed family, it is uncertain whether the land beyond the gate is a freeing space that she wishes to reach

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and explore or a place that Jane knows she is about to embark on with uncertainty and concern for her future.

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CHAPTER 3 LOWOOD SCHOOL

As Jane continues on her arduous journey she arrives at Lowood School and expresses surprise by the severe conditions of the students, which contribute to her own development over the next eight years of her life. Although the place is meant to provide an education and shelter for the students, it lacks the proper care and nurturing environment needed at a boarding school.

The spaces within Lowood are negative, but Jane does develop despite the physical and emotional illness that encompasses the place. While the spaces within Lowood are predominately overseen by Mr. Brocklehurst and his cruel treatment affects Jane (in addition to the other students), the protagonist does develop within the school’s space—using it to cultivate her intelligence and her emotional state, while attempting to resist Brocklehurst’s patriarchal control. Lowood School presents a harsh environment, but Jane quickly learns through her friend

Helen Burns’ advice and her teacher, Miss Temple’s guidance, that the school can provide them with an excellent education. Eventually Jane realizes she has two individuals who care for her—

Miss Temple and Helen Burns—and she states, “I would not now have exchanged Lowood with all its privations, for Gateshead and its daily luxuries” (Brontë 63). It is through the support and kindness of Helen and Miss Temple that Jane realizes the importance of love and friendship. By accepting her situation, taking initiative in her lessons, and embracing friendship, Jane uses the spaces in Lowood to cultivate her knowledge and learn the importance of caring for people.

Through these initiatives the child matures from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, which must occur for the heroine to obtain independence and success in an oppressive society.

Though Lowood is predominately viewed as a neglected space, the property does possess a garden for the students to use for cultivation and fresh air. Jane describes how “the order was now given, ‘To the garden!’ … [and] I made my way into the open air” (Brontë 40). Brontë’s

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decision to differentiate the interior space from the exterior space at Lowood creates a clear distinction between the stifling interior of Lowood with the clean air outside that is often associated with nature. The narrator describes the garden space within Lowood’s grounds as “a wide inclosure, surrounded with walls so high as to exclude every glimpse of prospect,” which immediately creates a negative representation for this particular garden space (Brontë 40). “The wide inclosure” immediately creates a contrasting image of Jane’s usual corners that she inhabits to avoid the negative and oppressive environments (Brontë 40). Throughout Jane’s journey nature has the potential to offer freedom through a wide and open vista, and sometimes it presents corners of safety for Jane to use for shelter; however, at Lowood the opportunities for security and freedom are limited. In addition, the garden’s tall walls prohibit the students from encountering nature outside of the barriers. Upon Jane’s first encounter with Lowood’s garden, she does not observe a cultivated garden space and instead views a wide unkempt environment.

Nature often provides an open vista and prospect for Jane, but Lowood’s garden provides neither prospect nor a safe refuge for her, when she feels most vulnerable as a new student in a new environment. Unlike most gardens, Lowood’s is not a fertile plot of land with beautiful flowers when Jane first encounters the garden. Instead the brief description addresses that “when full of flowers they would doubtless look pretty; but now, at the latter end of January, all was wintry blight and brown decay” (Brontë 40). The toxic appearing garden is not a positive space for Jane when she first arrives, and it insinuates that her time spent at Lowood will involve continual trials and hardships. While observing the garden space for the first time Jane overhears coughing among the students, which foreshadows the illness that will soon spread throughout the school succumbing many children to an early demise. Lowood’s exterior and interior spaces are equally plagued by the negligence of the headmaster—Mr. Brocklehurst. His lack of care for the

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students, including their nutrition and proper clothing, the school’s location, and the neglect of the school’s condition are contributing causes for the quickly spread typhus. The protagonist describes how “semi-starvation and neglected colds had predisposed most of the pupils to receive infection: forty-five out of the eighty girls lay ill at one time” (Brontë 65). Although the narrator cannot provide insight concerning how she avoids becoming ill, one must consider the heroine’s use of the corner space of safety that she discovers among nature as the method of protection against typhus—allowing Jane to cultivate her health and maturity through the healing powers of cultivating one’s garden.

Through the effects of typhus Jane experiences nature and the garden, during May and the full bloom of flowers, while also experiencing the loss of a close friend. She describes how

“its garden too, glowed with flowers; hollyhocks had sprung up tall as trees, lilies had opened, tulips and roses were in bloom…and these fragrant treasures were all useless for most of the inmates of Lowood, except to furnish now and then a handful of herbs and blossoms to put in a coffin” (Brontë 65). The flowers’ growth corresponds with Jane’s own development. During a devastating time for the school and the dwindling health of the students, Jane’s growth mirrors the flowers within the gardens and in nature. The spring season enables the heroine to learn about gardening and to learn the importance of cultivation. While the spaces within Lowood become plagued with illness, the exterior grounds provide a space of emotional and physical healing and spiritual freedom for Jane. The typhus epidemic spreads throughout the school, and

Jane is allowed to wander through the woods and garden without the strict restraints implemented by Mr. Brocklehurst. The illness provides a space for Jane to learn how to cultivate her garden and also her own mental health, and this is the first time the heroine truly experiences freedom. Jane describes how “they let us ramble in the wood, like gipsies, from morning till

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night” and in a later passage stating, “I stayed behind a few minutes to plant in my garden a handful of roots I had dug up in the forest, and which I feared would wither if I left them till the morning” (Brontë 65, 67). The garden space becomes a corner for Jane where the heroine can observe nature and learn to cultivate both plants, flowers, and develop her own maturity. The passage is key to acknowledging Jane’s development since leaving Gateshead. She continues creating corners of safety for herself where she can feel secure, but in this moment Jane also learns how to cultivate nature, which results in cultivating her own health and development.

Although Lowood is not an ideal place and the patriarchal control over the students results in significant neglect, the protagonist does experience nature and learns how to care for a living entity through her gardening. She uses the corner space within the newly fertile garden to both nurture her own mental and physical well-being, and in addition she secures a safe environment separate from the illness at Lowood—nature becomes a place of escape and freedom. While this specific corner is a physical space it offers both psychological healing and physical cultivation for Jane and nurtures her development. In this moment nature becomes a physical space of safety for Jane where she can use gardening and fresh air to stimulate healthy growth, avoid the typhus epidemic, and locate physical corners to cultivate her health. Similar to Brontë’s use of cultivating one’s garden, Robert Pogue Harrison’s Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition states, “day in and day out the poet draws strength from the vitality of the garden, whose plant, animal, and insect life reveals itself to him as if for the first time” (Harrison 132). Harrison views gardens as spaces that possess healing power for both people and nature, and within Brontë’s novel the author uses nature to heal the protagonist.

Jane’s persistence to visit her ill friend, Helen Burns, who resides in Miss Temple’s room, emphasizes the character’s nurturing feelings that develops through her cultivation of the

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garden and through her personal growth among nature. Once inside Miss Temple’s room, Helen asks Jane to curl up in her bed, which provides Jane with a secure corner to feel safe and protected by her friend. Although Helen expects to die from typhus, Jane feels secure in this corner space because Helen remains close to her providing comfort and familiarity—the corner remains a sheltering space for the heroine. After Jane climbs into the bed the narrator describes how “she put her arm over me, and I nestled close to her” (Brontë 69). Though her friend passes away the same night, the moments of shelter and solace together within the corner provide the heroine with comfort and enables the heroine to continue progressing in her journey. As Jane grieves the death of Helen and Miss Temple’s eventual departure, she takes advantage of her educational opportunities. However, once she begins teaching at the school she discovers an irrevocable discontent for the space and desires to explore the world. Through the gardening passages and her years spent at Lowood, one clearly identifies a distinction between the young protagonist that first arrived at Lowood to the Jane Eyre that learns to cultivate her garden, her mental health, and physical well-being.

Moving forward to Jane’s eighteenth year, she displays a willful determination to leave her current teaching position at Lowood. As she describes her view from a window, Jane expresses discontent with her surroundings and exemplifies a restless nature that shares similarities to the young protagonist wishing to explore the worlds within literary works. She describes how “I went to my window, opened it, and looked out. There were the two wings of the ; there was the garden; there were the skirts of Lowood; there was the hilly horizon”

(Brontë 72). This reflection of the outside environment recalls of Jane’s childhood memory of looking through the gate at an empty meadow beyond Gateshead’s boundaries before her departure to Lowood School. Jane expresses an urge to explore the outside world beyond the

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restricted spaces within Lowood, and the open vista that she perceives depicts nature as a source of freedom where she can obtain the autonomy she desires. She associates the horizon that she observes from her window as a form of freedom from the confining Lowood environment—the school’s patriarchal structure. The protagonist’s interest in the world and her minute detail of her view from the window reveals that her imagination has blossomed into an intuitive young adult—she continues yearning for freedom which she associates with the natural world. The narrator’s specific detail is not merely a gloss over of the descriptions. Instead, Jane explains every detail that she observes within her view, while paying particular attention to the “most remote” locations (Brontë 72). Although this point in Jane’s life is eight years after leaving

Gateshead, she still prefers seclusion or as Bachelard describes it “withdraw [ing] into ourselves,” and Jane appears happiest or at the slightest content when in a solitary space of thought and reflection (Bachelard 136). Stating “My eyes passed all other objects to rest on those most remote, the blue peaks: it was those I longed to surmount; all within their boundary of rock and heath seemed prison-ground, exile limits. I traced the white road winding round the base of one mountain, and vanishing in a gorge between two: how I longed to follow it further!” (Brontë

72). Though she desires to journey and experience the natural world, Jane returns to a metaphysical corner at her window where she can express her aesthetic perspective of the world—the natural world currently beyond her reach. The narrator’s vivid imagery within this passage reflects Jane’s connection with artistry and her perception of the world alludes to an individual that desires to journey beyond the current confining space or boundaries that surround her at Lowood. Although Jane experiences difficult circumstances at the boarding school, while under Mr. Brocklehurst’s control, these distinct passages epitomize Jane’s development through

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the confining spaces experienced at Lowood and illustrate how the heroine strengthens mentally to withstand whatever trials await her.

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CHAPTER 4 THORNFIELD HALL AND THE MOORS

Accepting a position as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Jane Eyre embarks on another undertaking. As governess, she holds responsibility for educating Edward Fairfax Rochester’s ward, Adèle, and a space is specifically designated within the library to accommodate Jane’s lessons. Within the library, a space controlled by Mr. Rochester, the heroine carries out her duties as governess. The narrator explains the features within the room stating, “Most of the books were locked up behind glass ; but there was one bookcase left open, containing everything that could be needed in the way of elementary works, and several volumes of light literature, poetry, biography, travels, a few romances, &c” (Brontë 88). Brontë uses phrases

“locked up behind glass doors” intentionally to signify Mr. Rochester’s dictatorial control over the spaces within Thornfield (Brontë 88). While she explains that she is content at present with the current selection of books, it does foreshadow that she will not always be content with the limited supply of literary works or the control of the schoolroom space, which she should possess as the primary teacher of Adèle. The books also depict a metaphor for Jane’s own creativity and the stifling oppressive nature of Thornfield that attempts to prevent Jane from developing her independence. In fact, the library space becomes stifling for the young woman as she states, “It was a fine, calm day, though very cold; I was tired of sitting still in the library through a whole long morning” (Brontë 94). Brontë contrasts the interior and exterior spaces clearly within this passage and illustrates Jane’s desire to return to nature beyond the confining walls of Thornfield.

As Mr. Rochester returns to the property, Jane’s emotions and feelings often fluctuate with Mr. Rochester’s presence, demonstrating that he attempts to maintain control over her— providing few opportunities for Jane to feel completely safe because of the unstable environment. In discussion with interior spaces and geographical spaces, feminist geographer,

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Gillian Rose addresses the masculine control over specific geographical spaces. Rose shows that women should have voices within geography studies and to avoid the continual patriarchal hegemonic structure that many critics in geography continue using. Within her chapter on paradoxical spaces, Rose explains the problems of confinement and how “discussions about confinement are about a body feeling constrained by a particular gender, class, and race position”

(Rose 145). She continues to describe how “women of all kinds are expected to look right, and to look right for a gaze which is masculine” (145). This described type of confinement is present throughout Jane Eyre, but Brontë uses specific spaces within Thornfield to create confined spaces for the female characters. Mr. Rochester’s decision to use the library as the primary spot designated for Jane to teach her pupil depicts Rose’s argument as the male character maintains control of the interior spaces of Thornfield. Although Jane is the governess, Rochester specifically chooses what texts she uses to teach Adèle. As the novel progresses Rochester causes Jane to relocate the schoolroom from the library into another part of the house, so that he can use it for business and entertaining. His control over every aspect of her teaching and the spaces that he allows her to occupy clearly indicate Rochester’s control over the spaces within

Thornfield both physically and mentally. Jane continues searching for corners to hide away from the patriarchal environment when Mr. Rochester invites guests to visit his home. As Jane struggles with her amorous emotions towards Mr. Rochester, she experiences feelings of plainness, inferiority, and insecurity. Similar to Gillian Rose’s argument concerning feelings of constraint on the body, specifically on a particular gender and class, Brontë incorporates passages where the protagonist uses a corner to feel sheltered from the hostile environment of the upper class (Rose 145). Upon Rochester’s request to join the party one evening, Jane expresses discontent at the order, and after observing the company she describes how “I waited till the last

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deep and full vibration had expired—till the tide of talk, checked an instant, had resumed its flow; I then quitted my sheltered corner and made my exit by the side-door, which was fortunately near” (Brontë 154). Jane uses the corner to avoid interacting with his company, because she believes herself inadequate to Mr. Rochester’s position in society and his patriarchal status. The corner enables the character to observe the outside environment of the room without any obligation to interact with the individuals of a higher class. When Jane communes with nature outside among the gardens, landscape, and forests, she reconnects with herself and attempts to avoid the negative patriarchal influence on her development; nature provides the freedom she yearns for.

Jane’s first encounter with Thornfield Hall’s owner, Mr. Rochester, establishes the transition from her first perception of the home as lonely and cold into a home with a male presence. After venturing on her walk and unknowingly encountering Mr. Rochester, Jane ponders reentering Thornfield Hall, which illustrates her desire to remain with nature and not return to confining spaces within the monotonous place. She states “I did not like re-entering

Thornfield. To pass its threshold was to return to stagnation” (Brontë 99). Jane’s perception of

Thornfield thus far is a quiet, dark, and dreary place, and she explains that instead of immediately entering the house she “lingered at the gates; I lingered on the lawn…the shutters of the glass door were closed; I could not see into the interior; and both my eyes and spirit seemed drawn from the gloomy house—from the grey hollow filled with rayless cells, as it appeared to me—to that sky expanded before me” (Brontë 99). Jane expresses a sense of depressive state within these passages prior to Mr. Rochester returning to Thornfield. Her descriptions of solitude and the monotonous work of teaching Adèle, without any companionship apart from Mrs.

Fairfax and Adèle, fatigues her character. At this point she also feels excluded from the house

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and possesses no control over the spaces or emotional attachment to the spaces within

Thornfield. In fact, Jane’s emotional stability and feelings often mirror the weather, and in this passage her emotional state reflects the way she perceives the house—closed off from everyone.

However, Mr. Rochester’s sudden appearance and his domineering effect over the home appear to contribute to Jane’s change in attitude towards Thornfield. After slipping back inside the home, she observes the hall as no longer a dark environment as expected. The heroine’s quickly shifting behavior and feelings towards Thornfield changes once Mr. Rochester returns to the spaces of the home. Upon his return, Rochester relocates the schoolroom to a different location and the narrator describes how “Adèle and I had now to vacate the library: it would be in daily requisition as a reception-room for callers” (Brontë 100). Rochester’s sudden appearance quickly changes the circumstances of the home and Jane once again finds herself within a space controlled by a man. The irony of his return is that it does not immediately affect Jane negatively. Instead, she observes how Thornfield changes once the master of the house reenters its domain and she prefers it with him residing in it. The narrator explains that it “was a changed place: no longer silent as a church, it echoed every hour or two to a knock at the door, or a clang of the bell; steps, too, often traversed the hall, and new voices spoke in different keys below; a rill from the outer world was flowing through it; it had a master: for my part I liked it better”

(Brontë 101). Although Jane appears to prefer secluding herself in the beginning of the novel, her character development reveals that she does wish to encounter the outside world and remains fascinated with learning about different places beyond the horizon. Once Thornfield Hall begins to feel alive and not confining, she begins to enjoy spending her days within the spaces, which proves that Mr. Rochester has a significant amount of control or persuasion over Jane’s

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development through the spaces that he occupies—her love for him overpowers her original desire to travel the natural world independently.

As Jane recognizes her shifting feelings towards Hall, she begins to associate his presence with security—he becomes her corner of safety. Mr. Rochester’s physical presence within the spaces at Thornfield changes the environment, and Jane begins to feel acceptance by him because she can communicate openly with him. However, the newly acquired secure spaces within Thornfield become unstable after the arrival of Miss Blanche

Ingram—a socialite of the upper class and possible romantic interest for Jane’s employer. Aware that she does love him, Jane states “I have told you reader, that I had learnt to love Mr.

Rochester; I could not unlove him now, merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me—because I might pass hours in his presence and he would never once turn his eyes in my direction—because I saw all his attentions appropriated by a great lady, who scorned to touch me with the hem of her robes as she passed” (Brontë 158). Miss Ingram’s lack of kindness and scornful expressions towards the governess reveal her perceptions of Jane as an inferior employee who is ranked below her in class level. Her presence creates instability for the heroine, and Thornfield Hall becomes a less safe atmosphere for Jane. The arrival of Mr. Rochester’s company reiterates the differing social status between himself and Jane, which causes the heroine to feel out of place within the spaces they inhabit. The stability of specific spaces becomes unstable when different classes, such as the Ingram family appear, creating a volatile environment for Jane that she must learn to maneuver to continue her journey successfully towards maturity and independence. Linda McDowell considers the effects that shifting places and instability creates for individuals who attempt to progress through the different environments. Jane interacts with different spaces in places, such as Thornfield Hall and Marsh

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End while on her journey towards maturity; the environments continue shifting and some spaces that appear friendly and welcoming become hostile and unstable. McDowell posits “the commonsense geographical notion of a place as a set of coordinates on a map that fix a defined and bounded piece of territory has been challenged. Geographers now argue that places are contested, fluid and uncertain…Places are made through power relations which construct the rules which define boundaries. These boundaries are both social and spatial – they define who belongs to a place and who may be excluded, as well as location or site of the experience”

(McDowell 3-4). Brontë uses class and gender differences to show how individuals of the upper class create unstable conditions for people of the working class. Jane’s serenity and happiness quickly diminishes after she observes the Ingrams and notices Mr. Rochester’s change in behavior upon their arrival at Thornfield—he even addresses Jane’s depressive state claiming,

“so much depressed that a few more words would bring tears to your eyes—indeed, they are there now, shining and swimming; and a bead has slipped from the lash and fallen on to the flag.

If I had time, and was not in mortal dread of some prating prig of a servant passing, I would know what all this means” (Brontë 154). Though the shift in the interior spaces at Thornfield

Hall creates instability and causes Jane to feel depressed, the outside environment among nature remains a safer location where she can converse with her employer. The narrator describes the calming morning before servants and other house guests awakened; she cherishes the quiet moments absorbed by nature and within Mr. Rochester’s presence. Jane observes nature and its cultivation in the early morning walk with her employer:

He strayed down a walk edged with box; with apple trees, pear trees, and cherry trees on one side, and a border on the other, full of all sorts of old-fashioned flowers, stocks, sweet-williams, primroses, pansies mingled with southern-wood, sweet-briar, and various fragrant herbs. They were fresh now as a succession of April showers and gleams, followed by a lovely spring morning, could make them:

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the sun was just entering the dappled east, and his light illumined the wreathed and dewy orchard trees and shone down the quiet walks under them. (Brontë 184)

Just as the sun provides light and warmth to cultivate the flowers and trees, Jane believes that

Rochester’s presence also offers similar positive affects for her. However, she only experiences the feelings of peacefulness and happiness when they are able to wander nature or converse indoors privately without people of the upper class intruding on their solitary corner of privacy.

The character’s private walk among nature with Mr. Rochester reiterates her understanding of nature and how it can cultivate one’s emotional spirit and health. Jane and Mr. Rochester feel comfort and serenity among the dew, flowers, and sun, uninterrupted by outside forces concerning class; the space of nature provides a place of freedom for the characters to observe the beauty of nature and also converse without disruption from other individuals.

Another space that the heroine frequently encounters is found within the canvas of her artwork; this metaphysical space provides Jane with the ability to express herself and imagine a miniature world separate from her reality. Jane’s artwork allows her to illustrate her imagination and create an imaginative space—a place of psychological safety where she possesses complete control. This space contributes crucially to Jane’s development because it allows her to freely identify her inner emotions and convey the aesthetics of nature, while also possessing control over large vistas within a miniature world of her artwork. Jane uses painting to depict large subject matters of nature, and she exhibits autonomy through her control of these images.

Thornfield Hall is the place that allows the reader to receive a close account of Jane’s art, and it enables one to identify a clear connection between the metaphysical space of her imagination and how it develops within the novel. After Mr. Rochester requests to view her portfolio of paintings he expresses surprise and interest in the “peculiar” subject matter (Brontë 108). Although Jane expresses dissatisfaction with her art and explains that “I was tormented by the contrast between

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my idea and my handiwork: in each case I had imagined something which I was quite powerless to realise,” Rochester clearly finds it impressive (Brontë 108). However, he struggles to obscure his curiosity while asking questions about who taught her, the detail and clarity, and her incorporation of mythological landmarks. Yielding from praising the work too much he states

“There, —put the drawings away!” in an attempt to maintain patriarchal control over the spaces within Thornfield (Brontë 108). His control over the spaces within Thornfield helps maintain his position as employer and patriarch; however, Jane does feel comfort in his presence as their relationship transitions with further acquaintance and she maintains control of her metaphysical spaces within her artwork.

The first painting Jane describes to the reader is the sea and the narrator states how “The first represented clouds low and livid, rolling over a swollen sea: all the distance was in eclipse; so, too, was the foreground; or, rather, the nearest billows, for there was no land…sinking below the bird and mast, a drowned corpse glanced through the green water” (Brontë 107). The three water-colored paintings incorporate nature and highlight the aesthetics using gothic imagery.

Characteristics of gothic imagery include threatening architectural spaces, darkness, death, romance, and the supernatural, which appear frequently within Jane’s journey. Brontë uses vast seas, clouds looming over nature, a corpse drowning, the Evening Star, and an iceberg to illuminate the gothic imagery found within Jane’s artwork (Brontë 107). The metaphysical space within Jane’s imagination allows her the freedom to paint these images that she envisions without the constraints of an outsider controlling her imaginative space. Because Rochester assumes Jane’s art is not original work and must have had a teacher who taught and instructed her on the subject matter, his surprise is understandable once it is revealed that these images are

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solely from Jane’s mind. Her actions reflect those of a woman who encounters numerous trials for a person of a young age, and the artwork is the space that Jane feels she can express herself.

Jane returns to her self-created corner of safety through her artwork, and within this corner she develops her imagination and creativity. The drawings depict Jane’s desire for freedom with the subject matter reflecting a mind yearning for worldliness and unrestraint autonomy. Jane incorporates nature into three water-colored paintings embodying subject matter that elicits a fraught relationship between nature and humankind. The artwork reflects imagination, gothic imagery, and a departure from the traditionally accepted female drawings, which explains Mr. Rochester’s surprise by Jane’s creativity. Often illustrating expansive images

Jane uses her corner metaphysical space within her mind and paintings to depict the vistas and extensive subject matter that she possesses control over in her artwork. Jane chooses to create images that are often vast; while this appears as a paradox it demonstrates Jane’s desire to reach autonomy and also to possess the capability to control large spaces. Within the small environment of her artwork Jane can imagine and control a large imaginative world. The first painting the narrator describes centralizes the subject matter on a swelling sea with clouds, “a cormorant, dark and large, with wings flecked with foam: its beak held a gold bracelet” and a

“drowned corpse glanced through the green water; a fair arm was the only limb clearly visible, whence the bracelet had been washed or torn” (Brontë 107). Although the description does not specifically address the gender of the body, one can infer the body as female because of the “fair arm” (Brontë 107). The detail represents Jane’s imagination and her longing to resist patriarchal oppression, which she experiences throughout her journey thus far. The drowned body and the remaining limb convey awareness to the protagonist’s own feelings of drowning within a world, while struggling to find autonomy and resist dependency in a patriarchal society. The second

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painting provides a more assertive subject matter where the female does not succumb to oppression. Instead, the narrator describes a mesmerizing female with “eyes shown dark and wild; the hair streamed shadowy, like a beamless cloud torn by storm or by electric travail”

(Brontë 107). The description suggests power in the subject matter, and the conclusion of her description establishes how “on the neck lay a pale reflection like moonlight; the same faint lustre touched the train of thin clouds from which rose and bowed this vision of the Evening

Star” (Brontë 107). As Jane describes the painting to the reader the details appear female; however, this female possesses strength, power, and autonomy. Within her artwork Jane’s creativity bolsters and allows the protagonist to develop imaginatively, while finding her own autonomy within the self-created metaphysical corner of her mind—a space of freedom. The concluding painting does not possess the same type of subject matter as the drowning female or the evening star. Instead, the heroine uses descriptions of an iceberg, the sky, and “a colossal head” to express a resolute destructive force (Brontë 107). Jane appears to identify that the oppressive nature in society problematizes the possibilities for both males and females, but the painting does not possess the same assertive nature as the evening star where the artist uses a female as the central force of power.

A striking similarity among the three paintings involves the protagonist’s imagination and her ability to create paintings that do not conform to societal expectations. Jane chooses to use creativity and her imagination to design meaningful and aspiring artwork, which indicates her developing character and her ability to resist conforming to an oppressive society. Similar to the heroine’s imaginative ideas, Charlotte Brontë also questioned imagination and reality within her literary works. In a letter to she describes how he does not support the incorporation of “Melodrame” into literary works, and he believes it best to focus on “the real”

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instead (Smith 90). Brontë conveys her fraught ideas with creating literature that only incorporates the real, but also accepted by publishers who prefer imagination. In the letter Brontë states “Imagination is a strong, restless faculty which claims to be heard and exercised, are we to be quite deaf to her cry and insensate to her struggles? When she drew us bright pictures are we never to look at them and try to reproduce them? —And when she is eloquent and speaks rapidly and urgently in our ear are we not to write to her dictation?” (Smith 91). Brontë’s letter written on November 6th, 1847, occurs shortly after the first publication of Jane Eyre (1847). The author clearly believes that one must incorporate both imagination and reality into literary works, and her heroine Jane Eyre attempts this task with her artwork. While the subject matter expresses imagination, it addresses realistic problems concerning oppression and a female’s development.

Jane’s understanding of nature and her immersion in the gardens at Lowood and the grounds at

Thornfield builds the foreground for Jane’s ability to incorporate nature and imagination into her artwork. Within these experiences in the natural world and in developing her imagination, Jane maintains a self-created corner within her mind enabling her to design unique and thought- provoking artwork—resisting the stereotypical expectations concerning female creativity.

In contrast to Jane’s private metaphysical space, Brontë incorporates a significant number of passages where Jane and Rochester are able to talk with one another without the interruption of a third person. In these moments, the reader can depict Jane’s character communicating openly with Mr. Rochester and with few reservations. However, Rochester still keeps his position intact by controlling the spaces where they communicate. When asked to converse with him, Rochester orders Jane to sit down in a chair near his own and adjust her seat where he will not have to alter his position to view her during the conversation, because he states that “I cannot see you without disturbing my position in this comfortable chair, which I have no mind to do”

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(Brontë 111). Such a statement immediately reflects his controlling and dominating persona.

Jane explains how “Mr. Rochester, as he sat in his damask-covered chair, looked different to what I had seen him look before; not quite so stern—much less gloomy” (Brontë 111). The narrator describes his chair as “comfortable,” while providing no description of the chair that she uses (Brontë 111). The emphasis provided in the passage reiterates a patriarchal space within

Thornfield, and the description of his damask chair is reminiscent of Jane’s childhood memory of the red-room and the damask curtains at Gateshead.

Moving forward in the novel, the master’s chair within the library space is brought into the story again, shortly after revealing that he is already married to Bertha Mason—hidden away on the third floor. These catastrophic events are significant for the story. The master’s chair in the library is one of the finest moments to illustrate Jane’s resilience and how she has developed throughout her trials at Thornfield Hall. Critics, Mona Domosh and Joni Seager discuss the common connection between women and the home within the Victorian era in Putting Women in

Place. Domosh and Seager analyze how “furnishings in the parlor were dictated by gender ideology…the gentleman’s chair was of course the larger of the set, more comfortable, with larger arms and padded armrests, whereas the lady’s chair was smaller, less comfortable, with lower arms without armrests” (Domosh and Seager 11). Brontë incorporates the Victorian gender ideology concerning home furnishings and women’s placement within the spaces of a Victorian home throughout the entirety of Jane’s time at Thornfield. Specifically, when Rochester endeavors to persuade Jane to remain with him, attempting to ignore his marital situation to

Bertha, Brontë incorporates a distinct use of the chair in relation to patriarchal control. Brontë reveals the control that Rochester maintains over Jane through the depiction of the space in the room, his actions, and the physical placement of her body in his chair. Explaining how “He

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heaved a sort of shuddering sigh, and taking me in his arms, carried me downstairs. At first I did not know to what room he had borne me; all was cloudy to my glazed sight…He put wine to my lips; I tasted it and revived; then I ate something he offered me, and was soon myself. I was in the library—sitting in his chair—he was quite near” (Brontë 255). Jane struggles with controlling herself in this passage, because of Rochester’s dominance of the physical space from the space of the room, to the armchair, to the glass of wine that he encourages her to sip. All of the physical elements are controlled by Rochester; however, Jane’s encounters with male-dominated spaces prepares her for this difficult moment. Though the patriarchal spaces Jane encounters in her journey attempt to dominate the heroine, they also strengthen her resilience and determination to resist immoral actions. Stating, “I evaded the embrace, and at once quitted the room” the character clearly demonstrates how the previous patriarchal and confining environments provided her with an opportunity to practice developing her independence and resilience, leading to this moment where the heroine chooses to leave Rochester and Thornfield Hall (Brontë 272).

The physical spaces that Jane encounters frequently, such as the red-room and the library, contribute significantly to her development. However, nature is an important space to address, because of both its grandeur and uncertainty—it appears as neither benevolent nor punishing.

When comparing Rochester’s library space or his with his chair one can assume with much certainty that he will display control over the spaces and that the spaces will attempt to keep Jane within her place as a female in the Victorian era. Nature is quite different, because though it is a character in itself, it does not speak like the other characters within the text and is only observed through Jane’s viewpoint. Jane often wanders the grounds in Thornfield, and these moments of seclusion offer privacy within the heroine’s mind. However, Mr. Rochester’s oppressive nature frequently interrupts Jane’s interactions with nature and invades her corners of

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safety and solitude. As Jane attempts to enjoy the beautiful grounds and gardens, she describes how “I walked a while on the pavement; but a subtle, well-known scent—that of a cigar—stole from some window; I saw the library casement open a handbreath; I knew I might be watched thence; so I went apart into the orchard. No nook in the grounds more sheltered and more Eden- like” (Brontë 211). Again, Mr. Rochester interrupts her corner within nature and her attempts to reconnect with the natural world and cultivate her own health—preventing the heroine from continuing her journey to independence and stifling Jane’s corner of safety. When she leaves

Thornfield she finally experiences nature without Mr. Rochester’s interference. Brontë depicts nature with a mother-like influence—nature becomes non-patriarchal and the heroine views the natural world as a mother offering guidance as she searches for safety on her journey. Nature surrounds Jane everywhere within her journey, as both negative and positive in her development.

When Jane quickly flees Thornfield, she finds herself alone and without enough money to continue using the coach as transportation. Left to wander the moors and through towns, Jane finds herself immersed within nature and rejected by townspeople. With no one to aid her or provide her with shelter to rest, Jane turns to nature for sanctuary. Towards the beginning of her new journey Jane describes how “I have no relative but the universal mother, Nature: I will seek her breast and ask repose” (Brontë 275). During her strenuous journey Brontë presents nature as a beautiful sheltering space, but then quickly shifts into a cold, damp exposed environment for the heroine. When Jane first encounters nature in this part of her story she describes how “The dew fell, but with propitious softness; no breeze whispered. Nature seemed to be benign and good; I thought she loved me, outcast as I was; and I, who from man could anticipate only mistrust, rejection, insult, clung to her with filial fondness” (Brontë 276). Within this portion of the narrative Jane views the space of nature as a safe environment that will provide her with

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shelter during her abandonment and loneliness. However, the space of nature quickly shifts from sheltering to hostile with Jane explaining “But my night was wretched, my rest broken: the ground was damp, the air cold: besides intruders passed near me more than once, and I had again and again to change my quarters: no sense of safety or tranquility befriended me. Towards morning it rained; the whole of the following day was wet” (Brontë 281). The sudden shift from a calm nature to hazardous conditions exposes Jane to the harshness of the world, which results in Jane accepting death as her fate if that is God’s plan. She states, “I can but die…I believe in

God. Let me try to wait His will in silence” (Brontë 286). While the protagonist does not die, she does change significantly through her experiences exposed in nature on the Moors. The spaces of nature lead Jane to her next home that she will reside in as she heals and cultivates her health.

Rather than the space of nature confining Jane and preventing her from developing, it thrusts the heroine into a family who will show her love and care for her well-being providing her with a corner space of safety—a family later revealed to be her blood relatives. Brontë’s perception of nature as uncertain and uncontrollable frequently reoccurs in her novel where the heroine’s emotional state and development reflect that of nature’s conditions. Several of Brontë’s letters with G. H. Lewes address the importance of nature in its natural state, with the author explaining her disagreement with ’s portrayal of nature. In a letter on January 12th 1848 she addresses to Lewes, “Why do you like Miss Austen so very much? I am puzzled on that point”

(Smith 99). She continues by describing Austen’s depiction of nature as “An accurate daguerreotyped portrait of a common-place face; a carefully-fenced, highly cultivated garden with neat borders and delicate flowers—but no glance of a bright vivid physiognomy—no open country—no fresh air—no blue hill—no bonny beck. I should hardly like to live with her ladies and gentlemen in their elegant but confined . These observations will probably irritate

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you, but I shall run the risk” (Smith 99). Brontë’s incorporation of “open country” and “fresh air” reiterates her belief that nature offers cultivation, and though Jane struggles on her journey towards Marsh End she does become stronger and more independent through the ordeal (Smith

99). The space of nature crucially affects Jane’s development, because it is where Jane experiences the worst possible conditions and almost the worst possible fate—death—yet she heals emotionally and physically with the aid of St. John, Diana, and Mary. The filial relationship that develops while living with her cousins provides Jane with a space of familial love, care, and cultivation. The space at Marsh End reminds Jane of the good in the world, and her revelation concerning her inheritance offers the protagonist an opportunity to control her own physical space.

While residing at Marsh End Jane encounters less oppressive spaces, enabling the heroine to continue developing her independence. After St. John offers her an appointment to teach at a cottage as the local school teacher and reside within the cottage, Jane makes the small space her home. Although the furnishings within the cottage are minimal, Jane creates a safe space for herself and for her students to learn. For the first time, she possesses the power to take care of herself, her pupils, and control her domain. In contrast to the school room at Thornfield Hall,

Jane controls her physical environment in the cottage located in Morton. The narrator expresses her resolution in choosing to accept the appointment stating “in truth it was humble—but then it was sheltered, and I wanted a safe asylum: it was plodding—but then, compared with that of a governess in a rich house, it was independent; and the fear of servitude with strangers entered my soul like iron: it was not ignoble—not unworthy—not mentally degrading. I made my decision”

(Brontë 303). Again, Jane desires independence and the opportunity to control her own physical space. Her views of the cottage and village as a “safe asylum” recreates her preference to

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maintain a safe corner where she can control both the physical and metaphysical spaces (Brontë

303). Jane’s declaration that she will accept the appointment and the comparison of the cottage to that of a safe asylum constructs her use of a safe self-created space, which will provide comfort and protection from oppressive outside forces. Unlike her experiences at Thornfield with the pervasive Mr. Rochester and his control over the environment and her method of teaching, the cottage at Morton becomes Jane’s personal space where she adheres to her own rules. While St.

John does visit and occasionally lectures using his religious doctrine, he does not appear to control Jane’s actions or attempt to oppress her form of teaching. In fact, the heroine develops her independence and expresses her opinions more firmly. Upon realizing that St. John retains feelings towards Miss Oliver, the benefactress for the small cottage and schoolroom, Jane expresses her opinions on the matter and resolves to encourage St. John to pursue the young woman. Jane’s conversations with him prove that the cottage space provides her with confidence and agency. The different spaces within Thornfield and her discourse with Mr. Rochester prepared Jane for communicating with other men, rather than behaving timid and submissive.

The narrator describes how St. John “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. I could never rest in communication with strong, discreet, and refined minds, whether male or female, till I had passed the outworks of conventional reserve, and crossed the threshold of confidence, and won a place by their heart’s very hearthstone” (Brontë 319). The space within Jane’s cottage enables the character to express her ideas and opinions without feeling oppressed. Because Jane dominates the cottage’s physical space, she feels free to express her ideas and opinions.

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CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSION

The cottage space offers Jane a safe environment to cultivate the knowledge of her female students and assist them in developing their own maturity. As their teacher, she becomes a mother-like figure for them similar to her role as governess for Adèle at Thornfield Hall.

However, unlike her experiences at Thornfield Jane controls the schoolroom’s space and the curriculum that she uses to teach the students—St. John does not interfere with her educational choices. This teaching opportunity allows Jane to guide other young females towards better education and in developing their own characters through maturity and cultivating their knowledge. Though she expresses awareness that their social status places restrictions on their level of education, Jane attempts to teach them sufficiently and explains that she observes many of the students excelling in their work. The narrator explains her first impressions observing how they appear “wholly untaught, with faculties quite torpid, they seemed to me hopelessly dull; and, at first sight, all dull alike: but I soon found I was mistaken. There was a difference amongst them as amongst the educated; and when I got to know them, and they me, this difference rapidly developed itself” (Brontë 312). Again, Brontë addresses the oppression concerning education, females, and social status; Jane’s maturity and understanding of the restrictions enables her to teach the female students despite the lack of social position and develops her into a mother-like figure for them. Her previous experiences at Gateshead, Lowood, and Thornfield Hall assists in shaping her character, and she plans to use those skills to educate the village children. Within this safe space Jane possesses control over the material she uses to educate her students and shares her self-created corner—the schoolroom—to teach her pupils. The narrator expresses satisfaction stating, “The rapidity of their progress, in some instances, was even surprising; and an honest and happy pride I took in it: besides, I began personally to like some of the best girls;

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and they liked me” (Brontë 312). Contrasting Jane’s schoolroom with the spaces at Lowood, one observes that the heroine expects her students to perform their best, and she creates an environment that welcomes learning, creativity, and cultivation. The schoolroom’s atmosphere does not restrict the students and place them in a confining environment. The safe space enables the female pupils to excel in their studies and progress into more mature individuals. Throughout

Jane’s journey, she continues to possess mother-like characteristics when she expresses concern about Adèle’s education and the boarding school conditions. Towards the conclusion of the novel when describing Adèle’s situation at school the narrator states, “she looked pale and thin: she said she was not happy. I found the rules of the establishment were too strict, its course of too severe, for a child of her age…so I sought out a school conducted on a more indulgent system; and near enough to permit of my visiting her often, and bringing her home sometimes”

(Brontë 383). Jane’s concern for the physical well-being and education for her students, and later for Adèle depicts her concerns for students to be educated in a safe non-oppressive, space.

In addition to a safe school environment, Jane believes Adèle should reside at an educational institution close enough to return home for visits, because she recognizes that a child needs a secure, stable home space—one that she never experienced as a child. Tuan posits that

“She [the mother] is nearly always around when needed. A strange world holds little fear for the young child provided his mother is nearby, for she is his familiar environment and haven” (Tuan

29). Brontë’s own biographical history expresses resentment towards educational systems that lacked proper care for their students. Historians continue speculating whether the conditions at

Brontë’s boarding school—The Clergy Daughters’ School at —contributed to her creation of Lowood in Jane Eyre. Specifically, Brontë highlights the conditions of boarding schools within her descriptions of Lowood, and later portrays Jane as a caring governess and

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nurturing teacher for her students at her cottage. Because of her knowledge concerning inadequate school spaces and the importance of a child feeling loved and learning to cultivate their physical and mental health, Jane understands the necessity for a child to attend school in a safe, secure environment. Claire Harman’s Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart (2015) addresses the conditions of Brontë’s boarding school and posits “there were many things about the regime at

Cowan Bridge that grated on Charlotte Brontë’s nerves and tiny, skinny, eight-year-old body: the cold, the scant, bad food, the rote learning, the strict discipline, the soul-stifling air of Calvinism”

(Harman 46). Regardless of whether the same punishments and curriculum were used at her school, the loss of two sisters, Maria and Elizabeth, clearly influenced the author’s decision in depicting poor conditions at boarding schools and their lack of safe spaces for young children.

When Jane decides to remove Adèle from her school, the harsh conditions elicit Jane to remove the girl, expressing dismay at the school’s environment and method in teaching the pupils. Jane’s interactions with the different spaces throughout her journey lead her to the moment where she can make an informed decision concerning the well-being of her former pupil. Her maturity and attentiveness towards Adèle shows that her journey prepares her for becoming a mother-figure to the young girl—creating a safe corner—a home—where Adèle will visit from school. Towards the conclusion of the text, Jane appears wiser and less unsure of her decisions—she becomes a more mature woman through the experiences as a child at Lowood and teacher for underprivileged children.

In contrast to Jane’s ability to control the educational spaces of her pupils within her cottage, she struggles to maintain the same sense of power concerning the metaphysical space of her dreams. Jane’s mind cannot resist dreaming about Mr. Rochester and often results in restless nights caused by his oppressive influence over her metaphysical environment. These moments

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negatively affect Jane’s development, because they cause stagnation and prevent her from moving forward in her life towards freedom. Jane’s inability to control her mind in her dreams, creates turmoil for her development. Unguarded at night she cannot form a corner of safety from the male-dominated power that Mr. Rochester possesses. The narrator explains his dominance stating, “I used to rush into strange dreams at night: dreams many-coloured, agitated, full of the ideal, the stirring, the stormy—dreams where, amidst unusual scenes, charged with adventure, with agitating risk and romantic chance, I still again and again met Mr. Rochester” (Brontë 312).

She continues to describe how her dreams of him reinforces the love and connection that she feels with Mr. Rochester. Upon awaking from her dream, she must recover from the distress and separation that she experiences each time he invades her metaphysical space. Mr. Rochester’s invasion of Jane’s metaphysical corner in her dreams causes the heroine to experience feelings of distress and loneliness, which she must overcome each time he interrupts her environment.

While Jane struggles to resist his power over her mind, she does learn to recover from his oppressive nature. She explains that “the still, dark night witnessed the convulsion of despair and heard the burst of passion. By nine o’clock the next morning I was punctually opening the school; tranquil, settled, prepared for the steady duties of the day” (Brontë 312-313). Jane’s ability to recover each night from dreaming of Mr. Rochester proves that the previous experiences at Gateshead, Lowood, and Thornfield slowly developed her maturity and sense of responsibility for her well-being and also her students, and their education. Jane’s responsible nature develops into a young woman who understands her duties towards the appointment she accepted by St. John, and wishes to avoid oppressive feelings caused by a male-dominated sphere. The cottage and small village represent safe spaces or corners that are self-created as sanctuaries from the oppressive forces of Jane’s past. These new experiences and environments

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provide a new beginning for Jane’s Bildungsroman. Though Jane ultimately chooses to return to

Mr. Rochester, the circumstances of her inheritance and position place her with the ability to control the physical and metaphysical spaces at Ferndean.

As the novel progresses towards the final chapters, Brontë positions Mr. Rochester as the inferior, secluded, and emotionally traumatized character. The shift in social positions and characteristics creates a stark contrast between the heroine and her former employer, allowing

Jane to become the dominating—not oppressive—character of the novel. Brontë creates the shift to emphasize the transition concerning Jane’s development. While at Ferndean Jane demonstrates her maturity and responsible nature, proving that she no longer depends upon Mr.

Rochester for security nor does the heroine feel oppression or inferiority to his dominating nature. His loss of eyesight and his injuries cause Mr. Rochester to neglect his health and choose to seclude himself from society. Thornfield’s fire caused by his late wife Bertha, injures Jane’s former employer, and he chooses to not reside among people of the upper class. The traumatic experiences result in his lack of care for himself or concern for his future. Instead, Edward

Fairfax Rochester chooses to live in a secluded environment tucked away at Ferndean.

Ferndean’s location is described as a “manor-house on a farm…about thirty miles off: quite a desolate spot” (Brontë 366). Similar to Jane’s method of creating a self-created corner space for safety, Mr. Rochester chooses to reside in a private location that secludes him from society and judgment. Ferndean becomes his corner space where he can inhabit separately from previous acquaintances; the manor house does not possess grandeur and the small architectural space provides a sense of privacy. The narrator describes how “the manor-house of Ferndean was a building of considerable antiquity, moderate size, and no architectural pretensions, deep buried on a wood” (Brontë 366). The house’s setting within the woods and its architecturally

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encompassed position among nature depicts nature as uncultivated by humans and remaining in its natural state. Brontë highlights the difference between uncultivated woods with that of nature, fields, gardens, and meadows. The woods represent an uncontrolled environment that does not provide a healthy atmosphere for cultivation, while she associates the gardens and flowers with cultivation, healing, growth, and nurturing. By placing Mr. Rochester within the woods at

Ferndean, Brontë metaphorically depicts how he becomes unfeeling and forlorn due to his loss of

Jane and his recent injuries. Upon approaching the location Jane explains that the “Iron gates between granite pillars showed me where to enter, passing through them, I found myself at once in the of close-ranked trees…the darkness of natural as well as of sylvan dusk gathered over me…all was interwoven stem, columnar trunk, dense, summer foliage—no opening anywhere” (Brontë 366). The physical description of the manor’s location creates imagery of seclusion and self-imprisonment. While he chooses to place himself in a corner, it does not provide positive development for his disabled body nor can he learn how to cultivate his life. Just as Mr. Rochester does not attempt to cultivate himself, his self-created corner—Ferndean located in the overgrown, uncultivated forest—does not provide any beneficial health for the character to heal properly. Even though he is surrounded by nature, his corner’s location in the woods in a dark environment does not offer the fresh air of nature and open meadows. In order for his mental health to improve, his environments must change to allow him to emotionally heal properly.

Though Jane’s corner spaces often provide her with safety and a space to emotionally heal and develop her character, Mr. Rochester cannot properly move forward, out of his depressive state and the previous traumatic events. Jane understands his situation because she often experiences feelings of inferiority and loneliness within her journey. Upon arriving at

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Ferndean, she observes the grounds stating “Entering a portal fasted only by a latch, I stood amidst a space of enclosed ground, from which the wood swept away in a semicircle. There were no flowers, no garden-beds; only a broad gravel-walk girdling a grass-plat, and this set in the heavy frame of the forest” (Brontë 367). Jane’s acknowledgement of the lack of flowers and garden significantly address her belief that one must experience flowers and nature to fully cultivate life as she did at Lowood during the typhus epidemic. However, the confining corner at

Ferndean that Mr. Rochester encompasses does not provide him with any form of cultivation because the location is within a “heavy frame of the forest” (Brontë 367). When the heroine first perceives her former employer, she does not believe he physically changed over the past year since she is unaware of his loss of eyesight. Instead, she views him as strong and states “his form was of the same strong and stalwart contour as ever: his port was still erect, his hair was still raven-black; nor were his features altered or sunk” (Brontë 366). However, she describes how

“in his countenance I saw a change: that looked desperate and brooding—that reminded me of some wronged and fettered wild beast or bird, dangerous to approach in his sullen woe” (Brontë

367). For him to heal, Jane must return to show him how to cultivate his life within his newly acquired corner space. She possesses the power to teach him how to care for both his health and life, due to the shift in social positions and because of the love they share for each other. After

Mr. Rochester shows her his arm injury she states, “It is a pity to see it; and a pity to see your eyes—and the scar of fire on your forehead: and the worst of it is, one is in danger of loving you too well for all this; and making too much of you” (Brontë 371). Her past experiences through her journey prepare the heroine for her future task as wife and nurturer for her husband.

The environments within the novel’s closing chapters shift as Jane reenters Mr.

Rochester’s life. With her maturity and independence, she makes firm decisions concerning how

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the character spends his time, and she chooses for them to immerse themselves in the fresh air within nature. Explaining “most of the morning was spent in the open air. I led him out of the wet and wild wood into some cheerful fields: I described to him how brilliantly green they were; how the flowers and hedges looked refreshed; how sparkingly blue was the sky” (Brontë 374).

The novelist places Mr. Rochester’s physically injured body among cultivated nature to create a contrasting image that eventually enables him to begin healing. He describes himself as a “ruin” and “decay[ed]”; however, Jane explains that she does not view him as either (Brontë 378). She states “you are green and vigorous. Plants will grow about your roots, whether you ask them or not, because they take delight in your bountiful shadow, and as they grow they will lean towards you, and wind round you, because your strength offers them so safe a prop” (Brontë 379). Her reentrance into his life and Jane’s newly acquired position as an independent woman provides her with the opportunity to care for Mr. Rochester and to become his wife. Jane views nature as a form of freedom that if used correctly can assist individuals in cultivating their health and life.

Once among nature Mr. Rochester begins to view his future differently and without dread of a life of solitude—he perceives a future with Jane by his side as both his wife and nurturer. Jane also views their future as one of positivity stating, “I love you better now, when I can really be useful to you, than I did in your state of proud independence, when you disdained every part but that of the giver and protector” (Brontë 379). Nature’s openness allows them the freedom to express their innermost feelings towards one another, without the confining spaces in the woods and Ferndean. Jane continues on her journey of life, but now her husband will join her to experience the freedom that nature and self-created spaces of safety and happiness can provide.

Brontë’s Jane Eyre uses spaces to prove that both physical and metaphysical environments can shape a character. This particular novel demonstrates the heroine’s

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development with minute details, beginning with her childhood and illustrating Jane’s journey into adulthood. The traumatic mental and physical abuse that Jane combats as a child resurfaces throughout the text, especially within Thornfield. The final space that influences Jane’s future life—Ferndean—offers opportunities for the protagonist to maintain control over its spaces.

Rochester’s lack of agency because of his recent injuries and neglect of his health allows Jane the opportunity to control the spaces within Ferndean. After Jane reenters Rochester’s life at

Ferndean, she uses her independence and assists in his care. As an independent woman who has confronted many different environments and overcome her trials thus far, she cultivates

Rochester’s health and assists him in healing both emotionally and physically from his injuries.

Describing how “he saw books through me; and never did I weary of gazing for his behalf, and of putting into words the effect of field, tree, town, river, cloud, sunbeam—of the landscape before us; of the weather round us—and impressing by sound on his ear what light could no longer stamp on his eye,” the narrator explains that she describes to Rochester what he cannot perceive with his own sight (Brontë 384). Jane maintains control over the physical and metaphysical environments within Ferndean; the newly acquired spaces and her actions reflect the importance of agency that she now possesses. Although his eyesight partially recovers in his remaining eye, Jane still continues caring for her husband. Because of the present spaces, the previous spaces and their impact on the heroine, and her development throughout her journey, the protagonist possesses a cultivated mind, maturity, and love which she uses to cultivate her own family with Rochester—she finally acquires her own sense of freedom. These different environments within Jane Eyre expose the heroine to both positive and negative spaces, which she must acquiesce to or resist. Fortunately, both the negative and positive spaces assist Jane’s development to prepare her for her future trials that she will confront within her Bildungsroman.

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WORKS CITED

Bachelard, Gaston. The Poetics of Space: The Classic Look at How We Experience Intimate Places. Beacon Press, 1994.

Borie, Charlotte. “From to Stage: Inner Space and the Curtain in Jane Eyre.” Brontë Studies: The Journal of the Brontë Society, vol. 34, no. 2, July 2009. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1179/147489309X431548.

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Norton, 2001.

Domosh, Mona, and Joni Seager. Putting Women in Place: Feminist Geographers Make Sense of the World. The Guilford Press, 2001.

Gilbert, Sandra M. and Susan Gubar. “A Dialogue of Self and Soul: Plain Jane’s Progress.” The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the Nineteenth-Century Literary Imagination. Yale University Press, 2000.

Han, John Sung. “A Lumber-Room of Her Own: in Pamela and Jane Eyre.” Style: A Quarterly Journal of Aesthetics, Poetics, Stylistics, and Literary Criticism, vol. 48, no. 4, 2014. pp. 529-542. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.5325/style.48.4.529.

Harman, Claire. Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart. Vintage Books, 2015.

Harrison, Robert Pogue. Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition. The University of Chicago Press, 2008.

Kreisel, Deanna K. “The Madwoman on the Third Story: Jane Eyre in Space.” PMLA: Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, vol. 131, no. 1, Jan. 2016, p. 101-115. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.1632/pmla.2016.131.1.101.

Locy, Sharon. “Travel and Space in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre.” Pacific Coast Philology, vol. 37, 2002, pp. 105-121. EBSCOhost, doi: 10.2307/4142093.

McDowell, Linda. Gender, Identity, & Place: Understanding Feminist Geographies. University of Minnesota Press, 2003.

Rose, Gillian. “A Politics of Paradoxical Space.” Feminism and Geography: The Limits of Geographical Knowledge. University of Minnesota Press, 1993.

Smith, Margaret, editor. Charlotte Brontë’s Selected Letters. Oxford World Classics, 2007.

Tuan, Yi-Fu. Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience. University of Minnesota Press, 1977.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Claire Beth Karnap is a current graduate student at the University of Florida. She is currently pursuing her M.A. degree in and plans to continue in the program towards her Ph.D. in British . Her area of interests ranges from the 1760s- in

British and Irish literature, which she studied abroad at the University of Oxford and the

Waterford Institute of Technology during her final year in her undergraduate studies. Since beginning graduate school she has discovered an interest in spatial theory and feminism with specific focuses on nature and spaces within the works of female novelists, Ann Radcliffe,

Frances Burney, Jane Austen, and Charlotte Brontë.

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