Human nature urges an individual to glance at reflective glasses in order to confirm that the physical features presented to the society does not emerge with the inner sinful, corrupted identity. An individual must preserve his or her unique identity by keeping a certain distance away from mirrors that reflect society’s expectations. In the Victorian Gothic novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the presence of mirrors symbolizes Jane’s corrupted identity, physically represented as Bertha: a rebellious, revolutionary, and dangerous being. Throughout her journey, the absence of mirrors symbolizes the restoration of the fragmented pieces in her identity that develops Jane into a definite individual without the society’s influence to reach independence.
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Initially, Jane’s decision to deny Rochester’s inequality in marriage leads her to suffer from starvation and thirst until she reaches Moorhouse, a secluded home where “its garden, dark with yew and holly—and where no flowers but of the hardiest species would bloom—found a charm both potent and permanent” (Bronte 355). Bronte illustrates the surroundings of Moorhouse as simple but powerful to signify that the place purifies Jane’s identity from the contaminants of society. With St. John, Diana, and Mary’s kindness, Jane enters a peaceful home where she restores her strength and independence by isolating herself from Rochester and her corrupted image inside the mirror in Thornfield. Bronte excludes mirrors during Jane’s stay in Moorhouse to show the rebuilding of Jane’s lost wholeness in Thornfield where the mirror presents Jane’s depraved identity through Bertha’s madness. In addition, Jane expresses her present state of contentment living in a place where “"kind angels" finally do bring her to what is in a sense her true home...which is to represent the end of her march toward selfhood” (Gilbert and Guber 364). Jane’s identity fully develops when she discovers that she has a true family of her own. Furthermore, Jane gains financial independence by inheriting twenty-thousand pounds from her uncle, which breaks the boundaries of Jane’s social class status. She also establishes her own school nearby Moorhouse, constructing a life in which Jane makes her own decisions without the influences of the circumstances around her that limit Jane’s self will and power. Lastly, Jane redirects her path back to Thornfield, where Jane utilizes her firmly established independence and whole identity to fulfill her moral values of equality in marriage with
Initially, Jane’s decision to deny Rochester’s inequality in marriage leads her to suffer from starvation and thirst until she reaches Moorhouse, a secluded home where “its garden, dark with yew and holly—and where no flowers but of the hardiest species would bloom—found a charm both potent and permanent” (Bronte 355). Bronte illustrates the surroundings of Moorhouse as simple but powerful to signify that the place purifies Jane’s identity from the contaminants of society. With St. John, Diana, and Mary’s kindness, Jane enters a peaceful home where she restores her strength and independence by isolating herself from Rochester and her corrupted image inside the mirror in Thornfield. Bronte excludes mirrors during Jane’s stay in Moorhouse to show the rebuilding of Jane’s lost wholeness in Thornfield where the mirror presents Jane’s depraved identity through Bertha’s madness. In addition, Jane expresses her present state of contentment living in a place where “"kind angels" finally do bring her to what is in a sense her true home...which is to represent the end of her march toward selfhood” (Gilbert and Guber 364). Jane’s identity fully develops when she discovers that she has a true family of her own. Furthermore, Jane gains financial independence by inheriting twenty-thousand pounds from her uncle, which breaks the boundaries of Jane’s social class status. She also establishes her own school nearby Moorhouse, constructing a life in which Jane makes her own decisions without the influences of the circumstances around her that limit Jane’s self will and power. Lastly, Jane redirects her path back to Thornfield, where Jane utilizes her firmly established independence and whole identity to fulfill her moral values of equality in marriage with