Jane Eyre's Quest For Independence

The book Jane Eyre was written by Charlotte Brontë in the 1800s. In literature this time was known as the Gothic Romance period. Many books written in this time included many elements that were related to the supernatural world. In the story Jane had many occurrences with unexplained events; Like the time Mrs. Reed locked her in the very mysterious Red Room as a child (Brontë 9). Jane had a quote in the chapter explaining, “I can now conjecture readily that this streak of light was, in all likelihood, a gleam from a lantern, carried by some one across the lawn: but then, prepared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world” (Brontë …show more content…
In the midst of this period in her life she often conveyed the desire for independence. This theme can be magnified with this statement from Jane to Mr. Rochester, “ I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself ” (Bronte 211 ). In this quote Brontë was evidently trying to relate to the theme of independence. Using the adjectives solitary and friendless Brontë was able to magnify the theme by showing how Jane wishes to be by herself. Another important word used in the quote was unsustained. With the use of this adjective the reader is able to see that Jane does not need or want to have to depend on others for her own well-being. During this part of the story the person that would be relied on is Mr. Rochester. Jane just learned his former wife was still alive while Jane was standing at the wedding altar waiting to marry him. If she were to stay a resident at Thornfield she would not have been able to respect herself. This one phrase was able to bring the whole story’s theme of independence into