Through a preliminary interpretation, Bewick’s image from his renowned natural history book, ‘History of British Birds’, depicts a rather sombre scene in which a demonic figure is stabbing a traveller’s sack with a spoke. In some ways, John Reed could be related to the devilish being in this depiction as he asphyxiates Jane’s imagination and hence her development as an individual. Specifically, in the opening chapter, Jane explicably refers to Bewick’s image through, “the fiend pinning down the thief’s pack behind him” thus, suggesting the profound effect that the image has had on young and hence susceptible Jane. Initially, an outsider may view the male in the image as a farmer or traveller, yet, Jane interpreted the man as a “thief”; perhaps
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This is later confirmed in her experience in the Red Room: the chamber in which her Uncle Reed died, where she “thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world.” In this sense, it could be said that Bewick’s image simply highlights Jane’s paranoia of the supernatural. Jane is directly lectured by Mr. Brocklehurst in Chapter 4, where he states how wicked children go to hell and she will too due to her “wicked heart.” Also, on his exit, Mr. Brocklehurst gives Jane a book called the ‘Child’s Guide’ which is full of stories about sinful children who die unpleasantly. Indeed, it is no surprise that this image of hell plagues young Jane’s mind in such an overwhelming way. In Victorian England, religion was an integral part of everyday lives; the devil and hell were genuine fears amongst the majority of the population. Indeed, Brontë’s continuous biblical references and Bewick’s inclusion of a demon-like figure simply confirms this …show more content…
Indeed, the conservative Lady Eastlake (Elizabeth Rigby) suggested that if the book was written by a woman, “she had long forfeited the society of her own sex.” When ‘Jane Eyre’ was first published in 1847, it was an immediate popular and critical success: George Lewes declared it “the best novel of the season.” It could be said that this success may not have been as overwhelming if Brontë had not used the pseudonym of ‘Currer Bell’ simply due to society’s superciliousness towards women writer’s of that
This is later confirmed in her experience in the Red Room: the chamber in which her Uncle Reed died, where she “thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world.” In this sense, it could be said that Bewick’s image simply highlights Jane’s paranoia of the supernatural. Jane is directly lectured by Mr. Brocklehurst in Chapter 4, where he states how wicked children go to hell and she will too due to her “wicked heart.” Also, on his exit, Mr. Brocklehurst gives Jane a book called the ‘Child’s Guide’ which is full of stories about sinful children who die unpleasantly. Indeed, it is no surprise that this image of hell plagues young Jane’s mind in such an overwhelming way. In Victorian England, religion was an integral part of everyday lives; the devil and hell were genuine fears amongst the majority of the population. Indeed, Brontë’s continuous biblical references and Bewick’s inclusion of a demon-like figure simply confirms this …show more content…
Indeed, the conservative Lady Eastlake (Elizabeth Rigby) suggested that if the book was written by a woman, “she had long forfeited the society of her own sex.” When ‘Jane Eyre’ was first published in 1847, it was an immediate popular and critical success: George Lewes declared it “the best novel of the season.” It could be said that this success may not have been as overwhelming if Brontë had not used the pseudonym of ‘Currer Bell’ simply due to society’s superciliousness towards women writer’s of that