Jane Eyre was published in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte. The same year, Wuthering Heights was published by Emily Bronte (of course, under their respective pseudonyms- Currer and Ellis Bell). It seems there were more things in common with these books than just the sisters who wrote them. The characters and themes are shared between the two classics. Gothic elements, like the presence of ‘something more’. The supernatural. But, where Wuthering Heights contained explicit proof of the supernatural with Catherine’s ghost- I found that the answer was not as distinct in Jane Eyre. Analysis became a battle of the rational versus the supernatural. Charlotte Bronte’s book is plunged into a realistic world yet there is conflict with certain gothic elements
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What if that is what really happened in the red room; her ability to sense led to her actually experience an apparition. And, perhaps, is able to use that to sense Rochester’s need for her, manifested as a call. ‘My heart beat fast and thick: I heard its throb…The feeling was not like an electric shock; but it was quite as sharp, as strange, as startling…eye and ear waited, while the flesh quivered on my bones.’ (357) This ‘feeling’ is similar to what she experienced in the red room. Then she goes on: ‘I saw nothing: but I heard a voice somewhere cry- ‘Jane! Jane! Jane!’ nothing more…it did not come out of the air- nor from under the earth- nor from overhead. I had heard it- where, or whence, for ever impossible to know.’ (357) Or maybe that is not it at …show more content…
It is more fun to read about soulmates who are connected on something like an astral level, rather than some psychological phenomenon. I have a feeling reading Wuthering Heights first had some modicum of influence in me so readily attributing certain events as supernatural, but I do not think that is necessarily a bad thing. In the real world, we can use science and psychology and common sense and years of existence as explanation, but here, in fiction- there is no need for analytics. And I am quite ok with that. Actually, I prefer it. Even as a person that loves analysis and science and the explanation of certain phenomena that seem impossible, I still prefer reading this book with that sprig of the unknown, the unexplained. Escapism is fun for a reason because in our world there is always a running commentary. Analyzing everything. People dedicating time to picking out every flaw in a movie. Or trying to see how it is possible to make cards disappear and reappear at will. And as one of those people, even I like a simple ‘it’s due to the paranormal or the supernatural’ explanation. It makes things easier. There is nothing to over-analyze when the explanation is so all-encompassing and
What if that is what really happened in the red room; her ability to sense led to her actually experience an apparition. And, perhaps, is able to use that to sense Rochester’s need for her, manifested as a call. ‘My heart beat fast and thick: I heard its throb…The feeling was not like an electric shock; but it was quite as sharp, as strange, as startling…eye and ear waited, while the flesh quivered on my bones.’ (357) This ‘feeling’ is similar to what she experienced in the red room. Then she goes on: ‘I saw nothing: but I heard a voice somewhere cry- ‘Jane! Jane! Jane!’ nothing more…it did not come out of the air- nor from under the earth- nor from overhead. I had heard it- where, or whence, for ever impossible to know.’ (357) Or maybe that is not it at …show more content…
It is more fun to read about soulmates who are connected on something like an astral level, rather than some psychological phenomenon. I have a feeling reading Wuthering Heights first had some modicum of influence in me so readily attributing certain events as supernatural, but I do not think that is necessarily a bad thing. In the real world, we can use science and psychology and common sense and years of existence as explanation, but here, in fiction- there is no need for analytics. And I am quite ok with that. Actually, I prefer it. Even as a person that loves analysis and science and the explanation of certain phenomena that seem impossible, I still prefer reading this book with that sprig of the unknown, the unexplained. Escapism is fun for a reason because in our world there is always a running commentary. Analyzing everything. People dedicating time to picking out every flaw in a movie. Or trying to see how it is possible to make cards disappear and reappear at will. And as one of those people, even I like a simple ‘it’s due to the paranormal or the supernatural’ explanation. It makes things easier. There is nothing to over-analyze when the explanation is so all-encompassing and