Sarah Taylor

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Chapters 1-10
In the first 10 chapters of Jane Eyre, the reader sees the main character, Jane Eyre, through many different archtypes. In these chapters, Charlotte Bronte shows her as an outcast, a scapegoat, and a hero.

Jane is an outcast because she is different from everyone in Gateshead Hall. She doesn't belong or fit in. John Reed, the young master of the house, says to her "you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not live here with gentlemen's children like us... (Bronte 12)." Jane's parents both died when she was young. This makes her an outcast because she is the only one who doesn't have parents. When Jane talks about her experinces in the Reed house, she says, "I was a discord in Gateshead Hall: i was like nobody there; I had nothing in harmony with Mrs. Reed or her children, or her chosen vassalage (Bronte 18)." Jane knows that she is different from the rest and that she can't do anything to change that. Even when she goes to Lowood, she is still an outcast. Mr. Brocklehurst, the owner of Lowood, hates her and he calls her "a little castaway (Bronte 91)." He tells the rest of the children that she is evil and he says, "you must be on your guard against her; you must shun her example; if necessary, avoid her company, exclude her from your sports, and shut her out from your converse (Bronte 91)." He calls himself a christian man, but he isn't because he is making everyone turn against her and not be her friend.

Jane is a scapegoat because she gets blamed for everything that other people do. John Reed gets away with everything and leaves her to recieve the blame. Jane says, "I had no appeal whatever against either his menaces or his inflictions; the servants did not like to offend their young master by taking my part against him, and Mrs. Reed was blind and deaf on the subject: she never saw him strike or heard him abuse me... (Bronte 11)." Jane lives a hard life at Gateshead Hall, because she has no one to defend her. Mrs. Reed worships her son and she thinks that he is a saint. She thinks everything he does is for the good and she never questions him. The servants don't take her side, because they will most likely be fired if they do.

Jane is a hero because she is courageous and wants justice. The reader first sees this act of bravery while she is with John Reed. When he trys to attack her she says that she "recieved him in frantic sort (Bronte 12)." She doesn't wait around for him to beat her up. She takes action and protects herself. Another time Jane is brave is when she stands up to Mrs. Reed. She realizes that Mrs. Reed is the worst caretaker and she says to her, "I am glad you are no realtion of mine: I will never call you aunt again as long as I live. I will never come to see you when i am grown up... People think you a good woman, but you are bad, hard-hearted. You are deceitful (Bronte 48)." This quote really shows Jane's brave side because she is really young, but she still has the strength to tell an adult how she feels. Her whole life she was "oppressed, suffocated (Bronte 20)" and now she has the "strangest sense of freedom, of triump (Bronte 49)."

Chapters 11-20
In the next ten chapters, Jane decides to leave Lowood and become a governess and Thornfield. More characters begin to appear in Thronfield and we begin to see the character's archtypes and more of of Jane's archtypes.In the first ten chapters Jane is seen as a hero, a scapegoat, and an outcast. When she moves to Thornfield she is still seen as an outcast at times. She is seen as an outcast because she is alone/lonely. For example, when she first arrives at Millcote no one comes to pick her up and she says, "the charm of adventure sweetens that sensation, the glow of pride warms it; but then the throb of fear distrubs it; and fear with me became predominant when half-an-hour elapsed and still I was alone (Bronte 129)." She thinks that no one was going to come and get her and she didn't like the fear of being alone again. Jane is also sometimes left out at Thronfield and with all the events that take place in the house. She hears strange screams and laughter at night, but no one tells her anything. She says, "there was a mystery at Thornfield; and that from participation in that mystery i was purposely excluded (Bronte 226)." Again Jane realizes that she is being excluded from something. Everyone in the house seems to know what's going on and they won't tell her.

In these chapters the readers meet Blanche Ingram. I think that she is the temptress or the black goddess. This is because she is young and beautiful, but she is still going for an elderly, wealthy, ugly man. Everyone thinks she is the prettiest, sweetest, most perfect women, but deep inside she is evil. For example, she is really kind to Adele when Mr. Rochester is in the room, but she becomes cruel to her when he leaves. She treats her with "coldness and acrimony (Bronte 253)." When Jane describes her she says, "she was very showy, but she was not genuine... her mind was poor, her heart barren by nature...she was not good; she was not original (Bronte 253)." Jane is the only one that sees Blanche for who she really is. She sees past her act and beauty.

I think that Mr. Rochester is the evil figure with the ultimately good heart. This is because he is a very dark, secretive man, but Jane still sees love and gentleness in him. When Jane describes him she says, "he was proud, sardonic, harsh to inferiority of every description: in my secret soul I knew that his great kindness to me was balanced by unjust serverity to many others (Bronte 200)." She describes him as a monster or someone that no one wants to be friends with. She thinks that he mistreats multiple people, but she still says, "so happy, so gratified did I become with this new interest added to life, that i ceased to pine after kindred...my bodily health improved; I gathered flesh and strength (Bronte 200)." She realizes Mr. Rochester is the reason for her good health and her happiness. She sees that he has a good side and that without him she would be misearable. Blanche discusses her favorite musicians with the men and she picks Bothwell. She says this is because "man is nothing without a spice of the devil in him (Bronte 243)." When Rochester asks who in the room is most like Bothwell, everyone says him. This shows that even his friends think that he has a little devil in him.

Chapters 21-30
In these chapters we still see Jane as an outcast. When she goes back to Gateshead to visit Mrs.Reed on her death bed, her cousins and Mrs. Reed still treat her with inferiority and they make her feel unwanted. Although, close to the end of the chapters Janes accepts that she will always be an outcast and that she will always be different. When she talks to Mr. Rochester she says, "the more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself (Bronte 437)." Through that she realizes that she can care for herself and that she does not need other's approvals.

In the character archetypes Jane is seen as a hero. This is because she contines to step up for her rights and morals. For example Jane refuses Mr. Rochester's proposal to live with him after she finds out about his crazy wife. Jane says to Mr. Rochester, "sir, your wife is living: that is a fact acknowledged this morning by yourself. If I lived with you as you desire, I should then be your mistress...(Bronte 421)." Jane realizes that she can't marry Mr. Rochester because his wife is still alive. She realizes that marrying him would be disowning her morals. She even says to him,  "Mr. Rochester, I will not be yours (Bronte 435)." This sentence is really small and to the point, but it shows that Jane will be willing to give up love to respect herself and her morals. Jane is also a hero when she decides to leave Mr. Rochester and Thronfield. She knows that she has no family or wealth, and soon she will have no job, but she realizes that she can't stay in the same house with a married man. She still loves Mr. Rochester, but being with him would only break her morals.

Jane and Mr. Rochester are seen as star-crossed lovers. They are in love, but their relationship is doomed from the very beginning. Society and class is a big part of it. Jane believes that Mr. Rochester could never love her because of her social class and plainness. When she thinks this, she starts to not believe him when he proposes to her and worships her. She finds out later on that her distrust towards him was right. Bertha, Mr. Rochester's crazy wife, is also another reason for them not being together. When Jane realizes that Mr. Rochester is married, she concludes that Mr. Rochester's "real affection, it seemed, he could not have for [her]; it had been only fitful passion (Bronte 411)." She becomes aware that staying with Mr. Rochester would make her his mistress and she realizes that she does not want to be anyone's mistress.

A symbolic archetype seen in these chapters was the crossroads. The crossroads are seen multiple times and they show the outcomes of Jane's decisions. Jane chooses to go back to visit her sick aunt, even after all the horrible treatments she had recieved from her. While there she learns the art of forgiveness and acceptance. Another crossroad is when Jane chooses to leave Thronfield. Through this she learns about self-respect and determination.

Jane's situational archetype in these chapters is the fall. The fall is going from a higher to a lower state of being. Jane's fall is when she leaves Thronfield and enters a random village. Entering the village is her lowest moment in the whole novel, because during this time she begs people for food. She gets so desperate that she eats cold leftover porridge that was supposed to be for the pigs. This is the second time in her life that Jane eats cold porridge. The first time is when she is at lowood and the second time she is on the streets. In chapter twenty-eight, Jane even says that while walking she "fell twice (Bronte 457)." This quote proves that she psychologicaly fell and that she physically fell too.

Chapters 31-38
In these chapters Jane ends up at a place called Moor House. While there, she finds out that the three people staying there are actually her cousins. In these chapters we meet Diana, Mary, and St. John. St. John is almost like a trickster. A trickster is mischievous, disrupt, amoral, and they usually reveal something about society. St. John isn't mischievous, but he manipulates her. He manipulates her into learning Hindostance, the language he is learning for India. He also tries to manipulate her to marry him and he says, "I shall be absent a fortnight--take that space of time to consider my offer: and do not forget that if you reject it, it is not me you deny, but God (Bronte 565)." He uses God when he proposes to her. He tells her that God will judge her and be disappointed in her if she doesn't accept him. Jane sees that he is manipulative and she says, "and I, like a fool, never thought of resisting him--I could not resist him (Bronte 552)." His "christian" beliefs and practices reveal that society tries to use people by telling them false things. Not every christian is nice.

Symbolic archetypes: Jane and St. John are fire vs. ice. Jane is fire and St. John is ice. In fire vs. ice, the fire represents knowledge, light, life, and rebirth while ice represents ignorance, darkness, sterility, death. Even while talking to St. John, Jane says, "whereas I am hot, and fire dissolves ice (Bronte 531)." In saying this, she proves to St. John that ice isn't as powerful as fire. Jane understands more about the true christian religion, while St. John isn't.

Supernatural intervention: this is when the gods intervene on the side of the hero or sometimes against the hero. In this case, the gods intervened on Jane's side. one of the most important part of the novel is when St. John tries to make Jane accept his proposal, by putting her into some sort of "spell." While under his "spell," Jane suddenly opens her eyes. She says, " I saw nothing, but i heard a voice somewher cry-'Jane! Jane! Jane! (Bronte 580)." Jane comes to the conclusion that the voice belongs to no other but Mr. Rochester. When she returns to see him, he tells her that God really heard his prayers, because he prayed to have her back. He says, "I longed for thee Janet! Oh, I longed for thee both with soul and flesh! I asked of God, at once in anguish and humility (Bronte 621)." Jane realizes that what she thought was a dream of Mr. Rochester calling her, actually happened.

The mad women in the attic: in the story the mad women is Bertha. In her case, she is actually a lunatic, who lives on the third story (attic). She was mentally insane and in the last chapters, she was the one that burned down Thornfield and then commited suicide.