How Has Jane Eyre Changed Gothic Literature

From Penny Dreadful magazines to German Schauerroman, Gothic themes, popularized in the Victorian era, saturated Romantic literature with tales of gore and spine-shivering madness. Among the plethora of authors experimenting with this genre was Charlotte Brontë, whose groundbreaking novel, Jane Eyre, forever changed Gothic literature. Indeed, the grandiose but desolate buildings and English gardens thick fog furnishing the Victorian England landscape exhibits all the signs of a proper Gothic setting. However, Brontë distinguishes her novel with one brilliant twist: it is narrated by a female protagonist. Jane Eyre explores the titular Jane's coming of age story, and her struggle to conquer society's patronizing impositions on women. In particular, Jane’s conflict manifests itself in a romantic relationship between Jane and Mr. Edward Rochester, and with their eventual marriage, Jane resolves
Rochester’s insane wife. Throughout the novel, Bronte leads the reader to attribute the attacks to a vampire of some sort, when in actuality, there exists a logical explanation. Regardless, when Jane first encounters Bertha, she cannot discern, “what it was, whether beast or human being… it groveled seemingly, on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal: but it was covered with clothing, and a quantity of dark, grizzled hair, wild as a mane, hid its head and face (316).” Notice how Jane continuously refers to Bertha as an “it,” even though Jane was already informed in advance the creature was Rochester’s wife. Instead of fully rationalizing Bertha’s actions, Bronte prominently blurs the line between human and animal when describing Bertha. As a result, she maintains some element of the supernatural, without leaving the attacks unexplained. Though improbable, Bertha’s derangement is hardly beyond the