Meghan Burry Dr. Wohlgemut English 435 16 February 2017 Superstition”: The Natural and the Supernatural in Charlotte Brontë’s “Down Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë’s novel, explores tropes of feminism, classism, and religion. Jane Eyre, However, some of the most unique and unorthodox aspects of the plot are its seemingly occurrences. Brontë incorporates these occurrences through to the “supernatural” “reference Gothic mode of writing . . . teeming with supernatural experiences and insanity, the Gothic created a distinct genre of eeriness and morbidity” (Boghian 55). Through the Gothic elements presented in the text heightened emotions, romance, and a setting that reflects psychology – – Brontë illustrates events that, at first, seem inexplicable and supernatural to Jane. Three of Jane’s supernatural experiences happen at different settings, in different periods of her life: Gateshead Hall, Thornfield Hall, and Moore House. In these three settings, Jane’s imagination blurs the lines between the natural and the supernatural, which helps readers gain insight into Jane’s psychology and furthers both character and plot development. When approaching the supernatural discourses that are at work in the Jane Eyre, definitions of the and the elucidate the binary between the subjective “supernatural” “natural” and the objective: to the supernatural command attention” because they contribute to “references the novel’s representation of what is contrastingly (Smajić 6). According to the Oxford “natural” English Dictionary, the supernatural is to or thought to reveal some force beyond “attributed scientific understanding or the laws of nature” or is than what is natural or ordinary; “more unnaturally or extraordinarily great; abnormal” (OED). For this paper, the supernatural will be
Meghan Burry Dr. Wohlgemut English 435 16 February 2017 “Down Superstition”: The Natural and the Supernatural in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre, explores tropes of feminism, classism, and religion. However, some of the most unique and unorthodox aspects of the plot are its seemingly “supernatural” occurrences. Brontë incorporates these occurrences through “reference to the Gothic mode of writing . . . teeming with supernatural experiences and insanity, the Gothic created a distinct genre of eeriness and morbidity” (Boghian 55). Through the Gothic elements presented in the text – heightened emotions, romance, and a setting that reflects psychology – Brontë illustrates events that, at first, seem inexplicable and supernatural to Jane. Three of Jane’s supernatural experiences happen at different settings, in different periods of her life: Gateshead Hall, Thornfield Hall, and Moore House. In these three settings, Jane’s imagination blurs the lines between the natural and the supernatural, which helps readers gain insight into Jane’s psychology and furthers both character and plot development. When approaching the supernatural discourses that are at work in Jane Eyre, the definitions of the “supernatural” and the “natural” elucidate the binary between the subjective and the objective: “references to the supernatural command attention” because they contribute to the novel’s representation of what is contrastingly “natural” (Smajić 6). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the supernatural is “attributed to or thought to reveal some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature” or is “more than what is natural or ordinary; unnaturally or extraordinarily great; abnormal” (OED). For this paper, the supernatural will be