jane eyre a-c ch 1-10 Flashcards
- abate
become less in amount or intensity
Helen regarded me, probably with surprise: I could not now abate my agitation, though I tried hard; I continued to weep aloud.
- abhor
find repugnant
I abhor artifice, particularly in children; it is my duty to show you that tricks will not answer: you will now stay here an hour longer, and it is only on condition of perfect submission and stillness that I shall liberate you then.”
- abode
any address at which you dwell more than temporarily
I doubted not–never doubted–that if Mr. Reed had been alive he would have treated me kindly; and now, as I sat looking at the white bed and overshadowed walls–occasionally also turning a fascinated eye towards the dimly gleaning mirror–I began to reca
- absolve
grant remission of a sin to
“Well, Helen?” said I, putting my hand into hers: she chafed my fingers gently to warm them, and went on–
“If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be
- accelerate
move faster
First, I smiled to myself and felt elate; but this fierce pleasure subsided in me as fast as did the accelerated throb of my pulses.
- accommodation
making or becoming suitable; adjusting to circumstances
The red-room was a square chamber, very seldom slept in, I might say never, indeed, unless when a chance influx of visitors at Gateshead Hall rendered it necessary to turn to account all the accommodation it contained: yet it was one of the largest
- achieve
to gain with effort
“Unjust!–unjust!” said my reason, forced by the agonising stimulus into precocious though transitory power: and Resolve, equally wrought up, instigated some strange expedient to achieve escape from insupportable oppression–as running away,
- acquire
come into the possession of something concrete or abstract
- acrid
strong and sharp, as a taste
Georgiana, who had a spoiled temper, a very acrid spite, a captious and insolent carriage, was universally indulged.
- advert
a public promotion of some product or service
All this I enjoyed often and fully, free, unwatched, and almost alone: for this unwonted liberty and pleasure there was a cause, to which it now becomes my task to advert.
- affirm
declare solemnly and formally as true
Mr. Miles, the master, affirmed that he would do very well if he had fewer cakes and sweetmeats sent him from home; but the mother’s heart turned from an opinion so harsh, and inclined rather to the more refined idea that John’s sallowness …
- allege
report or maintain
Miss Temple, having assembled the whole school, announced that inquiry had been made into the charges alleged against Jane Eyre, and that she was most happy to be able to pronounce her completely cleared from every imputation.
- alleviate
provide physical relief, as from pain
She was not, I was told, in the hospital portion of the house with the fever patients; for her complaint was consumption, not typhus: and by consumption I, in my ignorance, understood something mild, which time and care would be sure to alleviate.
- alloy
a mixture containing two or more metallic elements
I was silent; Helen had calmed me; but in the tranquillity she imparted there was an alloy of inexpressible sadness.
- ambrosia
the food and drink of the gods
We feasted that evening as on nectar and ambrosia; and not the least delight of the entertainment was the smile of gratification with which our hostess regarded us, as we satisfied our famished appetites on the delicate fare she liberally supplied.
- ameliorate
to make better
Spring drew on: she was indeed already come; the frosts of winter had ceased; its snows were melted, its cutting winds ameliorated.
- animadversion
harsh criticism or disapproval
At that hour most of the others were sewing likewise; but one class still stood round Miss Scatcherd’s chair reading, and as all was quiet, the subject of their lessons could be heard, together with the manner in which each girl acquitted herself, and the
- animate
make lively
- antipathy
a feeling of intense dislike
John had not much affection for his mother and sisters, and an antipathy to me.
- aperture
a natural opening in something
Was it, I asked myself, a ray from the moon penetrating some aperture in the blind?
- apothecary
a health professional trained in the art of preparing drugs
Turning from Bessie (though her presence was far less obnoxious to me than that of Abbot, for instance, would have been), I scrutinised the face of the gentleman: I knew him; it was Mr. Lloyd, an apothecary, sometimes called in by Mrs. Reed when th
- apprise
inform somebody of something
I had my own reasons for being dismayed at this apparition; too well I remembered the perfidious hints given by Mrs. Reed about my disposition, &c.; the promise pledged by Mr. Brocklehurst to apprise Miss Temple and the teachers of my vicious nature
- ardent
characterized by intense emotion
Besides this earth, and besides the race of men, there is an invisible world and a kingdom of spirits: that world is round us, for it is everywhere; and those spirits watch us, for they are commissioned to guard us; and if we were dying in pain and shame,
- aromatic
having a strong pleasant odor
Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time; as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavour, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned.
- ascertain
learn or discover with confidence
“Mind you don’t,” said Bessie; and when she had ascertained that I was really subsiding, she loosened her hold of me; then she and Miss Abbot stood with folded arms, looking darkly and doubtfully on my face, as incredulous of my sanity.
- assuming
excessively forward or presumptuous
Miss Temple had looked down when he first began to speak to her; but she now gazed straight before her, and her face, naturally pale as marble, appeared to be assuming also the coldness and fixity of that material
- attest
provide evidence for
I cannot tell what sentiment haunted the quite solitary churchyard, with its inscribed headstone; its gate, its two trees, its low horizon, girdled by a broken wall, and its newly-risen crescent, attesting the hour of eventide.
- aversion
a feeling of intense dislike
All John Reed’s violent tyrannies, all his sisters’ proud indifference, all his mother’s aversion, all the servants’ partiality, turned up in my disturbed mind like a dark deposit in a turbid well.
- baffle
be a mystery or bewildering to
And then my mind made its first earnest effort to comprehend what had been infused into it concerning heaven and hell; and for the first time it recoiled, baffled; and for the first time glancing behind, on each side, and before it,
- barrister
a British lawyer who speaks in the higher courts of law
- bask
expose oneself to warmth and light, as for relaxation
The fact is, after my conflict with and victory over Mrs. Reed, I was not disposed to care much for the nursemaid’s transitory anger; and I was disposed to bask in her youthful lightness of heart.
- beguile
attract; cause to be enamored
Ev’n should I fall o’er the broken bridge passing, Or stray in the marshes, by false lights beguiled, Still will my Father, with promise and blessing, Take to His bosom the poor orphan child.
- benevolent
showing or motivated by sympathy and understanding
“Different benevolent-minded ladies and gentlemen in this neighbourhood and in London.”
- benign
kindness of disposition or manner
Next morning, Miss Scatcherd wrote in conspicuous characters on a piece of pasteboard the word “Slattern,” and bound it like a phylactery round Helen’s large, mild, intelligent, and benign-looking forehead.
- bilious
relating to a digestive juice secreted by the liver
He gorged himself habitually at table, which made him bilious, and gave him a dim and bleared eye and flabby cheeks.
- blanch
turn pale, as if in fear
I leaned against a gate, and looked into an empty field where no sheep were feeding, where the short grass was nipped and blanched.
- brackish
slightly salty
The unhealthy nature of the site; the quantity and quality of the children’s food; the brackish, fetid water used in its preparation; the pupils’ wretched clothing and accommodations–all these things were discovered,
- browbeat
discourage or frighten with threats or a domineering manner
Why was I always suffering, always browbeaten, always accused, for ever condemned?
- buxom
healthily plump and vigorous
“Silence!” ejaculated a voice; not that of Miss Miller, but one of the upper teachers, a little and dark personage, smartly dressed, but of somewhat morose aspect, who installed herself at the top of one table, while a more buxom lady presided
- cadence
the accent in a metrical foot of verse
Sometimes, preoccupied with her work, she sang the refrain very low, very lingeringly; “A long time ago” came out like the saddest cadence of a funeral hymn.
- capricious
determined by chance or impulse rather than by necessity
I remember her as a slim young woman, with black hair, dark eyes, very nice features, and good, clear complexion; but she had a capricious and hasty temper, and indifferent ideas of principle or justice:
- captivate
attract; cause to be enamored
Not that my fancy was much captivated by the idea of long chimneys and clouds of smoke–“but,” I argued, “Thornfield will, probably, be a good way from the town.”
- catechism
an elementary book summarizing the principles of a religion
The Sunday evening was spent in repeating, by heart, the Church Catechism, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh chapters of St. Matthew; and in listening to a long sermon, read by Miss Miller, whose irrepressible yawns attested her weariness.
- ceaseless
uninterrupted in time and indefinitely long continuing
Afar, it offered a pale blank of mist and cloud; near a scene of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub, with ceaseless rain sweeping away wildly before a long and lamentable blast.
- chasten
censure severely
Miss Temple had always something of serenity in her air, of state in her mien, of refined propriety in her language, which precluded deviation into the ardent, the excited, the eager: something which chastened the pleasure of those who looked on
- cherish
be very fond of
They were not bound to regard with affection a thing that could not sympathise with one amongst them; a heterogeneous thing, opposed to them in temperament, in capacity, in propensities; a useless thing, incapable of serving their interest,
- chide
censure severely or angrily
Helen Burns asked some slight question about her work of Miss Smith, was chidden for the triviality of the inquiry, returned to her place, and smiled at me as she again went by.
- circlet
a small ring-shaped object
This precious vessel was now placed on my knee, and I was cordially invited to eat the circlet of delicate pastry upon it.
- climax
the highest point of anything
The cut bled, the pain was sharp: my terror had passed its climax; other feelings succeeded.
- commence
set in motion, cause to start
I heard him in a blubbering tone commence the tale of how “that nasty Jane Eyre” had flown at him like a mad cat: he was stopped rather harshly–
- compose
form the substance of
“What?” said Mrs. Reed under her breath: her usually cold composed grey eye became troubled with a look like fear; she took her hand from my arm, and gazed at me as if she really did not know whether I were child or fiend.
- conform
be similar, be in line with
Why, in defiance of every precept and principle of this house, does she conform to the world so openly–here in an evangelical, charitable establishment–as to wear her hair one mass of curls?”
- congeal
become gelatinous
I covered my head and arms with the skirt of my frock, and went out to walk in a part of the plantation which was quite sequestrated; but I found no pleasure in the silent trees, the falling fir-cones, the congealed relics of autumn, russet leaves,
- conjecture
to believe especially on uncertain or tentative grounds
I can now conjecture readily that this streak of light was, in all likelihood, a gleam from a lantern carried by some one across the lawn: but then, prepared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift dart
- consenting
having given agreement
I say scarcely voluntary, for it seemed as if my tongue pronounced words without my will consenting to their utterance: something spoke out of me over which I had no control.
- consistency
a harmonious uniformity or agreement among things or parts
Consistency, my dear Mr. Brocklehurst; I advocate consistency in all things.”
- construe
make sense of; assign a meaning to
Then they seemed so familiar with French names and French authors: but my amazement reached its climax when Miss Temple asked Helen if she sometimes snatched a moment to recall the Latin her father had taught her,
- contagion
an incident in which an infectious disease is transmitted
The teachers were fully occupied with packing up and making other necessary preparations for the departure of those girls who were fortunate enough to have friends and relations able and willing to remove them from the seat of contagion.
- contaminate
make impure
- contrive
make or work out a plan for; devise
Fearful, however, of losing this first and only opportunity of relieving my grief by imparting it, I, after a disturbed pause, contrived to frame a meagre, though, as far as it went, true response.
- corroborate
give evidence for
About a week subsequently to the incidents above narrated,
Miss Temple, who had written to Mr. Lloyd, received his answer: it appeared that what he said went to corroborate my account.
- contrived
showing effects of planning or manipulation
Fearful, however, of losing this first and only opportunity of relieving my grief by imparting it, I, after a disturbed pause, contrived to frame a meagre, though, as far as it went, true response.
- corrode
cause to deteriorate due to water, air, or an acid
Something of vengeance I had tasted for the first time; as aromatic wine it seemed, on swallowing, warm and racy: its after-flavour, metallic and corroding, gave me a sensation as if I had been poisoned.
- creed
any system of principles or beliefs
- crevice
a long narrow opening
