Jane Eyre Quotes Flashcards
“I had feared him”
Chapter 1, p12- Jane is scared of John reed- patriarchal power
“Mrs Reed was blind and deaf on the matter”
Chapter 1, p12- Injustice, unfairness- Jane is treated with no respect or fairness
“I don’t very well know what I did with my hands”
Chapter 1, p14- Jane refuses to submit.
“She’s like a mad cat”
Chapter 2, p15- femininity, passion, violence, cruelty, dehumanised
“red-room”
Chapter 2- interpreted as a womb- rebirth, transformation.
“I had often heard the song before… But now, though her voice was still sweet, I found in its melody an indescribable sadness”
Chapter 3, p26- childhood corrupted, red room changed her perspective on life
“I looked up at - a black pillar!”
Chapter 4, p38- stern, rigid, domineering, ominous
“That proves you have a wicked heart; and you must pray to God to change it: to give you a new and clean one: to take away your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Chapter 4, p40- female purity, she doesn’t like the Psalms so is impure
“I will never call you aunt again as long as I live.”
Chapter 4, p44- isolated from family, powerful, defiant
“Thus was I severed from Bessie and Gateshead.”
Chapter 5, p51- isolation, alone, solitude
“they were uniformly dressed in brown stuff frocks of quaint fashion and long holland pinafores.”
Chapter 5, p52- modesty- girls expected to be clean, modest and pure.
“Disgusting! The porridge is burnt again!”
Chapter 5, p54- poverty, class divide
“I have ordered that a lunch of bread and cheese shall be served to all.”
Chapter 5, p57- Miss Temple is kind and caring for the girls- juxtapose Mr Brocklehurst
“not a feature of her pensive face altered its ordinary expression”
Chapter 6, p65- Helen is strong, powerful, resistant, defiant
“Miss Temple is full of goodness: it pains her to be severe to anyone”
Chapter 6, 67- Miss Temple is beloved, the epitome of kindness and purity
“It is not violence that best overcomes hate - nor vengeance that most certainly heals injury.”
Chapter 6, 69- Helen teaches Jane how to be calm, pure and how to regulate her emotions.
“Our clothing was insufficient to protect us from the severe cold”
Chapter 7, p71- the school is dangerous, unfair and insufficient for the girls. Brocklehurst is so frugal he is neglecting the girls.
“Naturally! Yes but we are not to conform to nature. I wish these girls to be the children of Grace.”
Chapter 7, p76- unfairly judges them- wants them to be pure by reducing their appearance and limiting them.
“had gray beaver hats, then in fashion, shaded with ostrich plums, …and she wore a false front of French curls”
Chapter 7, p77- epitome of hypocrisy, classism, MARXISM
“I learned from her benefactress - from the pious and charitable lady who adopted her in her orphan state… and whose kindness…the unhappy girl repaid by an ingratitude so bad…[she] was obliged to separate her from her own young ones”
Chapter 7, p79- shaming her into submission, unfair, deceitful
“you are too impulsive, too vehement”
Chapter 8, p83- Helen believes Jane to be too passionate and teaches her how to remain calm.
“Why, then, should we ever sink overwhelmed with distress, when life is so soon over, and death is so certain an entrance to happiness - to glory?”
Chapter 8, p83- Helen shows how she lives to prepare herself for the afterlife. Her goal is Heaven and she will do anything to reach it.
“a beauty neither of find colour nor long eyelash…, but of meaning, of movement, of radiance”
Chapter 8, p87- Helen is presented as physically pure, kind and light- angelic. Physiognomy.
“Miss Temple embraced us both, saying, as she drew us to her heart ‘God bless you, my children!’”
Chapter 8, p87- motherly, maternal, kind, friendly, caring
“By dying young I shall escape great sufferings.”
Chapter 9, p97- Helen is at peace with her illness/ dying, comfortable with her place in the afterlife.
“I believe; I have faith: I am going to God.”
Chapter 9, p97- comfortable with her place in the afterlife, pure, innocent, virtuous
“but now a gray marble tablet marks the spot, inscribed with her name and the word ‘Resurgam’”
Chapter 9, p98- indication of Jane’s future wealth, paints Helen as a godly/ angelic figure- Helen rises again through her influence on Jane.
“Mr Rochester’s visits here are rare, they are always sudden and unexpected.”
Chapter 11, p123- Rochester is mysterious and unpredictable- creates a sense of suspicion around him.
“with its two rows of small, black doors all shut, like a corridor in some Bluebeard’s castle”
Chapter 11, p126- mystery, secrecy, deception- something amiss about Thornfield- foreshadow Bertha
“It was a curious laugh - distinct, formal, mirthless.”
Chapter 11, p126- secrecy, supernatural, foreshadows discovery of Bertha- haunted.
“Women are supposed to be calm generally: but women feel just as men feel”
Chapter 12, p129- gender equality- commenting on how a woman’s feelings are no different to a man- powerful
“they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer”
Chapter 12, p130- the only difference between a man and woman is how they are limited and restrained differently- men are free women are not.
“Man and horse were down; they had slipped on the sheet of ice which glazed the causeway.”
Chapter 12, p133- damsel in distress, reversal of gender roles
“I have no broken bones - only a sprain”
Chapter 12, p134- feminine, weak, reversal of gender roles- overly dramatic.
“He had a dark face, with stern features and a heavy brow”
Chapter 12, p134- mysterious, byronic hero
“broad and jetty eyebrows, his square forehead, made squarer by the horizontal sweep of his black hair.”
Chapter 13, p141- mysterious, moody, seductive, arrogant, intelligent, cynical
“there was something in the forced stiff bow, in the impatient yet formal tone”
Chapter 13, p141- impatience, cruel, disrespectful, rude
“And you girls probably worshipped him, as a convent full of religieuses would worship their director.”
Chapter 13, p145- patriarchal- assumes they submitted to Brocklehurst.
“I don’t know whether they were entirely of your doing; probably a master aided you”
Chapter 13, p146- sardonic, rude, believes she doesn’t have enough skill or talent to do them herself- patriarchy underestimating women
“One gleam of light lifted into relief a half-submerged mast, on which sat a cormorant, dark and large”
Chapter 13, p147- foreboding image of the future- ‘cormorant’ symbol of greed/ deception and a warning from the dead.
“supporting it, drew up before the lower features a sable veil; a brow quite bloodless, white as bone and an eye hollow and fixed, blank of meaning”
Chapter 13, p148- imagery of despair- foreshadowing future with marriage imagery.
“I should have liked something clearer: but Mrs Fairfax either could not, or would not, give me more explicit information of the origin and nature of Mr Rochester’s trials.”
Chapter 13, p150- mysterious, Byronic hero, ambiguous character, trauma?
“it seemed a matter of course to obey him”
Chapter 14, p153- dominance, patriarchy, obedience
“Do you think me handsome?… No, sir.”
Chapter 14, p154- blunt, honest, realistic, open, testing her/ self-absorbed
“I installed her in a hotel; gave her a complete establishment of servants, a carriage, cashmeres, diamonds, dentelles, etc.”
Chapter 15, p165- dehumanises her, he is taken advantage of by her, using his wealth to control?
“This was a demoniac laugh- low suppressed, and deep uttered”
Chapter 15, p173- horror, supernatural, tension, mystery
“Something gurgled and moaned. Ere long, steps retreated up the gallery towards the third-story staircase: a door had lately been made to shut in that staircase.”
Chapter 15, p173- suspicious, tension building, what is behind the door upstairs?
“Tongues of flame darted around the bed”
Chapter 15, p174- hellish imagery, danger, warning, foreshadowing
“You have saved my life: I have a pleasure in owing you so immense a debt.”
Chapter 15, p176- feminine, weak, vulnerable, damsel in distress
“I both wished and feared to see Mr Rochester on the day which followed this sleepless night”
Chapter 16, p178- in love, infatuated, desperate
“Mr Rochester is so talented and so lively in society, that I believe he is a general favourite: the ladies are very fond of him”
Chapter 16, p184- Rochester man of society- contrasts Byronic hero- women attracted to him
“Miss Ingram was certainly the queen”
Chapter 16- p185- dominance, influence, power
“Tall, fine bust, sloping shoulders; long, graceful neck: olive complexion, dark and clear, noble features… such a fine head of hair, raven black… dressed in pure white; an amber-coloured scarf”
Chapter 16, p185- unconventional beauty- physiognomy = smart/ intelligent, connotations of evil queen/ villain
“the others only stared at me”
Chapter 17, p199- exclusion, bourgeois snobbery
“She had Roman features and a double chinm disappearing into a throat like a pillar… a fierce and a hard eye”
Chapter 17, p200- Lady Ingram comparable to Brocklehurst and Mrs Reed- sets her up to be cruel, nasty and villainous.
“she was self-conscious - remarkably self-conscious indeed”
Chapter 17, p200- Blanche arrogant, cruel, sly”
“trailing Mrs Dent”
Chapter 17, p201- cruel, mocking her
“Miss Ingram was dark as a Spaniard”
Chapter 17, p201- exotic, postcolonial - villains have darker skin tones
“the window-curtain half hides me”
Chapter 17, p202- theatre- rich putting on a performance, marginalised, excluded
“She seems waiting to be sought; but she will not wait too long: she herself selects a mate.”
Chapter 17, p204- Blanche relies on marriage- sole purpose, under pressure.
“You don’t turn sick at the sight of blood?”
Chapter 20, p241- Rochester scared, emasculated, assuming Jane to be weak, vulnerable and feeble.
“I heard thence a snarling, scratching sound, almost like a dog quarrelling”
Chapter 20, p241- dehumanisation, demonisation, animalisation
“the shadows darken on the wrought, antique tapestry round me, and grow black under the hangings of the vast old bed”
Chapter 20, p243- foreshadows Jane’s own encounter with Bertha- dreams
“She worried me like a tigress”
Chapter 20, p245- animalistic- power??
“She sucked the blood: she said she’d drain my heart”
Chapter 20, p246- reflect fear of female sexuality in society- postcolonial view
“a straight-skirted black stuff dress, a stretched linen collar, hair combed away from the temples, and the nun-like ornament of a string of ebony beads and a crucifix”
Chapter 21, p 263- Eliza devoted to a life of purity, extreme version of pure woman
“very plump damsel, fair as waxwork with handsome and regular features”
Chapter 21, p263- gluttony, not pure, feminine
“it looked as stylish as the other’s looked puritanical”
Chapter 21, p263- extreme versions of women- purity vs femininity
“How are you, dear aunt?”
Chapter 21, p266- reflects Jane’s change- calls Aunt Reed ‘aunt’
“I have no more money to give him: we are getting poor…. John gambles dreadfully, and always loses - poor boy!”
Chapter 21, p266- cares only for John- relates back to first chapter.
“I dream sometimes that I see him laid out with a great wound in his throat, or with a swollen and blackened face.”
Chapter 21, p268- foreshadows suicide, shameful, blood spilled = impure
“she divided her time into regular portions and each hour had its allotted task”
Chapter 21, p270- regimented, limited, pure
“Georgiana, a more vain and absurd animal than you was certainly never allowed to cumber the earth. You had no right to be born”
Chapter 21, p271- disapproves of her sisters lifestyle- total opposites.
“Instead of living for, in, and with yourself, as a reasonable being ought, you seek only to fasten your feebleness on some other person’s strength”
Chapter 21, p271- disapproves of her desire to marry- only purpose.
“Everybody knows you are the most selfish, heartless creature in existence”
Chapter 21, p272- neither Georgiana or Eliza approve of one another’s lifestyle- excessive purity vs excessive femininity.
“I disliked you too fixedly and thoroughly ever to lend a hand in lifting you to prosperity.”
Chapter 21, p275- Mrs Reed inherently cruel- holds burden on Jane by stopping her from living a good life.
“I am passionate, but not vindictive. Many a time, as a little child, I should have been glad to love you if you would have let me”
Chapter 21, p276- Jane has grown and developed as a person- as a child she was vulnerable and desperate for love which she was deprived of by Mrs Reed.
“we stood at God’s feet, equal - as we are!”
Chapter 23, p292- Jane is powerful- places herself on a position of equality with Rochester- feminist
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me; I am a free human being with an independent will, which I now exert to leave you”
Chapter 23, p293- powerful, defiant, independent
“I love you as my own flesh. You - poor and obscure, and small and plain as you are - I entreat to accept me as a husband.”
Chapter 23, p294- Rochester is truly in love with Jane- both plain, equality.
“the great horse-chestnut at the bottom of the orchard had been struck by lightning in the night, and half of it split away”
Chapter 23, p296- symbolic of Rochester’s sins/ adultery- half of couple bound for hell
“I am you plain, Quakerish governess”
Chapter 24, p299- self-deprecating- humble to the extent that it is dramatic and she is shedding herself of her identity.
“I was burdened with the charge of a little child”
Chapter 25, p324- protecting identity/ innocence
“I belt forward to take a last look; the wall crumbled, I was shaken; the child rolled from my knee, I lost my balance, fell, and woke.”
Chapter 25, p326- mirroring Bertha at the end- subconscious connection- loss of innocence/ purity
“It was a discoloured face - it was a savage face.”
Chapter 25, p327- postcolonial- associate racial minorities with savage/ dehumanised
“This, sir, was purple, the lips were swelled and dark”
Chapter 25, p327- postcolonial- presented as abnormal
“Sir, it removed my veil from its gaunt head, rent it in two parts, and flinging both on the floor, trampled on them.”
Chapter 25, p327- defiance- metaphorically tainting the marriage, disapproving, represents betrayal
“Bertha Mason is mad; and she came of a mad family… Her mother, the Creole, was both a madwoman and a drunkard!”
Chapter 26, p337- postcolonial- impure blood/ heritage
“whether beast or human being, one could not, at first sight, tell: it grovelled, seemingly on all fours; it snatched and growled like some strange wild animal”
Chapter 26, p338- animalistic, insane, dehumanised
“A fierce cry seemed to give the lie to her favourable report: the clothed hyena rose up, and stood tall on its hind-feet”
Chapter 26, p338- untameable, feral, hyenas symbolic of ferocity, chaos, cunning, escape
“The maniac bellowed: she parted her shaggy locks from her visage and gazed wildly at her visitors”
Chapter 26, p338- uncontrollable, insane, animalistic
“grappled his throat viciously and laid her teeth to his cheek”
Chapter 26, p338- vampire imagery
“Jane! will you hear reason?… because, if you won’t, I’ll try violence.”
Chapter 27, p349- threatens to abuse her if she disobeys- patriarchal dominance/ control
“I found her a fine woman, in the style of Blanche Ingram: tall, dark, and majestic.”
Chapter 27, p352- interested in exotic women
“a solemn passion is conceived in my heart… and, kindling in pure, powerful flame, fuses you and me in one”
Chapter 27, 363- twin flame connection, souls connected, in love
“the coachman has set me down at a place called Whitcross”
Chapter 28, p371- metaphorically at a cross roads in life, allusion to god/ religion- reliance on faith.
“Not a tie holds me to human society”
Chapter 28, p371- isolated, alone, solitary
“I have no relative but the universal mother, Nature”
Chapter 28, p372- turn to nature for support/ guidance- mother nature nurturing/ protective
“I was seized with shame: my tongue would not utter the request I had prepared”
Chapter 28, p375- ashamed, pride, cares more for her reputation than her life/ health
“‘My strength is quite failing me,’ I said in a soliloquy. ‘I feel I cannot go much farther. Shall I be an outcast again this night?’”
Chapter 28, p379- struggling, getting close to death
“This light was my forlorn hope: I must gain it.”
Chapter 28, p380- last chance to be saved, faith, hope
“My star vanished as I drew near”
Chapter 28, p381- allusions to Bethlehem/ Bible- faith guiding her, reliance on God.
“I cannot call them handsome - they were too pale and grave for the word”
Chapter 28, p382- purity, kindness, opposite to Blanche Ingram
“Both were fair complexioned and slenderly made; both possessed faces full of distinction and intelligence”
Chapter 28, p384- epitome of purity, parallels with Helen Burns§
“If I were a masterless and stray dog, I know that you would not turn me from your hearth to-night”
Chapter 28, p388- comparable to Bertha- alone/ isolated in the world, destitute, dependent on people’s kindness.
“pure white - a youthful, graceful form”
Chapter 31, p418- Rosamond Oliver pure, innocent, angelic, ideal woman
“inexorable as death”
Chapter 31, p421- cannot be convinced to be happy/ see the light in life, martyry
“he would not give once chance of heaven, nor relinquish, for the elysium of her love, one hope of the true eternal Paradise”
Chapter 32, p 424- stubborn, selfish, compares her love to something unholy/ sinful
“My great work? My foundation laid on earth for a mansion in Heaven?”
Chapter 32, p431- preaching for own self gain- intentions not necessarily pure.
“Your fortune is vested in the English funds”
Chapter 33, p441- postcolonial- English money pure/ legitimate
“And you cannot at all imagine the craving I have for fraternal and sisterly love.”
Chapter 33, p447- regaining identity and a family- bildungsroman novel format
“I am the servant of an infallible Master”
Chapter 34, p463- devoted to God/ religion
“A missionary’s wife you must - shall be. You shall be mind: I claim you - not for my pleasure, but for my Sovereign’s service.”
Chapter 34, p464- forcing her to marry him in the name of God- manipulation using religion, parallels with Brocklehurst
“My mind is at this moment like a rayless dungeon, with one shrinking fear fettered in its depths”
Chapter 34, p465- no hope/ happiness in marriage to St John- marriage for love not status
“I want a wife: the sole helpmeet I can influence efficiently in life, and retain absolutely till death”
Chapter 34, p468- objectifying women- wants to possess her- parallels with Eve being Adam’s helpmeet
“do not forget that if you reject it, it is not me you deny, but God”
Chapter 34, p471- religious manipulation, threatening her with sin/ impurity
“If I were to marry you, you would kill me. You are killing me now.”
Chapter 35, p475- couldn’t think of anything worse than marrying him- defiant, contemporary audiences view this as disrespectful.
“God did not give me my life to throw away; and to do as you wish me would, I begin to think, be almost equivalent to committing suicide.”
Chapter 35, p477- marrying St John would be the same as killing herself to Jane- no pleasure in marrying for purpose
“I saw a blackended ruin”
Chapter 36, p489- symbolic of his social status, hellish landscape
“The lawn, the grounds were trodden and waste: the portal yawned void. The front was, as I had once seen it in a dream, but a shell-like wall…- all had crashed in.”
Chapter 36, p489- Rochester’s karma for his sins, predicted in dream- inevitable, can still bloom like the relationship does
“against the flames as she stood… and the next minute she lay smashed on the pavement”
Chapter 36, page 493- presents Bertha as demonic/ hellish- graphic imagery shows little care, respect or sympathy.
“He is now helpless, indeed - blind and a cripple.”
Chapter 36, p494- emasculated, weak, reliant on Jane- punishment for being with other women while he was married, wandering eye
“Reader I married him.”
Chapter 38, p517- powerful, in control, arguably dissatisfying for feminists.
