Importance of Art in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Importance of Art in Jane Eyre

It is said that art is like a mirror to the soul, a way to see what

the artist is feeling deep down in their heart. It is as if their most

personal thoughts and ideas are reflected in their work, either consciously

or unconsciously. Charlotte Brontë utilizes this fact in her imagery and

portrait of Jane Eyre. Color and vivid description play a vital role

explaining the process of emotional and physical maturation throughout the

novel, from young Jane's recollection of the red room in Gateshead to her

final reminiscence of Ferndean's gloomy facade. There is no better example

of this process than Jane's own artistic abilities as they progress through

life.

To best examine and explore the progress of Jane's emotional and

temperamental development, it is important to construct a frame of

reference, to have a base from which to work towards her final character.

Her childhood home, Gateshead provides the groundwork of her

emotional/character being, which at the beginning of the story is an

isolated creature, devoid of loving and nurturing contact and shunned by

humanity. Two excerpts from her stay at Gateshead illustrate this fact,

her reading of Bewick's "History of British Birds," and her punishment for

striking Master John, the stay in the red room of Gateshead. In the

opening scene, Jane is found perusing a copy of Bewick's "History of

British Birds," concentrating on the descriptions of the certain landscapes

in which some of the birds live. Her words paint a mental picture, one

that represents her childhood,

"Of these death-white realms I formed an idea of my o...

... middle of paper ...

...ituality from Helen Burns" is by no means

meaningless, but it lacks depth. To present another facet into the story,

imagery reflects the conditions of Jane's life, conferring a tangible and

viable outlet for her imagination, and a vehicle to her soul. As her life

develops, so does her ability, and the enjoyment she receives from this

talent. Truly, Jane Eyre would still be a great novel in the absence of

the painting, but it would make it that much harder to touch the fabric of

it's character's being.

Bibliography

Brontë, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press,

1996.

Endnotes

1) Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre (Boston: Bedford Books of St. Martin's Press,

1996), p. 21.

2) Brontë, p. 131.

3) Brontë, p.132.

4) Brontë, p. 233.