The Importance of Chapter 23 of Jane Eyre

Explain the importance of Chapter 23 of Jane Eyre with reference to

the rest of the novel

Chapter 23 is a very important chapter in Jane Eyre, and it influences

what happens later in the novel.

I am going to talk about the language used, the setting created, the

mood, the characters, and the themes of the book and the

socio-historic

content.

Jane Eyre was written in 1847 and published in the same year.

Charlotte Bronte was forced to publish her books under the name of

Currer Bell because women in the 1800’s were deemed as the weaker sex,

so Charlotte published Jane Eyre under a man’s name. There were 3

social classes in Charlotte’s lifetime; upper class, the rich people

who ran society; middle class, who generally became governess’ and

lower class, who never mixed with people of higher classes to them. It

was unheard of for a woman of Jane Eyre’s middle class to mix with a

man of Mr Rochester’s upper class, let alone marry him. Society was

run by men, England was a patriarchal country. Jane Eyre was

considered a revolutionary book because it showed a woman gain some

independence and a middle class woman marry a higher-class male,

something that was unheard of in those days.

Jane Eyre follows the life of Jane who begins her life as a penniless

orphan who is left in the care of her aunt and Uncle Reed. When Uncle

Reed passes away, Jane is left with her aunt and cousins who treat her

like dirt. Soon Jane is sent to Lowood institute where she is treated

just as badly. Jane leaves school with a good education and teaches at

Lowood until her good friend Miss Temple leaves. This prompts Jane to

seek employment at Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr Rochester, to teach

the owner’s love child. As Jane settl...

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...ood has changed significantly from gloomy and

boring to happy and delirious. Of course we know the mood in the novel

will go down again, but I think chapter 23 of Jane Eyre is the first

time in the novel that Jane is completely at ease with herself and her

companions.

In conclusion, I believe that chapter 23 is a very important and

significant part of the novel and that it does influence the rest of

the story for all of the reasons I have outlined in this essay. To

summarise, chapter 23 is a pivotal point of the novel where Jane

finally gets some independence and allows herself to be loved. The

evidence I have presented outlines this view of the title of this

essay. In my opinion there is no dispute that chapter 23 is a highly

important and altering chapter in Jane Eyre, which goes on to,

influence the rest of the novel and change the way Jane behaves.