Ways Terror is Cultivated in Chapter 26 of Jane Eyre

1244 Words3 Pages

Analyse the ways Charlotte Bronte creates a sense of terror in chapter 26 and comment on how this is sustained in the context of the gothic genre elsewhere in the novel.

‘Jane Eyre’ is a 19th century novel written by Charlotte Bronte. Bronte creates a sense of terror in chapter 26 in various ways, including: the rendezvous with Bertha and Bronte’s description. The gothic style also plays a big part in numerous points in the book.

Jane Eyre” is about a young orphan girl called Jane Eyre who is neglected by her aunt and grows up to be a governess, who is well educated. She marries Mr. Rochester after a series of events.

In chapter 26, Jane Eyre is preparing for her wedding. Mr. Rochester seems anxious, he wants to get to the church and get the wedding over as soon as possible. There is a sense of urgency with him especially at the start of chapter twenty-six. He says to Jane “my brain is on fire with impatience”. Traditionally, weddings are exciting days, however Rochester doesn’t reflect this. This foreshadows something is wrong, or disturbing him. When Jane and Rochester reach the church, Bronte describes two men outside the church as “two figures…strangers…straying…reading…mossy headstones”, graveyards are where people who have died are buried and in many gothic novels a graveyard is mentioned or plays a part. This adds to the foreshadowing and also links to the gothic genre as headstones and graveyards are often used in classic gothic novels such as Frankenstein. The “figures” are mentioned over and over, adding to the nervousness and making it obvious to the reader that they have some sort of role. When Bronte says “figures” it fills the reader with a sense of mystery and terror as we, the reader do not know who they...

... middle of paper ...

...oreboding room where a family member died. The red-room is where Mr. Reed died and it adds to the gothic style as the room was red. Many things are associated with red. Red symbolises blood, death and the Devil. That makes the red room, daunting and terrifying. Jane sees the “ghost” of Mr. Reed, and thinks that he’s come from beyond the grave to take revenge on Mrs. Reed who broke her promise of treating Jane like one of her own. The mention of a ghost adds to the gothic away from chapter 26 in this novel.

Overall, Charlotte Bronte uses her language to maintain the terror in chapter 26 and the gothic style elsewhere in the novel. Also Mr. Rochester’s urgency and Bertha’s animal-like behaviour add to the tension and terror in chapter 26. The setting also plays a key part in creating terror. Bronte creates terror by unleashing a built up plot in one huge moment.

Open Document