How Narrative Techniques Are Employed Within Jane Eyre
Discuss how Charlotte Bronte employs narrative techniques in the novel Jane Eyre
Throughout Jane Eyre, Bronte incorporates narrative techniques to emphasise certain points and to keep the reader’s attention. In the first few chapters of the novel we are introduced into the world she is surrounded by, with the use of very descriptive imagery, with a gothic element also incorporated for the audience to obtain a grasp of Jane’s situation. As the nature of the book develops and unravels, frequently used devices such as the incorporation of a gothic element is seen throughout many of the main chapters. For example, the lead up before the fire scene is build up through the eerie laughs made by Bertha, although at the time we do not know this. Also, using first person narration emphasises not only the personality of the narrator, but also makes the audience feel as if they are being directly addressed and included within the novel. Literary techniques are re-enforced throughout the novel to directly emphasise certain points and re-iterate subjects within the reader’s mind. For example, rhetorical questions asked by Mr. Rochester as he accuses Jane of never having felt love. The metaphors throughout the novel represent symbols for things that are needs or wants within Jane’s life, seen through food, fire and burning, the chestnut tree and the moon.
Gothic imagery appears frequently throughout the novel, as Bronte has employed this element to become a technique to achieve the flow of the narrative. Through several important scenes, the gothic imagery is prevalent. In the red room, it is described to be dark like blood, along with a mirror that provides ‘subdued, broken reflections varying the gloss of its panels’ and distorts her appearance. The red room is actually where Mr. Reed had taken his last breaths and Jane believes his ghost haunts the room, troubled by wrongdoing of his last wishes. In these few pages, the red room where a family member had passed away, the
Throughout Jane Eyre, Bronte incorporates narrative techniques to emphasise certain points and to keep the reader’s attention. In the first few chapters of the novel we are introduced into the world she is surrounded by, with the use of very descriptive imagery, with a gothic element also incorporated for the audience to obtain a grasp of Jane’s situation. As the nature of the book develops and unravels, frequently used devices such as the incorporation of a gothic element is seen throughout many of the main chapters. For example, the lead up before the fire scene is build up through the eerie laughs made by Bertha, although at the time we do not know this. Also, using first person narration emphasises not only the personality of the narrator, but also makes the audience feel as if they are being directly addressed and included within the novel. Literary techniques are re-enforced throughout the novel to directly emphasise certain points and re-iterate subjects within the reader’s mind. For example, rhetorical questions asked by Mr. Rochester as he accuses Jane of never having felt love. The metaphors throughout the novel represent symbols for things that are needs or wants within Jane’s life, seen through food, fire and burning, the chestnut tree and the moon.
Gothic imagery appears frequently throughout the novel, as Bronte has employed this element to become a technique to achieve the flow of the narrative. Through several important scenes, the gothic imagery is prevalent. In the red room, it is described to be dark like blood, along with a mirror that provides ‘subdued, broken reflections varying the gloss of its panels’ and distorts her appearance. The red room is actually where Mr. Reed had taken his last breaths and Jane believes his ghost haunts the room, troubled by wrongdoing of his last wishes. In these few pages, the red room where a family member had passed away, the