Jane Eyre

The novel contains:

• 176 biblical allusions• 81 quotations and paraphrases from 23 books

of the Old Testament• 95 quotations and paraphrases from 15 books

of the New Testament

Kings reference

“And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”

Wind/Earthquake/Fire/Voice Progression

• Wind: the proposal, chestnut tree ruined• “A waft of wind came sweeping down the laurel walk, and

trembled through the boughs of the chestnut” (216).

• Earthquake: the wedding– when the wedding is stopped, “Mr. Rochester moved

slightly, as if an earthquake had rolled under his feet” (246).

Wind/Earthquake/Fire/Voice Progression

• Fire: Thornfield Hall• Voice: “telepathic” exchange between Mr.

Rochester and Jane

Nebuchadnezzar and Tree Imagery

• Nebuchadnezzar dreams of a “holy one” from heaven descending and crying, “Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth.”

Nebuchadnezzar and Tree Imagery

• Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity• Rochester is “quite savage” (364)

Questions• Is Jane Eyre a “Christian feminist bildungsroman”?

• Mr. Rochester’s punishments for attempted bigamy are severe. How does this reflect on the religious systems portrayed in this novel?

• Not all critics see Jane and Rochester as ultimately submitting to God and being rewarded with a happy marriage. Sandra Gilbert, in her 1998 essay, argues that by rejecting St. John and returning to Rochester Jane “replac[es] a Christian theology of renunciation with a more hedonistic theology of love.” (She uses Jane’s experience before hearing Rochester’s voice on p.357.)