Lecture on Jane Eyre (Volume I, Chapters I-XV) (Patreon)

'There was no possibility of taking a walk that day...'

Today we are journeying together through the first volume of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. We're talking about symbolism, suffering, sympathy, the need to be loved, death, rebirth, the stages in our lives, revolutionary prose, byronic protagonists, gothic narratives, and much more.

Timestamps:

• 0:00 what makes Jane Eyre so special
• 2:00 ‘no possibility of taking a walk…’
• 4:00 the revolutionary narrative voice
• 5:00 orphan characters in great literature
• 6:00 Jane Eyre’s life at Gateshead
• 7:00 how Jane is the reader’s heroine
• 9:00 on the tyranny of John Reed
• 11:00 colour symbolism in this work
• 12:00 novel as picture of passion
• 13:00 ‘you are less than a servant…’
• 15:00 Victorian class anxiety & identity
• 19:00 Jane looks in the red room’s mirror
• 21:00 ‘why was I always suffering?’
• 23:00 dark start of the heroine’s journey
• 24:00 the tragic inspiration for Lowood
• 25:00 the pain of leaving childhood behind
• 27:00 Jane Eyre as symbolism masterclass
• 28:00 the ballad of the poor orphan child
• 29:00 on telling the fire not to burn
• 30:00 parenting the child within us all
• 31:00 sympathising with our heroine
• 33:00 ‘human beings must love something’
• 34:00 rehearsing how to love in imagination
• 36:00 the character of Mr Brocklehurst
• 37:00 on feeling remorse after vengeance
• 39:00 perpetuating vicious cycles of trauma
• 40:00 meeting the character of Helen Burns
• 41:00 education, marriage & governesses
• 42:00 the symbolism of cultivating gardens
• 44:00 Helen Burns’ doctrine of endurance
• 45:00 stoic mindsets vs need to be loved
• 46:00 ‘I cannot bear to be solitary and hated’
• 47:00 how death can usher in our rebirth
• 48:00 Charlotte Brontë’s presence in the novel
• 49:00 the grand adventure of our lives
• 51:00 Jane Eyre moves to Thornfield
• 54:00 Jane hears laughter from the attic
• 57:00 questioning the narrator’s reliability
• 56:00 ‘millions in silent revolt against their lot’
• 58:00 Jane Eyre first meets Mr Rochester
• 1:00:00 the allure of byronic protagonists
• 1:01:00 tormented by the sins of the past
• 1:06:00 Jane saves Rochester from the fire
• 1:09:00 appreciating the first volume’s climax
• 1:10:00 what are you making of the story?

Resources:

• Recommended Adaptation: We are blessed with so many adaptations of Charlotte Brontë's great novel. It's so much fun to work one's way through them in order to find your personal favourite. One adaptation that gets a lot of love and is worth watching is the 2006 BBC series starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens.
• Fairy Tales: A collection of Charles Perrault's fairy tales makes an excellent companion to one's reading of Jane Eyre. I recommend dipping into this volume, which boasts beautiful illustrations by Gustave Doré.
• Philosophy: The language of revolution runs powerfully through Jane Eyre. Some of the novel's strongest passages feel like Charlotte Brontë is channeling the spirit of Mary Wollstonecraft. If you haven't read her 1792 A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, then you may find it to be a very complementary read.
• Literary Influence: When we read a book deeply, we might like to challenge ourselves to learn about the other writers referenced in the work. Samuel Richardson is one influential writer we see poking through early on. If you would like learn a little more, we have a video on Richardson and the rise of the novel here.
• Scripture: We can follow Jane's allusion to Christ to Luke 23:34. You might find it interesting to read through this chapter of the Bible in the KJV here.
• Complementary Essay: Virginia Woolf has a wonderful essay in The Common Reader on Charlotte's Jane Eyre and Emily's Wuthering Heights. You can listen my read through of this essay as part of our Emily Brontë series here.
• Reading Assignment: Our next discussion will take us through the second volume of the novel, which runs to chapter 26 and page 342 in the Penguin Classics edition.

Questions for You:

1) Do you relate to the character of Jane Eyre?

2) What themes of the novel resonate with you?

3) What strikes you the most about Charlotte Brontë's writing style?

If this is your first reading of Jane Eyre, I would love to know how the story is meeting your expectations. If this is a reread for you, what is it like returning to the story? And please do share with us your favourite passages from the first volume of the story.

Happy reading, everybody!