How Does Charlotte Bronte Use Gothic Elements In Jane Eyre

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Near the beginning of the novel, Charlotte Bronte uses gothic elements to establish the red room. Jane, a young girl at this time, is sent there as a form of punishment for fighting with her cousin. The room is described as dark, secluded, and obscure. This leaves the reader with a sense of unease when picturing Jane, a frightened and distressed young girl left to stay in the room alone. A feeling of horror is established when Jane describes the “crimson cloth” of the room and then goes on to tell about the death of her uncle that happened in the very red room which she now inhabits. After recalling this fact she then sees a light which she takes to be a phantom of her once beloved uncle. Jane describes the incident as “Shaking my hair from my eyes, I lifted my head and tried to look boldly round the dark room: at this moment a light gleamed on one wall.” After trying to convince herself that it might be moonlight and failing she says “I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision …show more content…
Throughout the novel her acts of starting a fire, hair raising laughter, and overall mysterious presence add to the peculiar air of the Thornfield estate. Closer to the end of the novel, the truth is revealed and her insanity is brought into the light, simply adding to the strange and eerie mood of the novel. The fact that Mr. Rochester had her locked upstairs on the third story is also an unsettling realization. A second element that adds to the disturbing feeling of Thornfield is the chestnut tree that is struck by lightning after Jane and Mr. Rochester are engaged beneath it. It leaves the reader with a sense of unease and hesitation in the happiness that could lie in store for Jane now that she is finally engaged to the man she loves. Thornfield is also a remote, old manor house. Due to the fact that most of the action takes place here, this is also a gothic element used by Charlotte
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