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Mood
Definition of Motif
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the central themes of a book... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of related symbols, help develop the... read full definition
A motif is an element or idea that recurs throughout a work of literature. Motifs, which are often collections of... read full definition
Chapter 1
Explanation and Analysis—Housing Insecurity:
Housing insecurity is a motif throughout the novel because Jane depends on others to keep a roof over her head. The first hint of housing insecurity occurs on the "drear November day" when Chapter 1 begins:
The said Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now clustered round their mamma in the drawing-room […]. Me, she had dispensed from joining the group [...] Folds of scarlet drapery shut in my view to the right hand; to the left were the clear panes of glass, protecting, but not separating me from the drear November day. At intervals, while turning over the leaves in my book, I studied the aspect of that winter afternoon. Afar, it offered a pale blank of mist and cloud; near, a scene of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub, with ceaseless rain sweeping away wildly before a long and lamentable blast.
Related Themes:
Chapter 2
Explanation and Analysis—Ghosts and Apparitions:
Even though there is a natural explanation for everything that happens in the novel, ghosts and apparitions appear as a motif—manifestations of Jane's inner feelings and anxieties. For example, in Chapter 2, Jane is locked in the red room with what she imagines to be the ghost of Mr. Reed:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[P]repared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world. My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings: something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down; I uttered a wild, involuntary cry; I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort.
Related Themes:
Chapter 9
Explanation and Analysis—Illness and Disability:
Illness and disability serve as a motif in the novel, contributing to the anxious gothic atmosphere. For instance, in Chapter 9, conditions at Lowood leave the students there vulnerable to a horrific typhus outbreak:
Unlock with LitCharts A+Semi-starvation and neglected colds had predisposed most of the pupils to receive infection: forty-five out of the eighty girls lay ill at one time.
Related Themes:
Chapter 10
Explanation and Analysis—Disruptive Marriages:
Although the novel resolves with a marriage, marriages throughout the book are a motif that serves most often to disrupt Jane's life and future. One early example of this disruption occurs in Chapter 10, when Miss Temple leaves Lowood to be a wife:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[D]estiny, in the shape of the Rev. Mr Nasmyth, came between me and Miss Temple: I saw her in her travelling dress step into a post-chaise, shortly after the marriage ceremony. I watched the chaise mount the hill and disappear beyond its brow; and then retired to my own room, and there spent in solitude the greatest part of the half-holiday granted in honour of the occasion.
Related Themes:
Chapter 11
Explanation and Analysis—Ghosts and Apparitions:
Even though there is a natural explanation for everything that happens in the novel, ghosts and apparitions appear as a motif—manifestations of Jane's inner feelings and anxieties. For example, in Chapter 2, Jane is locked in the red room with what she imagines to be the ghost of Mr. Reed:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[P]repared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world. My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings: something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down; I uttered a wild, involuntary cry; I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Gaslighting:
The term "gaslighting" didn't originate until the 20th century, but it explains well a motif of mental manipulation Jane experiences throughout her life, and especially at Thornfield. For example, in Chapter 11, Mrs. Fairfax deflects Jane's questions about a mysterious "loud laugh" she has heard:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘Mrs Fairfax!’ I called out – for I now heard her descending the great stairs. ‘Did you hear that loud laugh? Who is it?’
‘Some of the servants, very likely,’ she answered; ‘perhaps Grace Poole.’
‘Did you hear it?’ I again inquired.
Related Themes:
Chapter 12
Explanation and Analysis—Housing Insecurity:
Housing insecurity is a motif throughout the novel because Jane depends on others to keep a roof over her head. The first hint of housing insecurity occurs on the "drear November day" when Chapter 1 begins:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The said Eliza, John, and Georgiana were now clustered round their mamma in the drawing-room […]. Me, she had dispensed from joining the group [...] Folds of scarlet drapery shut in my view to the right hand; to the left were the clear panes of glass, protecting, but not separating me from the drear November day. At intervals, while turning over the leaves in my book, I studied the aspect of that winter afternoon. Afar, it offered a pale blank of mist and cloud; near, a scene of wet lawn and storm-beat shrub, with ceaseless rain sweeping away wildly before a long and lamentable blast.
Related Themes:
Chapter 15
Explanation and Analysis—Gaslighting:
The term "gaslighting" didn't originate until the 20th century, but it explains well a motif of mental manipulation Jane experiences throughout her life, and especially at Thornfield. For example, in Chapter 11, Mrs. Fairfax deflects Jane's questions about a mysterious "loud laugh" she has heard:
Unlock with LitCharts A+‘Mrs Fairfax!’ I called out – for I now heard her descending the great stairs. ‘Did you hear that loud laugh? Who is it?’
‘Some of the servants, very likely,’ she answered; ‘perhaps Grace Poole.’
‘Did you hear it?’ I again inquired.
Related Themes:
Chapter 16
Explanation and Analysis—Disruptive Marriages:
Although the novel resolves with a marriage, marriages throughout the book are a motif that serves most often to disrupt Jane's life and future. One early example of this disruption occurs in Chapter 10, when Miss Temple leaves Lowood to be a wife:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[D]estiny, in the shape of the Rev. Mr Nasmyth, came between me and Miss Temple: I saw her in her travelling dress step into a post-chaise, shortly after the marriage ceremony. I watched the chaise mount the hill and disappear beyond its brow; and then retired to my own room, and there spent in solitude the greatest part of the half-holiday granted in honour of the occasion.
Related Themes:
Chapter 27
Explanation and Analysis—Ghosts and Apparitions:
Even though there is a natural explanation for everything that happens in the novel, ghosts and apparitions appear as a motif—manifestations of Jane's inner feelings and anxieties. For example, in Chapter 2, Jane is locked in the red room with what she imagines to be the ghost of Mr. Reed:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[P]repared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world. My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings: something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down; I uttered a wild, involuntary cry; I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort.
Related Themes:
Chapter 35
Explanation and Analysis—Ghosts and Apparitions:
Even though there is a natural explanation for everything that happens in the novel, ghosts and apparitions appear as a motif—manifestations of Jane's inner feelings and anxieties. For example, in Chapter 2, Jane is locked in the red room with what she imagines to be the ghost of Mr. Reed:
Unlock with LitCharts A+[P]repared as my mind was for horror, shaken as my nerves were by agitation, I thought the swift-darting beam was a herald of some coming vision from another world. My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings: something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down; I uttered a wild, involuntary cry; I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort.
Related Themes:
