Thornfield Gothic Analysis

While Bronte rarely uses the word gothic, her descriptions of Thornfield and the odd occurrences that happened there certainly lend it to this style. Jane first encounters this upon her arrival at Thornfield. After traversing a long driveway, her attention is drawn to one single solitary candlelight shining through a window, while the rest of the large mansion remains dark and still as if void of all life. This apparent lifelessness sets the theme in the readers’ mind of what the mansion has set in store for them, both in looks and actions. Before arriving, a church on the side of the road draws Jane’s attention. This brings to mind a religious and biblical setting, one that shows up again when Mrs. Fairfax walks Jane to her room. Jane describes

Jane’s first somewhat supernatural experience comes when she tours the upper parts of the mansion with Mrs. Fairfax. After having been in the sunlight on the roof, Jane descends into a dark hallway. This in itself displays gothic thinking because in order to recognize the darkness, Jane first experienced the light. Then Jane hears strange laughter coming from one of the rooms in the hall. While laughter alone renders nothing out of the ordinary, the previous conversation between Jane and Mrs. Fairfax about ghosts, along with the passage described as “narrow, low, and dim,… with its two rows of small black doors all shut” gives the strange laughter a supernatural and gothic undertone. Later, after having met Mr. Rochester and become acquainted with him, Jane encounters another strange event involving this bloodcurdling laughter. One night she is awoken by “a demonic laugh- low, suppressed, and deep- uttered, as it seemed, at the very keyhole of my chamber door.” (pg. 186) Then, Jane saves Mr. Rochester from a bed fire set by his mad wife that very easily could have brought injury to her. Once again, Jane is made to suffer from the mistakes of others. But her humble obedience and self- sacrifice towards Rochester, even going so far as to save his life, show that she is the light in his life. That amid the dark perils of his existence, Jane stands out to him the same way that candlelight stood out to her upon her arrival at Thornfield. She starkly contrasts the gothic ambiance surrounding Thornfield hall and its