Yasmin MacDonnell 9GG

The concept of ‘sight and vision’ is crucial to the novel ‘Jane Eyre’. Discuss

Crucial is a very strong word to describe a concept in a novel. In the novel ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë, the concept of ‘sight and vision’ plays a very large part, although it is unknown whether this is a deliberate, or just an accidental feature. If Charlotte Brontë did, indeed, include frequent references to the concept of ‘sight of vision’ deliberately, then it may be argued that it is crucial, though perhaps not to the story of the novel but as a contributor of the literary techniques that help to make ‘Jane Eyre’ the classic that it is today. Throughout the book, many literal references to ‘sight and vision’ occur. This happens in the very first chapter, when the child Jane looks in the mirror and believes herself to be a ghost: “The strange little figure there gazing at me with a white face and arms speckling the gloom, had the effect of a real spirit: I thought it like one of the tiny phantoms, half fairy half imp.” Jane is treated badly, by her Aunt Reed and cousins, and is treating herself harshly as a result of it. This quotation shows her lost inside herself, with no one to turn to, believing herself to be ugly. Jane judges many people’s character by their looks, for instance; Miss Temple ,at Lowood, who is beautiful and so Jane believes to be kind.
Her judgemental assumption proves to be correct as Miss Temple treats jane and her terminally ill friend Helen with kindness and Generosity. As Jane grows older, and meets Mr Rochester for the first time, she is bold and can talk to him easily, as she does not ‘fancy’ him, despite his money, as he is ugly and rude.

Future

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After reading ‘Jane Eyre’ by Charlotte Brontë, it is my belief