Througout the the novel we as the reader acknowledges the fact that the heroin, Jane Eyre, has to endure many difficulties in her life. These difficulties are mostly caused by the physical and emotional isolation she is confronted with. Further along one sees another part of the character Jane, her deeper side in with she confides to lighten her burden. Jane uses art and her dreams to make it easier for her to deal with her harsh reality. With her dreams and paintings she adds a fairytale quality to her life which is the exact opposite. This is for Jane a safe haven, a place where she could just be herself and show her emotions.
Jane’s dreams are mostly about her thoughts in her subconscious mind. She has multiple dreams and in some cases her dreams come true, or at least parts of the dreams come true. With this realization she is confronted with the idea that it is only her imagination that makes it seem to be true. A lot of her dreams are about children which can be caused by her desire to have children of her own so she could make up for the childhood she never had. The dreams differed in emotion, some were joyful, others were sad and her emotions towards the children also differed. In some dreams she wanted the children and in other dreams she ran the other direction. This could be of her self doubt that she could be a mother, let alone the fact of a good mother. After her engagement to Rochester she dreams about the two of them, showing what are the new thoughts and fears in her subconscious mind. She dreamt that they are walking on a road, but Rochester walks to fast for her to keep track and eventually falls behind. This shows her biggest fear, to be abandoned again like she was as a child.
The paintings of Jane are closely related to her dreams and both represent the thoughts of her conscious and subconscious mind. Her first work of art is a ship’s mast, a bare hand an a bracelet rising out of a stormy sea. The second one is a picture of a hill with heavy winds and a night sky from which a woman’s face is showing. Her active imagination contributes to the complexity of her paintings, also representing the complexity of her own lifestyle. Her paintings’ beauty and valuable qualities are underestimated just like her own beauty is underestimated through her way of living which is determined by others.
Blogger: Mareli Booysen
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