Narration and Conversation in Bronte\'s

Narration and Conversation in Bronte's Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte's novel, Jane Eyre, explores the value of language and equates it to the development of Jane's characters as she matures. Jane encounters many different individuals in her life but the ones that serve her best are the ones that challenge her intellectually. It is though narrative that Jane is allowed to grow and through this growth, she understands the importance of language and communication. From her encounters with Bessie, Mr. Lloyd, Mary Ann Wilson, Mr. Rochester, and everyone in between, Jane learns the importance of stimulating conversation. While Jane is the dominant narrator, she delights in letting other characters share in the task of commenting on the life and times of Jane Eyre. As the narrator, Jane measures her relationships with other characters by narrative exchange and she makes sure the reader is fully aware of her thoughts, emotions, and the constraints put upon her as her life unfolds before us.

Bronte's narrative style sets out to include and exalt the act of communication between individuals. Because out narrator is so compelled by words, it is only fitting that she tells the story to us in first-person narrative, which allows her to express herself and be heard - two things that she needs almost more than anything else. It is through discourse that experience becomes significant, at least, in Jane's eyes. Knies claims that the first-person narrative also achieves a "center of consciousness" (Kaplan), which also becomes significant in that the narrator is constantly evolving. Perhaps one of the most compelling examples of Bronte's ability to draw the reader into the novel with the powerful descriptive technique can be seen in the first chapter when Jane experiences the anger of John Reed. The flying book, the fall, with the book striking her head and the blood are the result of John's anger but more interesting is Jane's response to him, which up until this point had been "habitually obedient" (Bronte 4), calling him a "wicked and cruel boy" (5) that is like a "murderer" (5). He reacts like an angry child, pulling her hair and screaming for attention. Knies agrees with the notion that Bronte's narrative style captures us with emotion and excitement. He writes, "The opening chapter does a masterful job of getting the story going, giving us enough of the basic situation to make the action meaningful... At the end of the chapter we are drawn forcibly into the story as those four sets of hands are laid on Jane-and, in effect, on us, for we have already been compelled to make an emotional commitment" (Knies). With this scene, we feel compelled to read more to discover the fate of this young girl and the significance that the narrative brings to the completion of the story.

Jane, as a narrator, makes sure that we are aware of her thoughts, emotions, and the constraints put upon her as her life unfolds before us. The success of this technique lies in the fact that Jane establishes a relationship with us from the first pages of the novel. Kaplan observes:

The story Jane tells is not simply the story of her movement from victim to agent, orphan girl to familied heiress, governess to wife; it is also the story of her own longing to talk, to find someone to credit her version of her life, to sympathize with her trials and listen as a friend. It is, ultimately, the story of the growth of a writer, someone who can extend the gesture... To an unknown and unpredictable other (the reader). (Kaplan)

The general idea is that Jane receives as much in writing the novel as we do reading it and thus, the relationship begins. This type and give and take relationship sets the mood for understanding the complexity of Jane's desire for fulfilling discourse. Sternlieb observes that not enough attention is paid to the fact that Jane's "development as a narrator" (Sternlieb 454) occurs "simultaneously with her development as a character" (454) because both are evolving at the same time and they both share an equal amount of importance in Jane's character. Sternlieb maintans that Jane's "carefully constructed narrative strategy is developed specifically in response to Rochester" (454) but it does not wait for his entrance into the novel to "materialize" (454). This is significant in understanding the dynamic that exists between Jane and Rochester. He may be a man in Victorian England and she may be a woman but it is clear that they are intellectual equals. In an attempt to establish this intellectual equality, Bronte present Jane's story from Jane's point-of-view, as all events are related back to her and through her and, as a result, we know her deepest feelings and thoughts. It is important to realize that the novel is not simply one that is written in first-person narrative, it relies heavily on the impressions, thought, and feelings of the narrator to be completely understood.

Jane becomes a dependable narrator because she is straightforward regarding her emotions and when relating information about other characters. However, while she is establishing her character, she is also establishing a foundation for future relationships. Throughout the course of the novel and Jane's life, she evaluates her relationships with other characters by gauging them according to their narrative capability and her ability to converse with them. One of the first instances where conversation is tremendously necessary to young Jane is seen with Mr. Lloyd. After the incident with John, Mr. Lloyd asks her about the cause for her unhappiness and she writes, "Fearful, however, of losing this first and only opportunity of relieving my grief by imparting it, I... contrived to frame a meager... true response" (Bronte 20). Here we see how Jane recognizes at an early age the importance genuine conversation. In addition, she realizes the importance of being heard. The most significant individuals in Jane's life are the ones that provided her with enlightened conversation. During her stay at Gateshead, Jane tells us, "Bessie Lee must, I think, have been a girl of good natural capacity, for she was smart in all she did, and had a remarkable knack of narrative" (26) and Jane is captivated with her "most enchanting stories" (38) and her sweet songs. The relationship is significant because it affords Jane "gleams of sunshine" (38). Jane admits, "I preferred her to any one else at Gateshead Hall" (26).

While she is at Lowood, Jane's develops a fondness for Mary Ann Wilson because she possessed a "turn for narrative" (81) and because she was:

Witty and original, and partly because she had a manner which set me at my ease... she knew more of the world, and could tell me many things I liked to hear: with her my curiosity found gratification... she liked to inform, I to question; so we got on swimmingly together, deriving much entertainment, if not much improvement, from our mutual intercourse. (81)

This passage allows us to understand one of the most fundamental aspects of Jane's budding character, which is the discourse between individuals.

People become significant because of what they allow Jane to accomplish in and through the art of conversation. One character that Jane shares a special connection with is Helen Burns. She is intelligent, dedicated to her studies and loves books. Helen impresses Jane with her constant grace under pressure, especially when she must endure unwarranted punishment at Logwood. When Jane expresses that she could not bear flogging, Helen is quick to tell her, "It is weak and silly to say you cannot bear what it is your fate to bear" (56). Her words mesmerize Jane "with wonder" (56) and she cannot comprehend what she refers to as Helen's "doctrine of endurance" (56). Jane is amazed by the "forbearance she expressed for her chastiser" (56) and yet, she admits that Helen "considered things by a light invisible to my eyes" (56) and that she was right about things while Jane was wrong. Jane admires her sense of humility and her confidence in her religion makes a deep impression upon Jane, especially at her deathbed. Jane is with her in her last moments ad realizes that death does not have to be a painful experience if there is an afterlife to which she can look forward. The conversation is in conflict with what Jane has been taught and, therefore, leaves a lasting impression. Miss Temple is another character to which Jane can relate on a different level because she is the person that encourages Jane to stand up for herself even when circumstances appear to be at their most horrible. She tells Jane to defend herself because she has been charged with falsehood; defend yourself to me as well as you can" (72). Jane confides in Miss Temple and she is relieved to discover that Miss Temple listens to her and actually believes what she says. Again, Miss Temple is endearing to Jane because she lets her speak and be herself. In describing Miss Temple, Jane is quick to point out that one of her most attractive qualities is her "refined propriety in her language, which precluded deviation into the ardent, the excited, the eager: something which chastened the pleasure of those who looked on her and listened to her" (75). Helen and Miss temple are appealing to Jane because she discovers something in both of them to which she feels she should aspire. Upon overhearing a conversation between the two women, Jane writes, "They conversed of things I had never heard of: of nations and times past; of countries far away; of secrets of nature discovered or guessed at. They spoke of books: how many they had read! What stores of knowledge they possessed!" (76). This passage emphasizes the importance that Jane places not only on knowledge but the sharing of that knowledge. The eloquence of their conversation set a standard to which Jane would measure for the rest of her days. What we must note from these observations thus far is that while Jane is the narrator of this story, she has no qualms sharing the limelight with those of which she is fond. In fact, it is through their discourse that we learn more about our heroine.

The more encounters and friendships she established, the more we learn about Jane. During her stay at Thornfield, Jane feels dejected and her sole recourse for any amount of companionship is with Mrs. Farifax. Jane is pleased to know her but becomes painfully aware that she cannot provide Jane with the intellectual stimulation she needs or desires. She writes, "There are people who seem to have no notion of sketching a character, of observing and describing salient points, either in persons or things: the good lady evidently belonged to this class" (112). Mrs. Fairfax does not have a knack for enlightening conversation but Jane was drawn to her despite this fact.

We see a meeting of the minds with Jane's relationship with the Rivers sisters. Jane carries a great amount of respect for them because they can relate to one another. They shared the same interests and Jane could "converse with them as much as they wished" (385). In addition, we are told, "There was a reviving pleasure in this intercourse, of a kind now tasted by me for the first time - the pleasure arising from perfect congeniality of tastes, sentiments, and principles" (385). When she describes how similar the women were, she writes, "Thought fitted thought; opinion fitted opinion - we coincided, in short, perfectly" (386). They learned from one another with Diana teaching Jane German and the sisters watching Jane draw. Jane describes their time together as "Mutually entertained" (386) with the days passing "like hours, and the weeks like days" (386). The sisters "could always talk; and their discourse, witty, pithy, original, had such charms for me, that I preferred listening to, and sharing in it, to doing anything else" (436) and their spirits were like "life-giving elixir" (436). Here we an admiration that is similar to that of Miss Temple and Helen in that Jane holds these women in the highest regard and truly cherishes the time she spends with them. This time, as we must know by this point, must include a certain level of intellectual stimulation.

Perhaps the character that deserves the most attention in regard to their importance in Jane's life is Rochester. It is with Rochester that Jane feels truly connected and eternally bound. She holds him with the highest esteem regardless of his mistakes and shortcomings and this is significant to realize because their relationship is founded upon their discourse as human beings. More than anything else, the two appreciate one another for what they provide intellectually. Jane understands the importance of this when she writes, "I knew the pleasure of vexing and soothing him by turns; it was one I chiefly delighted in... I could still meet him in argument without fear or uneasy restraint; this suited both him and me" (169-70). This passage encapsulates the foundation of their relationship - Jane has no difficulty approaching Rochester and this is the very quality that attracts him to her. This is only reinforced at the end of the novel when Jane writes, "We talk, I believe, all day long: to talk to each other is but a more animated and an audible thinking. All my confidence is bestowed on him, all his confidence is devoted to me; we are precisely suited in character -- perfect concord is the result" (499). This passage reiterates the notion that their relationship was founded upon and rests securely on the art of conversation.