The Other in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre and Orientalism

The quality of Orientalism in Jane Eyre is that of the exotic, wild and impassioned element that lurks both within the mysterious character of Mr. Rochester and his imprisoned/insane wife in the attic. The "oriental" character is viewed as something that is foreign, in need of order, restraint and reason and yet which attracts the characters (including both Mr. Rochester and the missionary St. John, who wants to go abroad to preach the Bible) albeit for different reasons; the former seeks to lose himself, the latter seeks to find/redeem those who are lost. Yet the effects of the "oriental" on the spirits and moods of the two extremes represented by Rochester and St. John are similar: each becomes a kind of representation of death -- Rochester is trapped by a former, erotic love, now cut off from romantic love due to the laws of God and Church (expressed by Jane in her refusal to wed a man already wed); and St. John is cut off from romantic love (to Jane) because of his commitment to a kind of crusade within his own mind to preach in the East. Still, there is also the scene of the "gypsy" -- who is really Rochester disguised but which also represents a distinct character of the Oriental current that runs through the book, in the sense that it is at once mysterious, forbidding, yet alluring and even reflective of who the characters really are. After all, it is Rochester pretending to by the gypsy that allows him to penetrate some ways into Jane's consciousness, hitherto cut off from him. This paper will discuss the complex ways in which Orientalism features in Jane Eyre and how it holds both a cautionary meaning within the context of the novel and an allegory for the deep mystery that runs through the heart of nature, life and passion.

The fact that Jane, for instance, refuses St. John's request to go to the East with him and instead gives herself to the passionate voice calling her back to Thornfield suggests that even Jane -- the voice of reason and order for Rochester -- is not incapable of giving in to the passionate current of love/romance that connects her to Rochester. Her return to Rochester at the end is, in some ways, like St. John's voyage to the Indians -- he goes to save them; she goes to save both herself and Rochester by giving in to the love impulse that is calling at her: "Jane! Jane! Jane!" she hears in her mind (Bronte 805). According to Zonana, Jane thus becomes the "slave" of the "sultan" who is Rochester when she finally succumbs to the voice in her head and submits to the will of the heart (Zonana 593). Zonana's view is that through the sultan/slave imagery that Jane uses to describe her own relationship and feelings of submission to Rochester, a "culturally acceptable simile" is given the audience, which accepts the "despotism" that Rochester wields over Jane by viewing it through the romantic/impassioned veil that Jane supplies it (Zonana 593). Like, St. John, Jane goes out to redeem the "other" -- which is how Senel describes the "oriental" in the novel -- as one who is outside the mainstream and accepted society (whether this is Rochester who is deliberately asocial or his mad wife) (Senel 38). St. John is a missionary of the spirit/intellect for Christ seeking to save the infidel. Jane is a missionary of the heart/will, seeking to save Rochester from his reckless passions.

In this manner, the "oriental" -- the "other" who lives and breathes within the novel taking various forms within forms (for example, Rochester already an outsider dresses up as an even greater outsider when he dons the gypsy's robes -- yet ironically he does so in order to gain access that even an "insider" would hardly gain, which is a window on Jane's heart; likewise, Jane, who is an "insider" -- an accepted member of the social hierarchy -- remains an outsider to the world of love and romance, just as much as St. John remains an outsider to the actual experience of salvation for as long as he remains entirely in his head and shows none of the works which he upholds so strongly -- which is why his story must take him to the East, where he will interact directly with the "other" he professes to love -- and which is why Jane must return to Thornfield, so that she can fulfill her obligation to love the "other" -- the "oriental" Rochester.

Thus, the "oriental" attracts the characters for a reason that the audience can describe as "good" or "noble" because it is situated within the context of saving. At the same time, the "oriental" can attract for reasons associated with loss and damnation, which is the case with Rochester and his experiences pre-narrative in the Caribbean, where he gives in to wild excess and where his wife succumbs to madness associated with excess. Rochester's attraction to the "other" side of society -- the dark, mysterious, passionate, unruly side of life (typified by being off the beaten track in the Caribbean, where a pagan culture also presides) -- is indicative of his passionate spirit and his willingness to indulge that side of himself that seeks self-pleasure. This attraction is the opposite of St. John's and Jane's -- though Jane also combines the pleasure principle within her desire to serve, uniting mysteriously in her person the ability to be one with the "other" and yet remain whole and part of the world/society at the same time. Jane becomes the true missionary in the book -- the representative of "feminist orientalism" as Zonana (593) describes it.

Still, the "oriental" element within the narrative also repulses. For instance, the mysterious stranger who lives in the attic of the Rochester home is a representative of that "dangerous" "oriental" world that has no clear reason for being and that serves only to disrupt the order and happiness of those attempting to live socially and responsibly in the Hall. Rochester's mad wife is his "oriental" curse, so to speak, and the roadblock between Jane and Rochester's wedded happiness. The wife's death in a fiery episode at the end of the novel is symbolic of the "oriental's" end without hope, without salvation. Rochester is blinded as he tries to save his mad wife -- and his attempt to save the "other" is enough of a redemptive act on his part that he is able to survive the fire and emerge only stricken in sight. Jane's return to him leads to his sight's total restoration (along with his spirits), and his role of "other" or as "oriental" is transformed by Jane's arrival/return: he becomes a member of the human race, of the happy few, of the saved and elect.