Jane Eyre – Charlotte Bronte

Sigmund Freud & Jacques Lacan

“Jane Eyre” is one of the most famous works in English literature. The novel follows the
course of life of Jane, who struggles to reach a sense of her own identity.

As an orphan girl, she had a tough childhood for her aunt Mrs. Reed hated her and her
cousins were rude to her. Due to this she developed mistrust - she had problems with
trusting others later on in life: she tries to stay away from Rochester as much as she can
in order not to be disappointed or get hurt afterwards. But her patience has come to
an end, not being able anymore to endure her relatives’ behavior towards her.
Governed by fear, little Jane fights back for the first time. In other words, we witness
Jane’s first attempt to give free rein to her aggressive impulses without taking into
consideration the consequences. She lets herself lead by her id, following her instincts: “I
was conscious that a moment’s mutiny had already rendered me liable to strange
penalties, and like any other rebel slave, I felt resolved, in my desperation, to go all
lengths.” (pg 14) She rebels against her aunt, acts instinctively and for that she is
punished, sent into the red-room, and made to feel guilty for her inappropriate
behavior as Bessie warns her: “Say your prayers, Miss Eyre, when you are by yourself; for
if you don’t repent, something bad might be permitted to come down the chimney
and fetch you away.” (pg 15)

Whenever one acts by one’s instincts, follows the id’s primitive thoughts in other words,
as Freud believed, one feels pleasure though, his conscience part, the Superego
punishes oneself by generating feelings of guilt. Jane behaves bad this time; she fights
back at her cousin, does not obey her aunt and, for a moment, neither her nursemaids,
and she feels good about it, about choosing to do what she desires no matter the
consequences. For that, Jane resembles more to the id, whereas Bessie becomes the
voice of the superego trying to make the girl feel bad about her manners, warning her

No one believed or had pity for little Jane. She was often called liar, she was
mistreated, locked in the red-room, a chamber that reminds of the death of one
person, Jane’s uncle, Mr. Reed. All the injustices, the deprivations of affection and
parental care have affected her childhood, and her way of understanding the world.

The mistreatments from her childhood will have a strong impact on her psychic latter on
when she becomes an adult. “Yes, Mrs. Reed, to you I owe some fearful pangs of
mental suffering. […] while rendering my heart-strings; you thought you were only
uprooting my bad propensities.” (pg 22)

When John tried to hit her again, she fought back bursting his nose; she is not the
humble, obedient girl she used to be anymore; whenever she feels like giving someone
a dose of his own medicine, she does it. The girl gave up to moral thoughts (the voice
of the superego) in favor to primitive ones (she is faithful to her idthe id has full control
over the ego; the id acts instinctively, irrationally, seeking transitory pleasure no matter
the outcome.

When Jane is called a liar, she couldn’t accept the false statements regarding her.
Therefore, in a moment of anger, she confesses to Mrs. Reed her true feelings (she
hated her aunt deeply). Once she speaks up her mind, Jane feels liberated by a heavy
burden (“[…] my soul began to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of
triumph, I ever felt. […] I had struggled out into unhoped- for liberty.”) (pg 39)

Though, the feelings of pleasure do not last for too long. After the temporary pleasure
felt by following the id’s will, the guilt settles in. As Freud said, “the conscience punishes
the ego” for not adopting a reasonable solution to the situation in cause (Jane
shouldn’t have left herself influenced by anger) The id took control. Whenever the ego
is not strong enough to face the id’s demand, anxiety settles in. Jane starts to feel bad
for what she said to Mrs. Reed.

Her life at Gateshead Hall, an institution which has strict rules, governed by order and
discipline, made her an introverted person: “I stood lonely enough, but to that feeling of
isolation I was accustomed: it did not oppress me much.”

Here Jane meets Helen Burns. Helen is reading a book called “Rasselas” (a book about
finding happiness in life). Jane examines the book but it doesn’t seem to find an interest
in it –“nothing about fairies, nothing about genii”. Jane has found comfort in reading
fairytales, fantastic stories with happy-endings and high-spirited characters, something
that she aspires to (have the courage to escape from her awful life and find herself a
happy-ending). Helen and Jane are the opposite of one another. Helen is humble and
willing to forgive the ones that may hurt her, whereas little Jane is temperamental, not
able yet to understand Helen’s beliefs. “It is far better to endure patiently a smart which
nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will
extend to all connected with you;” (page 58)– Helen is guided by her superego.
“Would you not be happier if you tried to forget her severity, together with the
passionate emotions it excited?” – Helen advices Jane to let go of the bad memories,
so she can go on with her life. (pg 60) Though, memories that are repressed do not
disappear, they are stocked into our unconscious and have a strong impact on our
behavior later on.

Helen is more or less responsible for Jane’s mental change latter on. She teaches Jane
to accept and embrace both the good and bad things that step into her life, to be a
stronger person and not let herself affected by others’ sayings. Helen is prudent,
submissive, more concerned of the moral convictions, always aspiring to be the better
part of herself, religiously speaking, and for this she resembles more to the superego.
Whereas Jane acts exactly as she feels. “[…] I ran to Helen, tore it off, and thrust it into
the fire. The fury of which she was incapable had been burning in my soul all day…”
Jane develops a strong attachment to Helen Burns; she cherishes their friendship for she
didn’t have the chance, until knowing Helen, to be accepted and cared for, especially
by a so-called friend. Helen Burns dies.

Lowood is renovated and Mr. Brocklerhurst no longer leads the institution alone. Jane
continues her studies at Lowood, also teaching there for two years. Miss Temple “takes
Helen’s place”; she and Helen have a strong connection: “[…] her friendship and
society had been my continual solace; she had stood me in the stead of mother,
governess, and, latterly, companion.” Miss Temple leaves Lowood. Right after her leave,
Jane realizes that she has lost her last closest friend and for that her old memories are
starting to overcome her. As long as she had someone which she could find comfort in,
her bad thoughts (the time spent at Gateshead Hall) were locked away into her
unconscious where she couldn’t access them. Once Miss Temple is gone, there is no
one left to fill in the gap, therefore her past is hunting her: “[…] she had taken with her
the serene atmosphere I had been breathing her vicinity –and that now I was left in my
natural element, and beginning to feel the stirring of old emotions.”(86) Though, Jane
doesn’t permit her emotions to overcome her for too long. Instead of losing herself, she
decides to take life by the throat and find satisfaction in making a change in her life –
she searches for another post. Her past is hunting her; she is afraid not to meet another
landlady that might resemble to her aunt.

“I little expected such a reception; I anticipated only coldness and stiffness;” –Because
of her traumas from when she was little, she is not used to being treated with kindness.
(pg 98) “I felt rather confused at being the object of more attention than I had ever
before received […]” She is not used with any acts of kindness, not even receiving
presents. (122) She is also more distant to those who act flattering or familiar to her but
has a strong interest in those who act cold towards her; she is used to this kind of
comportment. “If even this stranger had smiled and been good-humored to me when I
addressed him; if he had put off my offer of assistance gaily and with thanks, I would
have gone my way [...] but the frown, the roughness of the traveler set me at my ease
[…] . (115) It’s the same when she has a conversation with Mr. Rochester: “I sat down
quite disembarrassed. A reception of finished politeness would probably have confused
me […]; but harsh caprice laid me under no obligation;” (122)

She may be faithful to her id though, when it comes to improving herself, she is a
perfectionist. She has high expectations from herself therefore we can say that she is
also governed by her superego. Even if she got tamed at Lowood, her id is still present
in her way of being. She follows mostly her instincts and does not always obey to a so-
called moral code (132). She is a rebel from the very beginning (pg. 125) The hard days
she lived there had an impact on her way of perceiving the world and, at the same
time, on her features, as Rochester observes: “It is a point difficult to fix where the
features and countenance are so much at variance as in your case.”(125) At Lowood,
Jane was thought the differences between good and bad, between what is moral and
immoral to do when living in society; the ego, guided by the superego, restraints her
from being entirely herself: the temperamental, impulsive girl that tends to be faithful to
her id.

Adele and Jane have something in common, they’re both orphans. Once she finds it
out, Jane becomes even more attached to the little French girl because she
understands better than anyone what does the absence of parental love feel like.

Jane feels more and more attracted to Rochester; little by little she falls in love with him
as he is the male figure missing in her life: “I felt at times as if he were my relation rather
than my master.” (pg 147) The fact that she grew up in the absence ofthe father makes
her vulnerable to the grave but still affectionate, rational, protective type of male figure
as Rochester seems to be. To fill in the gap that was left from her childhood, Jane needs
a man that can offer her the love and protection she always missed. She is craving to
see Rochester. She finds a pleasure in it (Eros) but tries to control desires she is ashamed
of for they are not accepted by the ego, therefore she constantly represses her feelings
towards Rochester. Now that she is integrated and appreciated, Jane is more
confident in herself and this is also visible in her appearances: “I had more color and
more flesh, more life, more vivacity, because I had brighter hopes and keener
enjoyments.” (pg 157) “I feared the meeting in the morning; now I desire it, because
expectation has been so long baffled that it is growing impatient” (pg 157) – Jane is
craving to see Mr. Rochester.

The conflict between ego and id: The human mind, as Freud believed is bivalent, led by
two forces: “the forces of life and death”- Eros and Thanatos. Rochester departs to Mr.
Eshton’s place where Miss Ingram leaves. Jane is mad for having permitted unfounded
thoughts take control over her. She begins to think that Rochester might even have a
weakness for her though, at this point, he renders the impression that it is not the case.
(pg 160) Until this very point, Jane was daydreaming; she has let her instinctive id take
control. “Yet’ suggested the secret voice which talks to us in our own hearts, ‘you are
not beautiful either, and perhaps Mr. Rochester approves you: at any rate, you have
often felt as if he did; and last night –remember his words: remember his look:
remember his voice!’ ” (pg 156) The force within us that controls what we intimately feel
for others, if we are physically attracted to the opposite gender –“ the secret voice
which talks to us in our own hearts” (pg 156) –we may take it as the Eros and it is
governed by the id. The id always seeks pleasure and thus, for a moment, Jane
embraces the idea of being liked by Rochester as for it would please her to live the
fairytale she began to think of. (http://www.sigmundfreud.net/the-ego-and-the-id.jsp)
Though, this has only been a false interpretation, or at least this is what she thinks,
because, as she puts it up, Mr. Rochester is not interested in an ugly governess but a
charming lady like Miss Ingram. Once reached at this conclusion, Jane gets
embarrassed of her previous thoughts, and therefore she argues with herself: « ‘You,’ I
said, ‘a favorite with Mr. Rochester? You gifted with the power of pleasing him? You of
importance to him in any way? Go! Your folly sickens me. […] How dared you? Poor
stupid dupe! […] Cover your face and be ashamed! He said something in praise of your
eyes, did he? Blind puppy! Open their bleared lids and look on your own accursed
senselessness! » (pg 160)

It is like, in her inner self, there are presented two entities in conflict; her rational self, the
ego, which is quarreling with her primitive self, the id, for allowing unfounded thoughts
to be brought up. A constant conflict is held between her ego and id, which she is
thoroughly trying to keep under control. “Did I forbid myself to think of him in any other
light than as a paymaster? Blasphemy against nature! Every good, true, vigorous feeling
I have gathers impulsively around him. I know I must conceal my sentiments: I must
smother hope; […] I must then, repeat continually that we are forever sundered –and
yet, while I breathe and think, I must love him.” (pg 174) Defense mechanism –
repression of the id; she tries to remove embarrassing thoughts so that she cannot get
hurt later on, though she still remains truthful to herself –“I must love him” (pg 174) no
matter how painful it can be.

Jane course of life is shaped by her two significant Real encounters. According to the
psychologist Lacan, the Real is an order which cannot be recognized by or through
language. One cannot experience the Real except trough his own subjectivity which
has its roots in language. The protagonist is traumatized by these two events and after
each of them she changes the place, after the first one she moves at Lowood, and
after the second one she leaves Thornfield Hall.

The first event, highly significant, happens in her childhood. The symbolic imprisonment is
anticipated from the first pages by the “folds of scarlet drapery” (pg 23) with a red
and white pattern. Later in the novel, little Jane is closed in the red-room for
misbehaving and the same pattern is repeated: the red carpet and drapery and the
white bed. After staying for some time in that frightening room, believing that the ghost
of her uncle is rising from the grave, Jane burst out crying for help.

The second event, the encounter with Bertha, the violently insane first wife of Rochester,
happens many years later, towards the end of the novel, at Thornfield Hall. The
mysterious thing about her is that the reader doesn’t know anything about her
existence, but he feels her presence: the mocking laugh, the fire from Rochester’s room
during night, the attack of Mason, the destruction of Jane’s veil on the eve of her
wedding (she took the “veil from its place; she held it up, gazed at it long, and then she
threw it over her own head, and turned to the mirror. At that moment I saw the
reflection of the visage and features quite distinctly in the dark oblong glass”) (pg392)
Jane is scared of Bertha and describes her as “fearful and ghastly...I never saw a face
like it! It was a discolored face--it was a savage face. I wish I could forget the roll of the
red eyes and the fearful blackened inflation of the lineaments… it removed my veil
from its gaunt head, rent it in two parts, and flinging them both on the floor, trampled
on them” (392)