Author: Aliya Nichols

“‘There, then, – Off, ye lendings!’ And Mr. Rochester stepped out of his disguise…… In short, I believe you have been trying to draw me out- or in; you have been talking nonsense to make me talk nonsense” (Bronte, 204). In this quotation, Jane has figured out that the gypsy is really Rochester disguising himself to find out information that benefitted him. This is shown through the phrase “trying to draw me [Jane] out.” This proves that Rochester was trying to get something out of Jane by using a disguise as a type of trickery. Rochester used his disguise which changed his gender and class rank, to have an advantage over Jane. This shows that Rochester does not fully value Jane because he was unable to confront her without trying to manipulate her.

Jane Eyre and The Moonstone are both connected through their usage of disguises because they are both used to deceive women. The following quote is from The Moonstone and contains evidence of the jugglers using disguises. “There is a mystery about their conduct that I can’t explain. They have doubly sacrificed their caste- first, in crossing the sea; secondly, in disguising themselves as jugglers……There must be some very serious motive at the bottom of it, and some justification of no ordinary kind to plead for them, in recovery of their caste, when they return to their own country.” (Collins, 83).

In this quote, Mr. Murthwaite could tell that the jugglers were not actually jugglers. He recognized that they were using class to disguise who they were. Mr. Murthwaite could tell that the mission of the Brahmin’s was important since it was not acceptable for the upper class to dress like the lower class. Once again, we see men using class and disguises as a type of trickery and manipulation.

Through the lens of Jane Eyre, The Moonstone is very similar because it has men (jugglers) dressing up as something else to manipulate a woman. To be more explicit, the men of Indian descent dressed up as jugglers to trick Rachel to get the moonstone which was around her neck. The idea of a man manipulating a woman is important because it shows the lack of respect that a man has for a woman. The men are degrading the women by going out of their way to be deceitful for their own personal benefit. There are not any positive reasons for the trickery other than bettering themselves. This correlates with the idea that the men do not believe that women are as intellectual them. If Rochester and the Indians really saw women as their equal, then their first attempt to receive the information they wanted would have been to be confront the women directly. Neither book illustrates a man confronting his feelings or real intentions for a woman. Jane Eyre and The Moonstone show that their a pattern of men tricking women to get what they want. These novels also show that men do not consider women to be their equal which play a big role in the gender differences throughout each of the novels.

On page 214 Mr. Rochester says “Come, be silent, Richard, and never mind her gibberish: don’t repeat it.”

Previously in the novel, Bertha bite Mr. Mason so hard that Rochester had to tell Jane about Bertha and call in a surgeon. In this quote, Rochester is on edge, not because of what had happened but because he didn’t want people finding out about Bertha. His main concern was not protecting her but was protecting himself from criticism and judgement. This is interpreted because of the language that Rochester uses in the quote: “be silent and don’t repeat it.” These phrases are derogatory towards Bertha and her condition because Rochester is not allowing her to get the proper treatment that she needs. Instead of putting her in a mental institution that could help her, he is locking her away upstairs. This is not acceptable because it is the nineteenth century and it is no longer acceptable for the mentally ill to be treated from home. He is making Bertha seem like a rabid animal instead of showing concern for his wife. I say this because Bertha vigorously bit Mr. Mason and left him to cry out for help. This ties into the idea that Rochester is not as good of a character as I thought he was. He locked up his mentally ill spouse in the attic, not for her own good
but for his own personal benefit of keeping her a secret. I think this because
from a new historicist approach we know that the public during this time period
was aware that treatment from home was not acceptable.

The semicolon in the sentence draws attention to the phrase “don’t repeat it.” The emphasis on this phrase proves that Rochester just wants the situation to disappear. He is neglecting the fact that Bertha needs his help, not his “hospitality.” Rochester cannot come to terms with the fact that Bertha is his spouse and even though Bertha has a mental illness he still cannot respect her. In the middle of the quote the phrasing becomes even more fragmented and disjointed, “and never mind her gibberish.” The “and” in the beginning of the fragment makes me think that Rochester is using an aggravated and annoyed tone in his voice. This is important because it shows how little Rochester appreciates what Bertha has to say. It also brings in the idea that Bertha is indeed from a different country and has a different complexion than Rochester. This means that Bertha actually may not be speaking gibberish but Rochester thinks it is because she is of a different race. The race factor emphasizes that Rochester does not respect Bertha for more than one reason, it could be because of her race, because of post colonialism or because she is a woman. This is important to the entirety of the woman because it shows race and gender affected the way one was treated.

This quote paints Rochester in a different light, he is no longer considered a
victim but rather someone who is focused on protecting himself. He is belittling
towards Bertha because he thinks he is better than her since he is from the
United Kingdom, because he has a fair complexion and because he is a man.
Rochester is not the character I had hoped he would be instead he is a little
bit racist and a little bit sexist. The most important thing is that because
Rochester is a wealthy man of light skin, he is easily able to get away with
locking a colored woman upstairs in his attic.

“”That night, on going to bed, I forgot to prepare in imagination the Barmecide supper, of hot roast potatoes, or white bread and new milk, with which I was wont to amuse my inward cravings.  I feasted instead on the spectacle of ideal drawings, which I saw in the dark – all the work of my own hand.” (Bronte, 84).

In this passage, Jane is coming to terms with the fact that Lowood has it flaws. Even though she is mistreated physically and malnourished, Lowood as just another “low” time in her life. This passage is significant because Jane is accepting the reality of her school. She is normalizing the fact that she is underfed and because she did this, she could give up hoping for a well-balanced meal. When Jane loses hope for better treatment, she also loses her imagination. She loses her imagination for being treated well for once. This loss of imagination is not just from the lack of food at Lowood but also the mistreatment she received from her aunt. I think that this is a permanent loss of Jane’s hope and positive imagination because this thought process is like a coming of age story. Jane is shedding her imagination for a life in where is she treated well by others and focusing on she can make herself happy. It says “I feasted instead on the spectacle of ideal drawings.” This means that Jane is replacing thoughts of unhappiness and hunger with happiness and drawings. This switch is impressive because Jane is still young but has the mental capacity to normalize the wrongdoings of Lowood and find happiness within her drawings. Her drawings are symbolic because they show how despite all the hardships Jane faced with the passing of her parents, the passing of her uncle, the mistreatment from her aunt, the bullying from her cousin and the malnourishment from Lowood, she is still able to survive. This passage represents the qualities of Jane. Jane can survive any circumstance and with each mistreatment, it only makes her stronger. Her drawings allow her to escape reality for the time being and engage in something that she is passionate about. Although Jane hasn’t received much love in her life, she is learning to love through her drawings. Jane says “I was wont to amuse my inward cravings” when paraphrased, this means that Jane will not let her desire for food affect her life. She is showing strength and maturity by resisting the temptations of her stomach. I think that Jane is afraid of becoming miserable like her aunt or like Mr. Brocklehurst so she refuses to indulge in thoughts that would make her like them in anyway. By resisting the urge to hope for better treatment Jane is showing that she has true power over those who have and are mistreating her.

On page six of Henry James’, Daisy Miller, Winterbourne and Master Randolph are discussing how American things are the best. Master Randolph says that American candy is the best while Winterbourne says that American boys are the best. The conversation continues and Winterbourne see’s Randolph sister and declares that American women are the best.

“She was dressed in white muslin, with a hundred frills and flounces, and knots of pale coloured ribbon (James, 6).” This line indicates that Winterbourne is initially attracted to Daisy Miller because of his expectations of her appearance. This is proven from the words “white, frills and pale coloured.” What I mean is that the color white represents innocence, purity, virginity, and perfection. This is important because all of the words contain a positive connotation (colorwheelpro.com) which can infer that Winterbourne views Daisy Miller positively because he thinks she is innocent, pure, a virgin and perfect.

I can conclude that using the word “frills” to describe what Daisy is wearing is comparing her to a child. I associate the words frilly and frilled with little girls dresses which is important because it indicates similar characteristics that the color white represents. It shows that Winterbourne initially judges Daisy’s personality based off of her appearance and is attracted to the fact that she has the innocence, purity, sexual experience and perfection that a little girl would have. The most important part of this is that Winterbourne expects Daisy to be a passive and well mannered girl that he would be able to control. He also thinks that she has the manners of an upperclass woman meaning that she does not speak out against people and is accepted by the upper classes social norms. These norms would include refraining from being openly sexual and flirting with men.

Winterbourne’s“pale coloured” description of Daisy’s outfit proves his schema of Daisy. Pale, in contrast to bright or bold is rather hidden. It does not have the power to be overpowering and is very limited in attracting attention. This is the same exact way that Winterbourne interprets Daisy’s personality, he believes that she is a soft spoken girl who will never be the center of attention. The importance of how Winterbourne describes Daisy’s outfit is foreshadowing that Daisy’s appearance is not representative of her personality. This is most important because it foreshadows that Daisy breaks the social norms of a woman in the upper class.