Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre takes place in the late 18th and early 19th centuries in the countryside of England. Supernatural events are the main theme of this mysterious love story. These supernatural events take place throughout Jane’s life and may be related to her eventual marriage.
After the death of her parents, Jane is left in the care of her uncle and his wife, the Reeds. But the orphan Jane is mistreated by her aunt, despite Mrs. Reed’s promise to her dying husband to raise and keep Jane as one of their own. One night in particular, Jane is unjustly banished to the same room where Mr. Reed had taken his last breath nine years earlier, in a tabernacle like a bed. The cold, deep red room scared Jane. Mysteriously, like warm thoughts of how kindly her uncle would have treated her if he were still alive, she is distracted by a flash of white light on the wall. Could it be a ray of moonlight? A contortion of a child’s imagination? A ghostly visit from your uncle? Or maybe a vision triggered by one of Bessie’s nighttime stories, who is of Gypsy descent? Whatever the nature of the premonition, it shocked Jane and knocked her unconscious.
In her late teens, Jane is once again influenced by one of Bessie’s haunting folk tales, this time as she walks through the lonely forest. An approaching horse reminds Jane of a lonely spirit from the north of England named Gytrash. But the myth is broken when Jane notices the rider; Jane is enchanted by the heroic bravery of the rider who will later become her husband. Bronte’s portrait of this mystical encounter between Jane and Edward Rochester seems haunting in the moonlit forest, but romantic when young Jane Eyre discovers her first feelings of attraction to a man. Rochester is irritable at refusing Jane’s offers of help and seems to suspect that Jane, who appears to him as an elf in the gray forest, has cast a spell on him and his fallen horse. Reluctantly, the injured Rochester leans on Jane’s shoulder for guidance and remounts his horse. Introductions are never made and names are not exchanged.
As an adult, Jane experiences a strange phenomenon that finally reunites her with her estranged love, Rochester. After agreeing to marry St. John Rivers in a distant place called Marsh Glen, Jane hears an urgent and desperate voice calling her name. Under cover of a dark, moonlit night, Jane knows it is Rochester’s voice. Perhaps the spirits, who seem to follow Jane and guide her, are moved by this proposed union. Perhaps the spirits of his uncle and dear friend Helen Burns have intervened to allow this psychic connection to Rochester. He responds to the voice with passion and with the certainty that he will soon be in the arms of his love. Jane attributes this fact not to superstition, nor to witchcraft, but to a miracle sent from heaven.
Many of Jane’s attitudes are determined by the many supernatural events that take place in her life. These experiences began in childhood and feature prominently in his unlikely reunion with Rochester. Jane eventually marries her Master, despite her disabilities, and they live a full and happy life together.
