Bronte uses mystery and suspense to help the reader anticipate future events. Bronte uses both narrative and plot techniques to create mystery and suspense. Bronte creates mystery and suspense through plot elements such as Grace Poole’s esoteric personality, the Fortune Teller’s visit to Thornfield and Rochester’s fire and subsequent mystery in his attic. Bronte employs literary symbolism as well as dreams to portray a Gothic setting. Jane Eyre takes on a prophetic and cabalistic tone through these literary devices.
Bronte used this device to create mystery and obscurity in her novel. Jane learns first of Grace Poole’s occult nature when she hears Grace laugh while being shown to the attic by Ms Fairfax. Bronte creates a sense of mystery by describing the first scene. Jane describes the attic in chapter 11 as “black, like a vault”, and the passageway that leads to it as “narrow-low, and dim”. Jane is able to observe that all doors are shut. This allows the reader the impression that Thornfield’s third floor is isolated and difficult to access. It could also be an intentional attempt to conceal something. Jane describes the laughter she hears in Chapter 11, Page 122 as “a peculiar laugh; distinct and formal, without mirth”. Jane and the reader both find it puzzling that this laugh is not cheerful or delighted. Jane is curious and asks Mrs Fairfax where the laugh came from. Jane is not satisfied with Mrs Fairfax’s vague response, and even less so when she hears the laugh again, which she describes as “tragic” and as “preternatural as any laugh I have ever heard.” (Chapter 11, Page 123). Jane’s further inquisitive remarks are answered vaguely and then the topic is changed. Jane notices Grace Poole in Rochester’s room the following day. The circumstances are fairly normal. Grace is dressed normally in the morning. She does not display the usual paleness or desperation of someone who would have attempted to murder. Her extreme ordinariness prompts the readers to see beyond her outer appearance and adds suspense. Bronte contrasts Grace Poole’s apparent normalcy with her mysterious description to create suspense as Jane relates to Rochester the dream she had about the unknown figure who tore her wedding veil. Rochester’s “solving of mystery” (chapter 26, page 319) is a momentary relief for Jane, but not enough to satisfy the reader. Jane describes the terrifying event in vivid detail and the fear she felt. Bronte uses Grace Poole for suspense and mystery by using vivid descriptions of her ghostly presence.
Bronte creates suspense with her use of the fortune teller, Thornfield. She does this by using the strange and mysterious nature of these fortune tellers. Bronte creates suspense by having Jane say, “And the Sybil-if Sybil she was” (chapter 19 page 221) to suggest that Jane’s character may be doubtful or she might not be as she appears at first. Jane’s indifference towards whether her fortune is read makes the reader curious. “I care not, mother. You may please yourself,” she says (chapter 20, page 221). Jane’s dire situation is accurately described by the fortuneteller. The best feelings of man are kept away from you. You are stupid because no matter how much you suffer, you won’t beckon this feeling to come to you. And you certainly won’t move to meet her where she awaits. This description is both accurate and creates suspense. The reader knows that the fortune-teller is referring to this. Jane and the audience are shocked when Grace Poole’s name is mentioned.
It is the reader’s desire to find out more that draws them into this mysterious situation. The fortune teller seems to have struck a chord with Jane when she brings up Mr Rochester. The reader is more interested in her announcement of Rochester’s upcoming marriage. Rochester reveals himself, and the mystery builds up to a climax. It is true that the reveal of Rochester’s identity solved some of the mystery. However, it would be more accurate to state that it only added to it, as his purpose was still unknown. The reader is intrigued by Rochester’s apparent distress at learning of Mason’s Thornfield residence, which creates suspense about his intentions and future events. Jane’s comment at the end of Chapter 19 (page 230) leaves Bronte’s audience feeling uneasy. This will not be a peaceful night’s sleep. Bronte’s suspense and tension about the impending tragedy is well-created.
The fire in Rochester’s attic bedroom is not only mysterious, but it also alerts you to what lies there. Bronte has already created a ghostly and supernatural atmosphere in the chapter before the fire. Jane’s anxious and nervous heart combined with the “vague and peculiar murmur”, (chapter 15, pages 167), creates an atmosphere of tension and suspense. Jane’s descriptions resemble a horror movie. “My door was touched. It felt as though fingers were sweeping the panels along the dark corridor outside in a groping fashion” (Chapter 15. Page 167). Jane’s constant calming is very effective in increasing the tension. “The thought [that it could be Pilot] calmed my somewhat: I laid down.” The nerves are composed by silence” (Chapter 14, page 167), which is followed, in the end, by another sound that is even more frightening than the first.
Jane’s response when she hears laughter ringing at her door is a bit disturbing. “My initial impulse was to stand up and fasten a bolt” (Chapter 15, Page 168). Jane’s recurrent use of “something” instead of “someone”, to describe the source, alerts her reader to the true nature of the laughter. Bronte establishes suspense by Jane’s obsession with the fire. She also ignores the laughter for a moment. This creates an eerie tension. Rochester, upon the extinguishment of the fire, decides to visit the third story (chapter 15, p. 170). Rochester’s instructions for Jane to stay still and not call anyone are a warning of danger. Jane’s atmosphere calms down as time goes by, with no sounds being heard. The night is also becoming colder. Rochester’s calm return makes the reader uneasy. Rochester’s refusal to reveal more about the fire increases suspense. His vague responses do not provide any satisfaction. The tension that was caused by impending danger begins to fade, as does the suspense surrounding Jane’s feelings toward Rochester.
Bronte is very effective in using literary symbolism in her novel to build suspense. Jane, upon accepting Rochester’s marriage proposal tells her readers the great horse-chestnut tree in the orchard has been hit by lightning at night. The trunk is split into two halves. Rochester, after Jane and Rochester have united, says that he is “no different from the old lighting-struck tree in Thornfield orchard”. (Chapter 37 page 493) Jane assures Rochester however, that “plants are going to grow around your roots”. (Chapter 37 page 493).
Bessie’s ballad, Gateshead (chapter 4, page 29), describes “a poor boy” wandering around the moors in the company of “hardhearted men”. Jane’s wanderings are foretold in the ballad. This ballad is a description of God being present with the child orphan. Jane also remembered God while she wandered and struggled to survive. Rochester performs a song to Jane just before their intended marriage. The song contains many prophecies and symbols. The song refers to a lover whose “parting” was his pain (Chapter 24, Page 304), referring to Jane’s upcoming escape from Thornfield. Rochester’s inability to see is referenced by the man who pressed her to him “As blindly as eagerly”. Rochester says at the end of his song, “My love placed her little hands with noble faith into mine. And vowed to wedlock’s holy band our natures will entwine.” (Chapter 24, Page 305), implying that they would eventually marry. Bronte’s subtle warnings of future events create suspense through these hidden predictions.
Jane, in particular, has many dreams during the course of the novel. Bronte can use these dreams to create suspense and mystery by foreboding events. Jane has a dream of a young child, just before Bessie goes to Bessie’s bedside. Jane remembers Bessie saying, “To dream that one has children was to be in trouble. Either for yourself or your family.” Jane begins to dream of a young child, “seven consecutive night” later (chapter 23, page 248). Bessie’s tragedy, which followed Jane’s dream, draws the reader into a tense environment where an impending event is certain. Robert from Gateshead visits Jane on the night after John Reed died a week prior and Mrs Reed is about to die. Bronte’s drams about infants warns the reader of future events, while also creating a Gothic supernatural atmosphere. Jane shares with Rochester two dreams that she had just before her wedding. Rochester kept Jane’s promise to stay up the night of their wedding.
Jane describes a Gothic and mysterious atmosphere in Chapter 25 (page 315). Jane recalled “a dark night with gusts” where she “experienced some strange, regretful feeling of a barrier separating us” on page 35. Bronte is perhaps most famous for her explicit warnings about Bertha. Jane describes herself, “following a winding road of total obscurity; rain pelted on me” (chapter 24, page 315). She is referring to her wanderings in the wake of Thornfield. Jane’s second dream shows Thornfield Hall to be a “dreary ruins” (Chapter 25, page 311). Bronte uses this prophecy to bring her warnings to a climax. Jane’s memory of “the crumbling wall” (chapter 25, page 316) is similar to what happened after Bertha jumped off the battlements. Jane had a dream similar to Bertha’s in which she “lost my equilibrium, fell, then woke up”. These dreams add to the Gothic setting and create a sense of dread.