Jane Eyre was written in the earlier part of the 19th century and published in 1847 (4). One idea that the novel reflects from history is the age gap at marriages. During this era, it would be more common for an older man to marry a much younger woman. For example, Jane married Mr. Rochester, who was forty-years-old, when she was only nineteen (401). Marriages between such different age groups would be rarer in today's society. Secondly, in that period of time divorces were not possible if the other spouse was considered insane. This is why Mr. Rochester was unable to divorce Bertha Mason and marry Jane. A few months after their marriage, Bertha's attitudes changed into that of a lunatic and there was nothing that Mr. Rochester could do. Another event from the story which is portrayed from history is the outbreak of typhus fever at Lowood Institution. This disease spread the hardest around the years of 1837 and 1838 (Health and Hygiene in the Nineteenth Century), probably either before or while Charlotte Brontë was writing the book.
A symbolic significance is how Bertha Mason twice tried to set fire to Thornfield Hall (226, 652). Fire is an element that destroys. I think that the fire in this case represents how she herself was “destroyed” by becoming mad. The thematic value of the book is the love between Jane and Mr. Rochester.
Douglas, Laurelyn. "Health and Hygiene in the Nineteenth Century." The Victorian Web. 11 Oct. 2002. Web. 12 June 2011.
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Bronte, Charlotte. Jane Eyre. New York: Reader's Digest, 1984. Print.
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