Jane Eyre: A Novel of All Genres

Jane Eyre: A Novel of All Genres

Sometimes referred to as “sentimental fiction” or “woman’s fiction,” “domestic fiction” refers to a type of novel popular with female readers during the middle of the nineteenth century. In their emphasis on the inherent goodness of human nature and the power of feelings as a guide to good conduct, these novels seem partly a reaction against Calvinistic ideas that viewed humanity as inherently corrupt. While Charlotte Bronte’s 1847 novel, Jane Eyre, is commonly accepted as an example of Gothic literature, Romanticism, and Bildungsroman, it can also be classified as domestic fiction. The novel contains examples of all the most generally accepted characteristics of domestic fiction, as well as those of its more common classifications.

Gothic literature includes elements such as remote locations, ancient manor houses, supernatural encounters, complicated family histories, dark secrets and mysteries, and ruin and chaos to create suspense and terror. Jane Eyre includes most of these elements. Lowood, Moor House, and Thornfield are all remote locations, and Thornfield and Gateshead are each an ancient manor house. Supernatural encounters include: Jane’s encounter with the ghost of her late Uncle Reed