Jane Eyre 12.

“ . . . like a wild, frantic bird rending it’s own plumage in desperation . . . “(Brontë 257)

Many times when birds become flustered they flap their wings in desperation to take flight to safety. However more often than not they wind up with a broken wing or flap themselves into exhaustion and die. Brontë compares Jane to a frantic bird because Jane is acting out immensely because of Mr. Rochester’s actions. She believes him to be getting married to Miss. Ingram and she decides to leave. By Brontë saying she will render her own plumage she means that if Jane continues to act the way she currently is than she will end up losing Rochester and everything she’s worked for.

Jane Eyre 11.

“ . . .a careless shepherd if I had left a lamb. . . so near a wolf’s den . . . “ (Brontë 219)

At this point in the novel Rochester has left Jane alone with a bleeding patient in dire need of assistance. She is frightened to the extent where she is almost incoherent. She is incapable of bandaging his wound and fears greatly that he will die before the return of Rochester and the surgeon. Brontë compares Jane to a lamb because before a lamb matures into a sheep it is entirely dependent on either it’s mother or it’s shepherd. In this case Jane’s shepherd is none other than Rochester and him leaving her alone could have dire consequences due to the fact that she is so dependent on him.

Jane Eyre 10.

“ . . . with her long curls and blue eyes . . . just as she was painted . . .” (Brontë 25)

At this point in the novel everyone in the Reed household is gawking over Georgiana’s beauty. They disregard Jane as part of the family, not only because of her behavior but because she is not much to look at. Brontë made such a big point of this because she wants to make the reader realize that appearance was a huge part of life and social status in the mid 1800’s. Even more interesting is that appearance is still a huge part of fitting in in todays society some hundred years later.

Jane Eyre 9.

" . . . remorse is the poison of life . . . " (Brontë 138)

When Brontë says this he means that if life if lived through regret and remorse than there really is no living. Jane Eyre has a lot to regret from her life but she has chosen to push past it and more forward, living for the future. If she had not chosen to do so she would be over come by depression because of her child hood and would never be able to move on. She would forever be stuck seeing out of the eyes of that little girl.

Jane Eyre 8.

" . . . an uncongenial alien permanently intruded on her own family group . . . " (Brontë 16)

At this point in the novel Jane Eyre resents her Aunt more than ever, and her Aunt is none too fond of her. Brontë could have chosen to use to term 'alien' for more than one reason. The word alien is often used to describe a foreigner which Jane technically was. The only reason she was living there was due to the fact that her father was deceased and had requested she stay there. Another usage for the word alien is in the extraterrestrial sense. Jane was not classically "beautiful" and her Aunt was never shy to tell her. Brontë could have been using this term to describe her lack of blending in with the Reed family.

Jane Eyre 7.

" . . . they let us ramble in the wood like gypsies . . ." (Brontë 78)

Gypsies, among other things, are known for their free spirits and diverse, spirited travels. By Brontë comparing the girls to gypsies she is simply saying that they took everything in, every bit of nature that surrounded them and appreciated every inch She also meant that the girls frolicked to and fro through the woods with out a care in the world or a destination, much like gypsies.

Jane Eyre 6.

" . . .Solomon said . . . "Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith . . . " (Brontë 75)

Solomon was known not only for creating Jerusalem and the Holy Temple but also for his wisdom, his wealth, and his writing. He is often times quoted much as he was in Jane Eyre. This particular quote has been paraphrased an umpteenth amount of times over the years. It is saying that it is better to be poor and have love than to have all the riches in the world and know only hate. Brontë used this quote because she was explaining the differences between Lowood and Gateshead. Although Gateshead was much more pristine and seemed to be "better" at a glance it was filled with nothing more than bitter memories for Jane.