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Pour citer cet article : Jessica COX, Sensational Realism? Jane Eyre and the Problem of Genre , Cycnos, Volume 25 Spcial - 2008, mis en ligne le 08 mars 2010 URL : http://revel.unice.fr/cycnos/index.html?id=5962 Voir l'article en ligne

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SensationalRealism?JaneEyreandtheProblemofGenre
JessicaCox JessicaCOXisalecturerinEnglishliteratureattheUniversity ofWalesLampeter.Shehaspublishedanumberofarticlesonthe sensationfictionofWilkieCollins,MaryBraddon,andMrsHenry Wood, and is the editor of the Penguin edition of Charlotte Bront'sShirley.Sheiscurrentlyeditingacollectionofessays on Braddon, and coediting (along with Mark Llewellyn) a six volume anthology set entitled Women and Belief for Routledge's History of Feminism series. UniversityofWalesLampeter(U.K.) ThisarticleexplorestheissueofJaneEyreandgenre,examining the novel's relationship to a multitude of literary genres, including gothic, realist, fairytale, bildungsroman, and sensation.CriticalassessmentsofBront'snovelhavetendedto explore the text's relationships with these various forms of fiction in isolation, focusing, for example, on the narrative's gothic tropes, or its relationship with the Victorian realist novel.Thisarticleseekstoexplorethetensionsinherentinthe text's relationship to these differing, often contradictory genres: to what extent are the realist elements of the text undermined by the narrative's reliance on supernatural, sensational,anddistinctlyunrealisticoccurrences?Attheheart ofthistensionisarguablyaconflictbetweenhighbrowandlow browliterature.How,ifatall,doesthenarrativenegotiateand resolve these tensions? In particular, I posit that Bront's novelcanbereadasaforerunnertothesensationnovelaform which became popular in the 1860s, and which is marked by a combinationofrealismandsensationalism.Anumberofsensation novels, including Mary Elizabeth Braddon's Lady Audley's Secret (1862) one ofthe definingtexts ofthe genre aredirectly influencedbyJaneEyre,reworkingelementsofBront'snarrative (in particular the bigamy plot, and the character of the mad wife). InlightoftheconflictingaspectsofBront'snovel,I questionhowusefulitistoattempttopigeonholethetextwithin a specific literary genre, and to what extent this may in fact limitourreadingandunderstandingofthenarrative. Iseekto ascertaintheextenttowhichtheconflictingelementsofBront's novelareultimatelyresolved,orwhetherthenarrativeasawhole is undermined by these contrasting features. In exploring Jane Eyre from this perspective, I seek to highlight not only the diversityofVictorianfiction,butalsotheproblematicnatureof genre itself, the boundaries of which, as Bront's narrative illustrates,arefluid,blurred,andattimesimperceptible. realism,romance,sensation,bigamy,authority,Bildungsroman

Everytextparticipatesinoneorseveralgenres,thereisnogenrelesstext,thereisalways agenreandgenres,yetsuchparticipationneveramountstobelonging1 CharlotteBrontsJaneEyreunquestionablyparticipatesinorengageswithamultitudeof literarygenres,includingfairytale,gothic,Bildungsroman,realism,romance,andsensation. Thisarticleseekstoexplorethetensionsinherentinthetextsrelationshiptothesediffering, often contradictory genres, and to analyse the conflict between highbrow and lowbrow literaturethatemergesthroughanexaminationofthenovel.Ibeginwithabriefconsideration ofthecharacteristicsof JaneEyre whichresultinitssimultaneousinclusionandexclusion from these various genres, before examining what I consider to be the most significant
JacquesDerrida,TheLawofGenreinDerekAttridge(ed.),ActsofLiterature(London:Routledge,1992), p.230(emphasisinoriginal).
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conflictintermsofgenre:thetensionbetweenthesensationalandrealistaspectsofthetext atensionwhichmarksmuchofBrontswriting.Ipositthat,inspiteofitsclaimstorealism, Brontsnovelcaninfactbereadasanearlyexampleofthesensationnovel,aformwhich cametoprominenceinthe1860swiththepublicationofworkssuchasWilkieCollinssThe Woman in White (1860), Mrs Henry Woods East Lynne (1861), and Mary Elizabeth BraddonsLadyAudleysSecret(1862).Thetensionbetweensensationalismandrealismcan bereadintermsofaconflictbetweenhighandlowliteraryartsomethingwhichBronts letterssuggestshewasbothawareofanduncomfortablewith.Iconsidertheextenttowhich theauthormanagestosuccessfullynegotiatethisconflictin JaneEyre,inpartthroughan explorationofthenovelsreception,andexploretheimpactofsomeofthesecontradictory featuresonboththenovel,andonourunderstandingofgenreitself. Many ofthediscussionsof JaneEyre andgenrefocus onthe novels participation in specific,individualgenres:VictorianAnderson,forexample,discussesBrontsengagement withfairytalesinherarticleInvestigatingtheThirdStory:BluebeardandCinderellain Jane Eyre;2 a plethora of critics have explored the gothic elements of Bronts novel, includingTamarHeller3andMargaretHomans;4thenotionofJaneEyreasBildungsroman hasbeendiscussedbyHyeyoungLee5andLornaEllis;6AlisonByerly7andDeliaDaSousa Correa8 areamongstthecriticswhohaveconcernedthemselveswiththerealistaspectsof Brontsnovel;whileJoanneSpiegel isoneofanumberofcritics toconcentrateonthe romancefeatures ofthetext.9 Intermsofthenotionof JaneEyre asaforerunnertothe sensation novel, a number of critics have made this connection: Winifred Hughes, for examplesuggeststhat[i]nthesensationnovelofthe1860s,theemphasisonviolentcrime wascombinedwiththeromanticandsexualmotifsofBrontsJaneEyre,10 whileVictorian commentatorssuchasMargaretOliphantalsonotedsimilaritiesbetweenBrontsnoveland thelatersensationnovel,arguingthatasingularchangehaspasseduponourlightliterature []ThechangeperhapsbeganatthetimewhenJaneEyremadewhatadvancedcriticscall herprotestagainsttheconventionalitiesinwhichtheworldclothesitself. 11However,there arenodetaileddiscussionsofthesensationalaspectsofJaneEyre,andtheirsignificanceto debatesabouttheconflictbetweenhighandlowliteraryartinBrontswriting. JaneEyrecannotbesaidtotrulybelongtoanyspecificgenre(thussupportingDerridas assertion that participation never amounts to belonging). A number of critics have consideredtheissueofBrontsengagementwithmultiplegenresin JaneEyre.RobynR. Warhol,forexample,discussingtheissueofdoubleness,arguesthatrealismandGothic
In Ruth Bienstock Anolik (ed.), Horrifying Sex: Essays on Sexual Difference in Gothic Literature (Jefferson:McFarland,2007),pp.11121. 3 JaneEyre,BerthaandtheFemaleGothicinDianeLongHoeveler(ed.),ApproachestoTeachingBronts JaneEyre(NewYork:ModernLanguageAssociationofAmerica,1993),pp.4955. 4 DreamingofChildren:LiteralizationinJaneEyreandWutheringHeightsinJulianE.Fleenor(ed.),The FemaleGothic(Montreal:Eden,1983),pp.25779. 5 JaneEyreasChristianBildungsroman.NineteenthCenturyLiterature.Vol.6,No.1(2002),pp.5575. 6 In AppearingtoDiminish:FemaleDevelopmentandtheBritishBildungsroman,17501850 (Lewisburg: BucknellUniversityPress,1999). 7 In Realism, Representation and the Arts in NineteenthCentury Literature (Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress,1997). 8 InDeliaDaSousaCorrea(ed.).TheNineteenthCenturyNovel:Realisms(London:Routledge,2000). 9 TheConstructionoftheRomancein JaneEyre. Readerly/WriterlyTexts.Vol.9,No.12(April2001), pp.13346. 10 WinifredHughes,TheManiacintheCellar(Princeton:PrincetonUniversityPress,1980),p.9. 11 MargaretOliphant,Novels, BlackwoodsEdinburghMagazine (September1867)inAndrewMaunder (ed.),VarietiesofWomensSensationFiction,Vol.1(London:PickeringandChatto,2004),p.173.
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romance[]arenotsomuchincompetitionasincontinuousoscillationwitheachother, servingtodoubleeachotheratcrucialmomentsofbothnarratives[JaneEyreandVillette].12 Warhol uses the example of the red room scenes, noting that what is presented is the perspective of a Gothic heroine, although the tale is being told by a resolutely realistic narrator,inthevoiceofJanesolderself.13Thisresolutelyrealisticnarratorisovertakenby sensationaleventswhichstandinstarkcontrasttoherworldlyperspective;thus,whilethe plot of the novel is undoubtedly sensational, Jane herself remains fixed in the realm of realism.Thecontrastinthetextbetweenthesetwogenresmightthusbereadspecificallyasa contrast between narrative events and narrator. Warhol continues: When the heroines experiencesaremoreGothicthanrealistic,andthenarratorsperspectiveisboundbythe assumptionsofrealism,thegapofdissonantselfnarrationintroducesadoublenessofgenreto parallel the heroinenarrators doubleness of perspective.14 Jane cannot avoid the gothic resonancesofherexperiencesinnarratingthemtothereader,inspiteofherstoicallyrealist perspective.Distinguishingbetweenheroineandnarratorin JaneEyre and Villette,Warhol proposes that[t]heheroinesarelivingaGothicromance,andthenarrators aretelling a realist tale.15 Echoing Derridas comments on genre, Warhol notes, binary oppositions betweengenres(theassumptionthateitheranovelisrealisticornot,andthatitsvalueresides initsgenericconsistency)cannothold,eveninanygivenmomentofaparticularnarrative. 16 ThisemphasisesthevalueofBrontstextinspiteofitsgenericinconsistencies,andraises questionsabouttheusefulnessofattemptingtocategorisetextsintermsofgenre.However, while Jane Eyre clearly engages simultaneously with both gothic and realist tropes, this engagement is nevertheless marked by tension; if the usefulness of querying Bronts participationincontrastinggenrescanbecalledintoquestion,itisalsoworthpointingout that the reason why critics have returned to this issue is undoubtedly because this dual engagementdoesnotsitentirelycomfortablywiththereader:wearepresentedwithanarrator intherealistvein,whoisovertakenbysensationalevents,but,unlikeJaneAustensCatherine Morland in Northanger Abbey, we are led to believe that these experiences are real.17 Furthermore,whileAustenpresentsaclearparodyofgothictropes,Janesgothicexperiences are,itseems,justthat:thereaderisneverencouragedtodoubtJanesversionofevents. Inanothersignificantassessment,LauraZuberoffersanimportantanalysisofthenovels engagementwithdifferentgenresinherarticle,Icanbutdie:TheGothicCycleofDeath and Rebirth in Charlotte Bronts Jane Eyre.18 As the title suggests, the discussion is primarily concernedwiththetexts engagement withandrejection ofgothicconventions. Zuber notes that [i]t is difficult to pin the novel down under one label or genre, and proposesthatthetextmovesfromonegenretoanother.19Thiswouldseemtoimplythatthe novel,whileengagingwithmultiplegenres,onlyparticipatesinonegenreatanygivenpoint. Contrary to this, I contest that the novel participates simultaneously in several different genres,andthatitisfromthissimultaneousparticipationthattensionssubsequentlyemerge.
Robyn R. Warhol, Double Gender, Double Genre in Jane Eyre and Villette in Studies in English Literature,15001800.Vol.36,No.4(Autumn1996),p.858. 13 Ibid.,p.861. 14 Ibid.,p.863. 15 Ibid.,p.864. 16 Ibid. 17 Warholsuggeststhatthecrucial differencebetween JaneEyre and NorthangerAbbey isthenarrative perspective(firstperson/omniscient)(ibid). 18 InTheCommonRoom.Vol.11,No.2(Spring2008), http://deptorg.knox.edu/engdept/commonroom/Volume_Eleven/number_two/Zuber/index.html 19 Ibid.
12

Zuber proposes that Bront seeks to produce a text free from genre. 20 This assertion regarding authorial intent is, I think, questionable. Even if we accept that Bront is consciously attempting to produce a genreless text, we must surely also accept the impossibilityoffulfillingsuchanambition:textsinevitablyengagewithestablishedliterary genres,andindeedBrontengagesdirectlywithearliertraditionsandworksinhernovel referencingnumerousothertexts,andarguablyassumingadegreeofpriorknowledgeonher readerspartinthisrespect. Intermsofthenovelsengagementwiththegothic,ZuberarguesthatBrontseeksto escapetheconfinesofthisgenre;however,sheconcludesthatwhilethetextattemptsto liberateitselffromgenreconvention[],eveninrejectingitsprotocols,thenovelendsup affirminggenresauthority,andproposesthat[t]hewaythatJaneEyrestruggleswithgenre conventions is initself an uncanny experience forthe reader, tothe point that it evokes sentiments uncannier than those a typical Gothic novel could produce,21 thus seemingly suggestingthatthenarrativesattemptstoescapethegothicare,inasense,ultimatelyfutile. Zubersreadingimpliesthatthenoveldeliberatelysetsouttosubvertandultimatelyeschew theconventionstraditionallyassociatedwithspecificliterarygenres.However,Iwouldliketo suggestthattheblurringofgenresin JaneEyre isinpartanunconsciousprocessbythe author,resultingtosomeextentfromherownvariedliteraryinfluences,andinpartanattempt byBronttofulfiltherequirementsperceivednecessaryforpublication,whichresultedin somethingofanideologicalconflict. ThisconflictisillustratedinBrontsresponsetoG.H.LewessassessmentofJaneEyre astoomelodramatic,22 highlightingtheconflictbetweensensationalismandrealisminher work.Herrejoinderaddressesthisanomalydirectly,andisworthquotingatlength:
YouwarnmetobewareMelodrame[sic]andyouexhortmetoadheretothereal. WhenIfirstbegantowrite,soimpressedwasIwiththetruthoftheprinciplesyou advocatethatIdeterminedtotakeNatureandTruthasmysoleguidesandtofollow in their very footprints; I restrained imagination, eschewed romance, repressed excitement:overbrightcolouringtooIavoided,andsoughttoproducesomething whichshouldbesoft,graveandtrue. My work (a tale in I vol. [The Professor]) being completed, I offered it to a publisher.Hesaiditwasoriginal,faithfultoNature,buthedidnotfellwarrantedin acceptingit,suchaworkwouldnotsell.Itriedsixpublishersinsuccession;theyall toldmeitwas deficient instartlingincidentandthrillingexcitement, thatit wouldneversuitthecirculatinglibraries,andasitwasonthoselibrariesthesuccess ofworksoffictionmainlydependedthycouldnotundertaketopublishwhatwould beoverlookedthereJaneEyrewasratherobjectedtoatfirst[on]thesame groundsbutfinallyfoundacceptance.23

ThisstatementoffersonepossibleexplanationfortheconfusionofgenresinJaneEyre,and suggeststhatwhileBrontfavouredrealism,shewasforcedtoadopttheconventionsofmore sensationalgenresinordertofindfavourwithpublishers. ThegenerictensionsinJaneEyrecanthusbepartlyexplainedbytheconflictbetweenthe authorsownliterarypreferences,andthedemandsofpublishersandreaders,andthisoffers

Ibid. Ibid. 22 G.H.LewessreviewofBrontsnoveldeclareditcontainedtoomuchmelodramaandimprobability, whichsmackofthecirculatinglibrary(G.H.Lewes,Unsignedreview,FrasersMagazine[December1847]in MiriamAllott[ed.],TheBronts:TheCriticalHeritage[London:RoutledgeandKeganPaul,1974],p.85)an institutionwhichwaslaterheldresponsibleforthepopularityofsensationfiction:thecriticH.L.Manselblamed periodicals,circulatinglibraries,andrailwaybookstallsforthisphenomenonofourliterature(HenryMansel, SensationNovelsinMaunder,VarietiesofWomensSensationFiction,p.34). 23 CharlotteBronttoG.H.Lewes(6November1847)inJulietBarker, TheBronts:ALifeinLetters (London:Viking,1997),p.168.
21 20

someexplanationforthesubversionofvariousgenericformsinthenovel.Iwishnowto brieflydiscussthewaysinwhichBrontbreakswithandmergesgenericconventionsinthe novel,makingitimpossibletoreachanysatisfactoryconclusionregardingthepositionofthe textinrelationtogenre. InopeningherfirstpersonnarrativewiththevariousscenesfromJaneschildhood,Bront seemsimmediatelytopositionhernovelasafemaleBildungsroman,whilethedetailshe providesofthehardshipsexperienced,firstatGatesheadandsubsequentlyatLowoodschool, anticipate the highVictorian realism of authors such as Charles Dickens and Elizabeth Gaskell. However, these characteristics of the text are immediately contrasted with the heroinespseudogothicexperienceintheredroom,inwhichtheyoungJaneisimprisoned, andsubsequentlyconvincesherselfthattheroomishauntedbytheghostofherdeaduncle. Thoughthesceneclearlyportraysthevividimaginationofascaredchild,itintroducesthe themeofimprisonmentthatissocrucialtothetext,andinparticularanticipatesthelater descriptionsofBerthaMason,imprisonedinthetopstoreyofThornfieldHall,andsubject,as Janeishere,toexcessiveoutbreaksofemotion.Thethemeofimprisonmentisunderstandably crucialtoreadingsofthetextasagothicnovel,andthisearlysceneanditsassociationwith thelaterimageofRochestersfirstwife,formodernscholarsatleast,alsoservestointroduce oneofthekeyfeministaspectsofthetext:thenotionofBerthaasJanesdouble,hersecret, repressedself.24 Throughitsassociationwiththegothicgenre,thenovelisalsoassociated withRomanticliterature,inspiteofitsstatusasadefinitiveVictoriannovel,25anassociation reinforcedthroughthedescriptionsandsymbolicsignificanceofnatureinthetext,aswellas throughtheportrayalofRochesterasaByronichero.26 IfBrontsportrayalofRochesterlinkshimtoRomanticandgothicliterature(anissueI willreturntoshortly),Janeishardlythetypicalgothicheroineaccuratelycharacterisedby Maggie Kilgour as passive and persecuted.27 Indeed, while the opening of the novel introducesgothicaswellasrealistelements,itquicklybecomesapparentthatJaneisnot going to play the role of passive heroine, thus the text deviates from the conventions associatedwiththegothic,evenasitsuggeststothereaderthepossibilityofthenovelas gothicromance. Janes opening rebellion against the tyranny of John Reed marks the first of several rebellionsagainstpatriarchalauthority.ThispositsJaneasapseudofeministheroine,andthe novel traces her path to (financial) independence, through her repeated rejection of the constraints which threaten to undermine that independence, even when such rejection involvesadegreeofselfsacrificeorinevitablyendsinsomeformofpunishment(herinitial rebellionagainstJohnReed,herrefusaltobecomeRochestersmistress;herrejectionofSt. John Riverss marriage proposal). Throughout the text, Bront deviates from gothic conventionbyportrayingherheroineasstrongmindedandstrongwilled. However,intheconclusiontothenovel,BrontarguablycompromisesJanespositionas quasifeministheroinethroughthedepictionofhermarriagetoRochesteracharacterwho simultaneouslyfulfilstherolesofvillainandromantichero.Consequently,thenotionofJane
Thisissuggestedby,amongstothers,SandraM.GilbertandSusanGubar,whodescribeBerthaasJanes own secret self (The Madwoman in the Attic: The Woman Writer and the NineteenthCentury Literary Imagination[NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress,1979],p.348). 25 Formanyreaders, JaneEyre hascometoepitomisetheVictoriannovel,yettheliteraryconventionsof VictorianismwerebarelyestablishedwhenBrontsnovelfirstappearedin1847. 26 ForadiscussionofRochesterasByronichero,seeSarahWootton,Picturinginmeaheroofromance: TheLegacyofJaneEyresByronicHeroinMargaretRubikandElkeMettingerSchartmann(eds.),ABreathof FreshEyre:IntertextualandIntermedialReworkingsofJaneEyre(Amsterdam:Rodopi,2007),pp.22942. 27 MaggieKilgour,TheRiseoftheGothicNovel(London:Routledge,1995),p.4.
24

Eyreasromanticlovestoryisunderminedthroughtheproblematicportrayalofthehero.If genreinBrontsnoveloccupiesapositionofconflict,thetextalsooffersaconflictingand contradictory depiction of Rochester. The reader is encouraged to engage with the Jane/Rochester love story, to desire the happyeverafter ending that Bront ultimately provides(Reader,Imarriedhim).28YetRochesterisalsothestereotypicalgothicvillain,the Bluebeardfigurewholockshisfirstwifeaway,andattemptstodeceiveJaneintoabigamous marriage.Heisoneinalonglineofpatriarchalfigureswhoseektoasserttheirauthorityover Jane,includingJohnReed,Brocklehurst,andSt.JohnRivers.Thesecharacters,asBarbara HillRigneyobserves,areagentsof[]asexuallyoppressivesystem,29 whorepeatedly attempt to contain or control the heroine. Jane encounters the first of these agents of patriarchalruleatGateshead,intheformofJohnReed,who,sheinformsthereader,bullied and punishedme;nottwoorthreetimes intheweek,noronceortwiceintheday,but continually(16).Janesattempttodefendherselfagainstoneofhisattacksresultsinher imprisonmentintheredroom.AtLowood,JohnReedisreplacedbyMrBrocklehurst,who humiliatesJaneinfrontoftheentireschool,denouncingherasaliar,andforcinghertostand foranhouronastoolapedestalofinfamy(79)aspunishmentforherallegedsins. JanesimpulseoffuryagainstReed,Brocklehurst,andCo.(77)atthispointinthenarrative is indicative of her attempts to resist patriarchal control in her quest for selfhood and independence. SoonafterherarrivalatThornfield,itisRochesterwhotakesontheroleofpatriarchal maleintentonmasteringtheapparentlywilfulJanearoleinsomesensealreadyfulfilledby theirrespectivepositionsasmasterofthehouseandgoverness.Aftertherevelationofthe existenceofhisfirstwife,heisunable,however,tobendJanetohiswillandconvinceherto livewithhimashismistress,andsheagainescapespatriarchalrule,onlytoencounteritinyet another form at Marsh End, in the figure of her cousin St John Rivers who, though compassionate(takingherintohishomeaftertheservantwomanhaspreviouslyrefusedher entry),neverthelessattemptstoexertcontroloverher,insistingthatshemustmarryhimifshe istoaccompanyhimasamissionary.Indeed,themasculineauthoritythesevariousfigures wieldoverJaneisreinforcedbythecomparisonshedrawsbetweenherselfandamasterless andstraydog(378)whenshearrivesstarvingandfriendlessonhercousinsdoorstep.Inthis respect, then, the doubling of Bertha and Jane is mirrored through the replication of the patriarchalmalecharacter;JohnReed,Brocklehurst,andStJohnRiverscanall,inasense,be readasRochestersdoubles. AfeministreadingofthetextmightargueconvincinglythatJanesprogressandself development are thus repeatedly undermined as she constantly exchanges one form of imprisonmentforanother,andthathermarriagetoRochesterattheendofthenovel(through which,underthemarriagelawsofthetime,sherelinquishesallherwealthandpossessions, including,significantly,theinheritancewhichhasprovidedherwithfinancialsecurityand independence)ismerelysymbolicofherfinalandultimatecontainment.30 Suchareading inevitablyunderminesthenotionofthenovelasbothaprotofeministBildungsromananda
28 CharlotteBront,JaneEyre (1847;London:Penguin,1996).Subsequentreferencestothiseditionare giveninthebodyofthetext. 29 BarbaraHillRigney,MadnessandSexualPoliticsintheFeministNovel:StudiesinBront,Woolf,Lessing andAtwood(Madison:UniversityofWisconsinPress,1978),p.17. 30 Thoughtheimplicationsofthemarriageinthisrespectarenotmadeexplicit,theannouncementofthe unionisprecededbyasceneinwhichJanesfinancialindependenceisrepeatedlyemphasised:reunitedwith Rochester,Janeinformshim,Iamanindependentwomannow;heresponds,Areyouanindependentwoman? Arichwoman?,andsheagainasserts,Iamindependent,sir,aswellasrich:Iammyownmistress(483).

romanticlovestory,whilesimultaneouslyemphasisingtheimportanceofthegothicthemeof imprisonmenttothestoryasawhole. Theconfusionofdiffering,sometimesseeminglyopposingliterarygenresinJaneEyreis, therefore,particularlyevidentthroughtheauthorsportrayalofRochesterasbothheroand villain.This,inturn,linkstoBrontsengagementwithandsubversionoffairytalesinthe novel, for Rochester is both Prince Charming and Bluebeard, while Jane is caught in a positionwhichpromises/threatenseitheraCinderellaliketransformation,orimprisonment and perhaps death at the hands of her own husband. John Sutherland, commenting sardonicallyonthesimilarities betweenRochesterandBluebeard,highlights thepotential dangersoftheapparentlyreformedvillain:
Doubtlessif,insteadofkillingBluebeard,thewifesbrothershadmerelyblinded himandcutoffahand(withthethreatthatifhedidnotbehavehimselftheywould comebackandcutoffsomemore),theoldroguemighthavebecomeatolerably goodhusband.Butwhatif,likeEdwardRochester,aftertenyearsofmarriage,his sightweretoreturnandbarringtheminorblemishofamissinghand(common enough,andevenratherglamorousinthesepostwaryears)Bluebeardstillcuta handsomefigure.Couldonebeentirelyconfidentthathiswifekillingwayswould notreturn?31

Throughitsuseandsubversionoffairytale,thenovelagainemphasisesthepotentialconflict forthereader:shouldweembracethehappyeverafterending,orworryforthesuccessorto themadBerthaMason?Themannerinwhichweinterpretthetextinthisrespectaffectshow we view the novel in terms of genre: if we accept the former scenario, the novel can comfortably occupy the position of Victorian love story; if we concur with the latter perspective,thenovelremainsrootedintheconventionsofgothicfiction,concerneduntilthe end with the issue of female imprisonment and male villainy. Ultimately, however, this conflict,likemanyothersinthenovelremainsunresolved. IturnnowtowhatisarguablythemostsignificantconflictintheJaneEyreintermsof genre:thedivisionbetweenrealismand(gothic)sensationalism.Therealistelementsofthe text,introducedintheopeningsectionofthenarrative,arecalledintoquestionnotonlybythe contrastinggothicelements,butalsobyimprobablecoincidences(Janefortuitouslyendingup onhercousinsdoorstep)andseeminglysupernaturaloccurrences(mostnotablythescenein whichJanehearsRochestercallingtoher,thoughheismanymilesaway),aswellasbythe sensationalelementsofthetext,whichmarkitoutasforerunnertothesensationnovel. Offering anauthoritative definitionofsensationfictionisproblematic,butthefeatures typicallyassociatedwiththegenreincludeacontemporarysetting,thepresenceofvillainous, sometimescriminalwomen,aconcernwiththebreachoftraditionalclassboundaries,andan emphasisonthemessuchascrime,madness,maritalbreakdownandbigamy.Untilrelatively recently,thegenrewasprimarilyassociatedwiththe1860s,withCollinss TheWomanin White generallycitedastheearliestexampleoftheform.However,inhisintroductionto VarietiesofWomensSensationFiction,AndrewMaunderrevisesearlierassumptionsabout the genre and argues that it was an important literary form from 1855 until 1890, thus suggesting thatitinitiallyemergedonlyafewyearsafterthepublicationoftheBronts novelsinthelate1840sandearly1850s. TherearestrikingsimilaritiesbetweenJaneEyreandthesensationfictionofauthorssuch asCollins,BraddonandWood.Significantly,bothareheavilyinfluencedbythegothicfiction ofthelateeighteenthandearlynineteenthcenturies(thus JaneEyre arguablyoccupiesthe spaceinbetweengothicfictionandthelatergenreofsensationfiction);bothtransferthe mysteries of the gothic novel typically set abroad to the more familiar landscape of
31

JohnSutherland,CanJaneEyreBeHappy?(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1997),p.80.

nineteenthcenturyEngland.32SimilarcharactertypesappearinJaneEyreandinthetypical sensationnovel:forexample,thepatriarchalmaleauthorityfigure,andthepoorgoverness who succeeds inbreaking throughthe class barrier andattaining adegree ofwealth and status.33 Furthermore,anumberofthecentralthemesofsensationfictionmirrorthoseof JaneEyre:illicitaffairs,illegitimatechildren(Adele),maritalconflict,madnessandbigamy, for example. In his Bibliography of sensation fiction, Andrew Maunder includes several works that appeartobedirectly influenced by JaneEyre,34 hence anumberofsensation novelsseemtoexplicitlydrawon,ifonlytosubvert,aspectsofBrontsnovel. BraddonsLadyAudleysSecretisundoubtedlythemostfamousexampleofasensational reworkingofJaneEyre.Bothnovelstellthestoryofanimpoverishedgovernesswhomarries into the upper classes,and the themes ofbigamy and madness feature in each text. The madwomaninbothnarrativeshasbecomeanimportantfigureforfeministcritics,largelyasa consequenceofherperceivedrebellionagainstpatriarchalauthorityarebellionsymbolised bytheattemptmadebytheprotagonistineachnoveltokillthemaleoppressorashesleeps, bystartingafire.However,unlikeBront,whodoesnotappeartoidentifyinanywaywith thefigureofthemadwoman,Braddonseemstoacknowledgethesignificanceofthemad wife, and to imply that patriarchal structures may be to blame for her madness, and, furthermore,thatshemaybeentitledtosympathyfromthereader.InBraddonsnovel,the charactersofJaneandBertha(andindeedtosomeextentRochesterthescheming,wouldbe bigamist),arecombinedinthecharacterofthenovels(anti)heroine,LucyAudley.Whilethe protagonistsbehaviourisultimatelycondemned,andsheislefttodieinamadhouse,the narrativemakesitclear,throughLadyAudleysconfession(unlikeBertha,themadwomanin Braddonsnovelisgrantedavoice),thatshehaslittlechanceofimprovingherlotinlife unlessshemarrieswell(shecannot,asJanedoes,relyonfortuitouscoincidencetosaveher). Whilebothtextspointtomarriageasbothaformofimprisonment,andaformofescape, Braddons critique of marriage is much more damning, and the narrative implies that if anyoneisresponsibleforLadyAudleysmadness,itispatriarchalsociety. The theme of bigamy also takes on a greater significance in sensation fiction than in Brontsnovel,inwhichthebigamousmarriageisavoidedatthelastminute,andinwhich, significantly,thepotentialbigamististheupperclassmale,forwhomsexualindiscretions weremoreacceptablethanfortherespectableVictorianwoman.Bigamybecameahugely popularplotdeviceinsensationfictionindeed,thebigamynovelhasbeenperceivedasa subgenre of sensation fiction by some critics35 so in this respect too Bront seems to anticipatethesensationnovel,thoughthebigamyplotinsensationfictiondiffersfromJane Eyre, as Winifred Hughes has suggested: in the authentic sensation novel,[]Jane no longerrunsawayfromthewouldbebigamist;sheismuchmorelikelytodabbleinalittle bigamy of her own.36 However, while this suggests a degree of subversion absent in Bronts earlier work, in fact, sensation fiction tends to ultimately adhere to Victorian
Thisisoneofthedistinctivefeaturesofsensationfiction.Asonecontemporarycriticfamouslyobserved, Proximityis,indeed,oneelementofsensation.Itisnecessarytobenearaminetobeblownupbyitsexplosion (HenryMansel,SensationNovelsinMaunder,VarietiesofWomensSensationFiction,p.38). 33 Brontworkedasagovernessforashorttime,sothepresenceofthecharacterintheirfictionishardly surprising.SensationnovelsfeaturingthefigureofthegovernessincludeEastLynne,LadyAudleysSecret,and CollinssArmadale(1866). 34 Amongst others, Mrs M. A. Birds The Hawkshawes (1865), John Berwick Harwoods Plain John Orpington(1866)andMrsMargaretArglessLadyBanksmere(1886). 35 SeeJeanneFahnestock,Bigamy:TheRiseandFallofaConventioninNineteenthCenturyFiction,Vol. 36,No.1(June1981),pp.4771. 36 Hughes,TheManiacintheCellar,op.cit.,p.9.
32

convention in the conclusion of the story: the challenge to morality is generally only temporary,and,likeJaneEyre,thetypicalsensationnovelconcludeswiththemarriageofthe heroandheroine. ThecriticalreceptionofBrontsnovelandthelaterworksofBraddonetalalsowarrants comparison.ReviewingJaneEyreshortlyafteritspublication,theAtlaspronounceditatale ofpassion,[]abooktomakethepulsesgallopandtheheartbeat 37 adescriptionthat anticipateslaterassessmentsofthesensationnovel,which,accordingtoonereviewer,did nothing more than preach to the nerves.38 Elsewhere, Jane Eyre was described as unnatural39(anepithetfrequentlyappliedtothesensationnovel).Brontwasalsoaccused ofcoursenessandvulgarity,40againtermsthatfrequentlyappearedincriticalassessmentsof sensation literature. Ofparticularconcerntoreviewersofboth JaneEyre andthefemale sensationwriterswasthenotionthatwomencouldproducesuchimmoraltales.Onecritic, writingbeforethegenderoftheauthorofJaneEyrebecameknown,commented,ifthey[the Bronts novels]41 are the productions of a woman, she must be a woman pretty nearly unsexed,42 whilethe PallMallGazette tookumbragewiththefemalesensationaliststhat outragemorals,mannersandprobability,43declaringthat[t]hesebalefulwritersshouldbe toleratednolonger[]Indecorousandproclaimedsensualityinafemalewritershouldbe visitedwithapunishmentasappropriatetotheoffenceasitisinthepowerofcriticsto inflict.44 Inspiteofsuchassessments,aswellasthethematicsimilaritiesbetween JaneEyre and sensationfiction,thereareofcoursesignificantdifferencesinparticular,intermsofthe representationoftheheroine.Unlikeinsensationfiction,thedeviantwomeninJaneEyre (BerthaMason,Adelesmother)donottakecentrestage.The(anti)heroineisacrucialfeature ofthesensationgenre,andsparkedintensecontroversywhenshefirstappearedcharacters suchasBraddonsLadyAudley,whosebeautifulfaade(whichstarklycontraststheplain featuresofBrontsJane)concealsanevilnature,andCollinssLydiaGwilt(Armadale),a villainesswhoisalsomarkedbyheroutstandingbeauty.Deviantwomenaresidelinedand marginalisedinBrontsnovel,thusAdelesmother,forexample,ispresentonlythrough Rochestersdescriptionofher,andappearsasastereotypicalfallenwoman:aFrenchopera dancer(160)whodeceivesRochester(theinnocentvictim?),andlaterabandonsherown child. AsisevidentfromherresponsetoLewesscriticismofhernovel,Brontvehemently defendedherselfagainstwhatwereessentiallyaccusationsofsensationalism.Theauthors discomfort with melodrama is apparent not only in her comments to Lewes, but also in statementsmadeinTheProfessorandinanumberofherletters.InTheProfessor,thefirst novelBrontwrote,butthelasttobepublished,thenarrator,WilliamCrimsworth,makesit clearthathisstoryisnotaromanticorsensationalone:Mynarrativeisnotexciting,and
Unsignedreview,Atlas(23October1847)inAllott,TheBronts,p.68. HenryMansel,SensationNovels, QuarterlyReview (April1863)inMaunder, VarietiesofWomens SensationFiction,p.33. 39 Unsignedreview,Spectator(November1847)inAllott(ed.),TheBronts,p.74. 40 SeeUnsignedreview,ChristianRemembrancer(April1848)inAllott,TheBronts,p.89;ElizabethRigby, Unsignedreview,QuarterlyReview(December1848)inAllott,TheBronts,p.11011. 41 Itwasassumed,when JaneEyre, WutheringHeights and AgnesGrey firstappeared,thattheywerethe productionsofthesameauthor. 42 Ibid.,p.116. 43 Unsigned, Peculiarities of Some Female Novelists, Pall Mall Gazette (January 1870) in Maunder, VarietiesofWomensSensationFiction,Vol.1,p.228 44 Ibid.,p.229
38 37

aboveall,notmarvellous.45 Lateroninthetext,henotes,Novelistsshouldneverallow themselvestowearyofthestudyofreallife,46seeminglyexpressingtheviewsoftheauthor: askedbyherpublishersforasecondnovelfollowingthesuccessof JaneEyre,sheagain proposedTheProfessor,arguingthatitcontainsmorepith,moresubstance,morereality,in myjudgement,thanmuchofJaneEyre.47Ironically,itseemsthisemphasisonthereal,the mundane,wasoneofthereasonsforthenovelsfailuretofindapublisher,pointingonce againtothefactthattheauthorsownidealsoffictionwerecontrarytoandinconflictwith thoseofherpublishersandreaders. WhileBrontmayhavebowedtopressurefrompublisherstoconstructamoreexciting, sensationalstory,itisclearthatshewasuncomfortablewiththisaspectof JaneEyre,and aspiredtowardsarealismwhichsheperceivedasofferinganincreasedpossibilityofartistic achievement. In a letter to her publishers written after the publication of Jane Eyre, she providesasignificantinsightintoherattitudetowardswritingandfiction,andinparticularthe emphasissheplacedonbothoriginalityandrealism:
Thestandardhero[e]sandheroinesofnovels,arepersonagesinwhomIcouldnever, fromchildhoodupwards,takeaninterest,believetobenatural,orwishtoimitate: wereIobligedtocopythesecharacters,Iwouldsimplynotwriteatall.WereI obligedtocopyanyformernovelist,eventhegreatest,evenScott,inanything,I wouldnotwriteUnlessIhavesomethingofmyowntosay,andawayofmyown tosayitin,Ihavenobusinesstopublish;unlessIcanlookbeyondthegreatest Masters,andstudyNatureherself,Ihavenorighttopaint;unlessIcanhavethe couragetousethelanguageofTruthinpreferencetothejargonofConventionality, Ioughttobesilent.48

Brontsuneasewithsensationalliteratureispalpablenotonlyinherresponsestoherown work,buttohersistersproductions aswell,andgoessomewaytowardsexplainingher criticismoftheirfiction.Discussing WutheringHeights (1847)inalettertoherpublishers, sheassertsEllis[Emily]hasastrong,originalmind,fullofstrangethoughsombrepower: whenhewritespoetrythatpowerspeaksinlanguageoncecondensed,elaboratedandrefined butinproseitbreaksforthinsceneswhichshockmorethantheyattract, 49thusechoing reviewerscriticismsofthenovel.ShewassimilarlycriticalofAnneBrontsTheTenantof Wildfell Hall (1848), declaring, [f]or my own part I consider the subject unfortunately chosenitwasonetheauthorwasnotqualifiedtohandleatoncevigorouslyandtruthfully thesimpleandnaturalquietdescriptionandsimplepathosare,Ithink,ActonBellsforte 50 atelling commentarywhichagainreveals theemphasisCharlotte Brontplacedonthe importanceofrealism.Hercriticismofhersistersworkcontinuedaftertheirdeaths.Inher preface to a new edition of Wuthering Heights and Agnes Grey,she publicly denounced Annessecondnovel,assertingthatthechoiceofsubjectwasanentiremistake. 51 Such criticismfurtherhighlightstheauthorsdiscomfortwithfictionthatappearedintendedmerely toshockandoutragetheconservativereader,thoughshewaswellawarethatthiswasnother sistersintention. WhileanumberofaspectsofBrontsnarrativelinkittothesensationnovel,tolabelJane Eyre anearlyexampleofsensationfictionisproblematic:notonlyasitcannotbesaidto
CharlotteBront,TheProfessor(1857;London:Penguin,1989),p.47 Ibid.,p.186. 47 Charlotte BronttoWilliam SmithWilliams (14December 1847)inBarker, TheBronts,p.173,my emphasis. 48 CharlotteBronttoWilliamSmithWilliams(September1848)inBarker,TheBronts,p.206. 49 CharlotteBronttoWilliamSmithWilliams(21December1847)inBarker,TheBronts,pp.1745. 50 CharlotteBronttoWilliamSmithWilliams(31July1848)inBarker,TheBronts,p.202. 51 CharlotteBront,BiographicalNoteforthesecondeditionofWutheringHeightsandAgnesGreyinAllott, TheBronts,p.274.
46 45

definitivelybelongtoanyoneliterarygenre,butalsobecausesuchanassertionsuggeststhat theboundariesofsensationfictionarefirmlydrawn,which,inevitably,isnotthecase.Indeed, likeJaneEyre,sensationfictioncanbeseentoincorporateanumberoffeaturesofthetypical realistnovel:LynPykettsuggeststhataspectsofsensationnarrative[]bearmanyofthe marksofrealism.52 Hence,whileBrontsnovelfeaturescharacteristicstypicallyassociated with the sensation novel, the works of Collins et al include characteristics familiar to Victorianrealism,furtheremphasisingtheblurredboundariesofliterarygenres. AsBrontsresponsetoG.H.LewesscriticismofJaneEyreillustrates,theauthorwas embroiled in aconflict between the desire to produce highliterary art, and a tendency towardsthelowartofthepopularnovelinparticular,gothicandsensationfiction.While Bront was clearly uncomfortable with the blurred boundary between realism and sensationalisminherwork,thisconflictwasnotconfinedtoherwork.Indeed,thedivision betweenrealismandsensationalismin JaneEyre canbeseenasrepresentativeofamuch broaderconflictbetweenlowandhighartinthenineteenthcentury.IfJaneEyreembodies manyofthetensionsinherentinattemptingtonegotiateanddefinetextsassociationwith specificgenres,italsorepresentsanauthorialconflictbetweenthedesiretoproduceworkofa highliterarystandard,andthedesireforpopularsuccess. The tensions inherent in Jane Eyre between conflicting literary genres remain largely unresolved: the text remains embroiled in its own internal conflict between realism and sensationalism.However,asDerridanotes,itispracticallyimpossiblefortextstoobeytothe letter the rules of a particular genre: [T]he law of the law of genre [] is precisely a principleofcontamination,alawofimpurity,aparasiticaleconomy. 53 Inmanyrespects, then, Jane Eyre servestoemphasisethefutility ofgeneric labels,whichremain,atbest, ambiguous,andtocallintoquestiontheusefulnessofattemptingtocategoriseliteraryworks inthismanner.Thenovelclearlysupportsthenotionthatgenericcategorisationisinmany respects if not entirely fruitless problematic. Jane Eyre encompasses characteristics associated with the Bildungsroman, fictional autobiography, the gothic novel, sensation fictionandrealism,aswellascontainingelementsofthesupernaturalandmakingextensive useoffairytaleyetitdoesnotbelongentirelytoanyoneofthesevariousgenres.Thetext must necessarily remain, therefore, outside the boundaries of specific literary genres, participatingbutneverbelonging,thussupportingDerridasargument.Tothisend,Bronts novelforcesareassessmentofcriticalconceptsofgenre.

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