Quotation: “Fearful and ghastly to me–oh sir, I never saw a face like it! It was a discolored face–it was a savage face. I wish I could forget the roll of the red eyes and the fearful blackened inflation of the lineaments!” (Bronte, 332)
Comment/Connection: This quote comes directly from Jane when she is describing the “ghost” she saw. Her description made me think of Cohen’s theses once more, specifically Thesis I. Thesis I states that the monster is a cultural body, one that is typically a minority or underserved population of people. The language that Jane uses indicates a type of ‘otherness’ from herself and Mr. Rochester, both of whom are white, middle/upper class citizens. Jane uses terms like “savage” and “discolored” to describe this ghost as something abhorrent and different, while also indicating that she and Mr. Rochester are superior to the “savage ghost”. The language and time period in which this novel was published indicate that Jane most likely saw a person of color and believed that she was a “ghost”. While Jane wholeheartedly believes that what she saw was a ghost, she still uses derogatory terms to describe her. People of
color during the 1800s (and onward, unfortunately) were barely given the rights that were extended to their white counterparts. As a minority group, people of color seem to be fitting of the misunderstood “monster” category.
Questions: Did Bronte intentionally use a person of color to play the monster to raise awareness for this minority group or do you think that Bronte was drawn to the “savage” and “discolored” description of a “monster”?