Jane Eyre Vocab List

Antipathy

Aversion, a feeling against something/someone, hostility; that which is contrary in nature (ANTI-) opposite of sympathy --> a fitting description for John Reed to seems opposed to most everyone + everything in his environment. Jane says he has "an antipathy to me."

Ignominy

Public shame or disgrace; Bessie threatens to tie Jane down if she wont calm down; Jane submits to avoid the ignominy of such public shaming

Ostensible

Stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily so -- outward, professed. Jane's ostensible errand is intended to get new shoes when in fact she plans to mail a letter to get a placement as a governess

Preternatural

Beyond what is ordinary; exceeding regular or conventional explanations for events. Jane references a preternatural voice that might come out of the gloom at Gateshead as she imagines the source of strange events that occur there.

Solicitude

An attitude expressing excessive attentivenessl anxiety or concern. "I felt a conscientious solicitude": Jane's growing relationship with Adele becoming deep rooted care for her and her education.

Physiognomy

Analysis of character via facial expressions. Note the freequent mention in the novel of details of a character's head

Neophyte

beginner, novice; someone new to an experience -- Rochester sees Jane as new to life, new to the challenges and obstacles that have battered him: "you have no right to preach to me, you neophyte, who have not passed the porch of life."

lugubrious

Looking or sounding sad, mournful, or gloomy; before Jane knows about Bertha but hears her cries and laughter, Jane notes, "I started awake on hearing a vague murmur, peculiar and lugubrious."

Enigmatical

Not clearly understood; puzzling, hard to comprehend; Jane comments, "I was occupied in puzzling my brain over the enigmatical character of Grace Poole."

Acumen

Keen insight; shrewdness: Jane describes Mr. Rochester with this term because he can understand what's going on with her even when she says nothing: "Mr. Rochester had sometimes read my unspoken thoughts with an acumen to me incomprehensible."

Despotic

tyrannical, typical of a ruler with absolute power that rules oppressively Bronte characterizes Mrs. Reed as despotic when Jane first sees her in her bed after Jane returns to Gateshead.

presentiment

an intuitive feeling about the future, especially one of foreboding; Jane has a long discourse on her "presentiments" surrounding the dreams of the baby and the sense of foreboding element adds to the more supernatural aspects of the story.

Tempests

Violent storms or uproars; Jane speaks of "winter's tempests" as she goes out to find the chestnut tree split in two

Rêverie

A state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts; daydreaming

"When at last she left you, you lapsed at once in deep reverie: you betook yourself slowly to pack the gallery."

Ascendancy

occupation of a position of dominant power or influence

"I broke from St John, who had followed, and would have detained me. It was my time to assume ascendancy."