"'Not quite: you have secured the shadow of your thought...Where did you see Latmos? For that is Latmos. There--put the drawings away!'" (148).
Charlotte Bronte introduced Latmos into her novel to depict the strong feelings Jane already had for Mr. Rochester. It is a subtle way of saying how dedicated Jane is to him. In another light, the notes section within "Jane Eyre" claims that Mt. Latmos is "where the moon-goddess Selene seduced Endymion in his sleep" (The Victorian Web). Jane does not seduce Mr. Rochester, but his present wife attempts to ruin him because he no longer loves her. Mr. Rochester may have wanted to get rid of the image from his eyes when he realized that it not only connects him to Jane, but also to the past of his wife whom he keeps locked away. Bronte may have included Mt. Latmos to do some more foreshadowing and to make the reader wonder why he all of sudden turned the pictures away.
"Jane Eyre's Three Paintings." The Victorian Web. 27 November 2009. 19 January 1999.
http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/bronte/cbronte/bolt7.html
Photo Credit:
"Endymion on Mount Latmos." World Gallery. 28 November 2009. http://www.worldgallery.co.uk/art-print/Endymion-on-Mount-Latmos-102149.html
How can I tell where your thoughts begin and the critics' end?
ReplyDeleteMr. Rochester's wife was sick mentally. He did not know that fact before their marriage. Her parents and his father and brother were interested in that marriage,for different reasons.Am I right?
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