Jane Eyre, I Care

I’ve written here before on the connection between being an avid reader and being a good writer ("Where You Read, I Will Follow"). I won’t go into it again, but I am constantly reminded of it. I’m currently reading “Jane Eyre” (I never read it in high school or any other school)  and aside from loving the story, loving the beautifully written prose, and loving the fact that several people on the bus to and from work over the past two weeks since I started reading it have interrupted my reading to talk about the book – how cool is that? – I’m loving all the words, the words in English that must have been commonly used in 1847 when Charlotte Bronte wrote “Jane Eyre,” and which I’ve never seen before. Inditing – Recalling her school days, Jane says of the miserly and miserable headmaster Mr. Brocklehurst, “he bored us with…readings from books of his own inditing, about sudden deaths and judgments” – in other words, books he wrote himself Disembarrassed – When being formally introduced to Rochester for the first time (after already having met him on the road when he fell from his horse) Jane is nervous and “quite disembarrassed” when she’s able to take a seat, “relieved” at Rochester’s lack of false politeness Wot – When Rochester says “God wot I need not be too severe about others,” in this case wot means “knows,” as in “God knows…” Condoled – Describing the housekeeper Mrs. Fairfax’s attempt to maintain conversation with Rochester, her employer, Bronte writes that “she condoled with him on the pressure of business,” condoled being related to condolence and here meaning sympathize Celerity – Upon being brought tea to serve to Rochester, Mrs. Fairfax arranges the cups and spoons with “assiduous celerity,” or speed Adventitious – Jane, pondering Rochester’s appearance, thinks that there is “so haughty a reliance, on the power of other qualities, intrinsic or adventitious, to atone for [his] lack of mere personal attractiveness…,” with adventitious meaning “coming from another source and not inherent or innate” Meed – Describing Rochester’s compliment on her teaching skills, Jane says “it is the meed teachers most covet,” with meed meaning “reward” Contumelious – During a house party the comely Miss Ingram pushes Rochester’s little ward Adele away “with some contumelious epithet,” not a terribly charming way to behave to a child, as it means “rude” These are just a few of the words (in fact, they appear within pages of one another) that make reading “Jane Eyre,” or any book that uses words that may no longer be much in use, such an adventure. More than that, though, they continuously remind me of the beauty of language and the written word and the importance of choosing the right words to evoke emotion, pass along information, and maintain your reader’s interest. You may not have the need to use words like meed or wot or celerity very often, but aren’t you disembarrassed to know they’re there when you need them?

Note: You can download Jane Eyre for free here from Project Gutenberg.

Comments

[Brad Shorr]

Dan, Great post, which also reminds us that the English language is continuously changing, and probably at an ever increasing pace. It's interesting to think about what our words will sound like to people forty or fifty years from now. They might be writing a blog post just like this one - about this very post!

[Teresa Henderson]

You didn't mention "cadeau" which is used a couple of times in my third-favorite-book-of-all-time (behind The Good Earth and the Grapes of Wrath). And "governess." Who says that these days?

I love that book.

[hopeinbrazil]

Hello, this is my first time stopping in at your blog. I love Jane Eyre for the rich language. I just finished Count of Monte Cristo and learned quite a few new (old!) words. The way Dumas used "prodigal" was different from common usage and a quick look in the dictionary showed me that I'd been using the word incorrectly all my life.

[Kate]

Very pleased to have stumbled across your blog. I plan to visit it several times a week.

[Sherrilynne Starkie]

Excellent post. Love Bronte!

[B. A. Fine]

Referring to an amber-colored hair ornament: "it contrasted well with the jetty mass of her curls."

Thank you a fascinating post!