In Jane Eyre, each episode that Charlotte Brontë tells of Jane's life tells of a new struggle, always starring a man and his patriarchal institution: John Reed's Gateshead, Brocklehurst's Lowood, Thornfield of Rochester and St. John Moor's house. In every circumstance, these men attempt to confine Jane to an inferior role as a woman. Looking back on his life he writes: "I have never in my life known any means in my relationships... between absolute submission and determined revolt." Because of this tireless opposition to excessive power, Jane often uses images and descriptions of slavery to characterize these relationships. But his use of slavery as an analogy evolves. Beginning as a term of ironic empowerment, Jane soon rejects the perception of herself as a slave and eventually reaches a point of feminist enlightenment where she realizes that she is naturally free. Consequently, the metaphor of slavery describes his journey to overcome the oppression that threatens his inherent freedom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Jane first introduces the motif of slavery during her time in Gateshead, where, associating her revolutionary passion with those destitute souls, she proudly declares herself a slave. After a painful round of bullying, he yells at John Reed, "You're like a murderer, you're like a slaver, you're like the Roman emperors!" (11) She writes, “like every other rebellious slave, I felt resolute” (12) and “my whole heart [was in] insurrection!” (15) Jane's dramatization of her struggle to epic proportions and her sentimental description of how the insurrection grips her heart both paint a romanticized picture of herself as a slave. She is absolutely entranced by the role. The rhetorical use of incendiary and exclamatory phrases also indicates the extent to which Jane draws power from this typically powerless condition. Indeed, when he finally resists his oppressors, he feels his "soul begin to expand, to exult, with the strangest sense of freedom, of triumph" (37). At this point in the novel, Jane refers to herself as a slave with exultation, indicating her satisfaction as a dejected and abused loner. This also clarifies Jane's feelings towards oppression as a whole at this stage in her progression: although it causes her great pain, it also satiates her, providing her with strength and direction. In the dusty and decrepit halls of Lowood, as the metaphor of slavery is suffused with a melancholic air, Jane's view of her cruel subjugation also shifts to one of dark and desolate sadness. One episode demonstrates this very convincingly: Jane's unjust punishment at the hands of Mr. Brocklehurst. Forced by this tyrant of a schoolmaster to perch silently on a stool in front of the school, Jane is tired and ashamed. Yet, as Helen Burns passes, she observes that "it was as if a martyr, a hero, had overcome a slave or victim, and imparted strength in the passage" (67). The image of our "slave" in this passage is completely different from that of Gateshead. The fact that Helen is portrayed as a savior figure who helps and pushes Jane forward through her punishment shows that Jane lacks her previous "rebellious slave" determination. Now Jane is a troubled victim, not a passionate rebel. It is also important to note that the powerful person in this example, Helen, is a character of marked passivity, suggesting that it is Jane's tireless insurrection that renders her powerless. In both cases, she no longer derives the same power from her status as a slave that she received in Gateshead.He gave up exclamations for quiet thoughts, writing, "I longed for freedom; for freedom I panted; for freedom I uttered a prayer; it seemed lost in the wind which then blew faintly" (85). The division of this sentence into several independent clauses separated by semicolons indicates the desperate nature of his struggle. The brevity of the sentences forces them to be spoken in a breathless, tired manner that suggests exasperation and desperation, as if the speaker is barely able to put the thought together to express it. But, at the same time, the punctuation forces us to read the sentence with a certain speed, suggesting an importunate nature to the thought. Jane's victimized sadness and desire for freedom suggest that the metaphor of slavery and its oppression have developed into sources of depression and weakness; she is overwhelmed by their power. At Thornfield, Jane more fervently expresses her desire to be free and independent from all tyranny and, in accordance with this, denies the slave analogy. As Rochester and Jane return home after a day of shopping, she observes that his "smile was like that which a sultan might…bestow upon a slave whom his gold and gems had enriched" (269). Jane reacts harshly: "I crushed his hand, which always sought mine, vigorously, and returned it red with passionate pressure" (269). This example intensifies the metaphor on a physical level: Rochester's treatment of Jane as a sex slave is compared to the physical act of preying on her. The ferocity of Jane's tangible rejection also represents the figurative passion with which she rejects Rochester's perceived attempts to enslave her. Although this slavery is a monetary dependency, not a cruel punishment, Jane still rejects it, saying, “I will not bear you an inch of menagerie…so do not consider me an equivalent for one” (269). This example of slave imagery marks another shift in the use of metaphor: it is the first time that Jane herself does not portray herself as a slave; rather, watch someone else make the connection. This suggests that Jane has pushed the analogy out of her mind, or at least denies her position as a slave. It doesn't even seem valid anymore. Jane's ceasing to view herself as a slave and refusal to be viewed as such by others can be seen as a reflection of her disavowal of oppression because it accompanies denial of Rochester's inferior treatment. The final evolution of the metaphor is Jane's realization that she is a naturally free woman, not a slave. When St. John proposes marriage, Jane is horrified and gasps, "Oh! That would never do!" (407) She would “often suffer, no doubt, attached to him” (407). However, her consideration of his offer to join him in missionary work pushes her to an important discovery: she writes: "As his curate, his companion... I should still have my uncontaminated self to turn to: my natural feelings and not enslaved..." (407) As his wife, Jane would be oppressed and confined, but as his mere companion, her "heart and mind would be free" (407). Jane is not a slave, she has freedom. The only reason she could be considered a slave is because men try to hold her down and abuse her with their power and money. Jane's decision not to marry St. John but rather to enter into a marriage with Rochester based on equality is a translation of her overcoming not only the figurative metaphor of slavery, but also the real and cruel treatment that limited her life and his pursuit of happiness. The development of Brontë's slave images over the course of the novel,