In the year 1999, Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace grossed $1.027 billion in the box office. This was the first Star Wars movie in 16 years and introduced a whole new generation to Star Wars. In Re Jane A Novel, Patricia Parks uses this to her advantage to set up the time period. Based on the popularity of Star Wars during that time, it is not at all surprising that Jane and her friends enjoy Star Wars and reference it in everyday conversations. ““Good-bye, Jane Re. I wish you well. May the force be with you.” “And also with you,” I found myself saying” (Parks 16). This is a subtle Star Wars reference that Parks uses to show the time the novel is set in. It is evident that the novel can only be set in one of two years. It is set in 1999, or 2000. The reason we know it is no earlier than 1999 is because it is unlikely that Star Wars would have been popular enough with Jane’s generation to be used casually in conversation this way if The Phantom Menace hadn’t come to theatres yet. Parks also subtly tells us the novel is no later than 2000 by mentioning The World Trade Center. “I thought of my interview at Lowood on the 103^rd floor of the World Trade Center” (7). Parks uses both events, Star Wars, and 911, to send subtle messages to the reader about when the story takes place. She never comes right out and says what year it is. In addition to working for setting, it also works to add to both Jane and Eunice’s characters. This is a smart literary tactic that is worth emulating. I find it interesting the way Parks works Lowood into the story here. Presuming that some time will pass, the events of 911 are likely to occur during the story, which would cause Lowood to serve as a reference to death and despair, much as it did in Jane Eyre: An Autobiography with Hellen Burns. In Re Jane A Novel, so far Lowood only represents the misfortune of missed opportunity and economic hardship, but if 911 does occur later in the story it could be a foreshadow to Jane gaining fortune in unexpected ways. This would make the company Lowood an interesting symbol and plot device and is something I will continue to track throughout my read.

Works Cited

Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, imbd.com, 1999, accessed 3/27/22 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120915/

Parks, Patricia, Re Jane, Viking Penguin Publishing Group Penguin Random House LLC, 2015, ISBN 978-0-525-42740-7 accessed 3/27/22