Rome, Italy, is significant to Jane Eyre because Jane’s knowledge of Roman history shapes how she understands cruelty and power. As a child at Gateshead, Jane compares her abusive cousin John Reed to the Roman emperors after reading Goldsmith’s History of Rome. She specifically thinks of emperors such as Nero and Caligula, as she associates with tyranny. Alongside Chapter 1 of the book, I pulled this information from two literary blogs, Sharp Elves Society and Luccia Gray’s Rereading Jane Eyre, which examine the importance of Jane’s knowledge of Roman history. Gray explains that Jane’s reading shows that she is able to take what she learns about ancient history and apply it to her own circumstances. Rome illustrates the novel’s theme of class and social power because Jane uses the history of powerful Roman rulers to recognize the unequal power John holds over her. John constantly reminds Jane that she is financially dependent on his family and claims that the house and its books belong to him, connecting his cruelty to both wealth and authority. Mapping Rome on COVE reveals how a location far outside the novel’s immediate setting still influences Jane’s understanding of her world. Rome is not somewhere Jane physically travels, but its history gives her a pathway to identifying oppression and eventually speaking back against it.
Bibliography:
Gray, Luccia. “The Books Jane Eyre Read: Part One, at Gateshead Hall.” Rereading Jane Eyre, 11 June 2014, lucciagray.com/2014/06/11/the-books-jane-eyre-read-part-one-at-gateshead-hall/. Accessed 18 Sept. 2026.
“Roman Emperors in Mansfield Park and Jane Eyre.” Sharp Elves Society, 26 Feb. 2012, sharpelvessociety.blogspot.com/2012/02/roman-emperors-in-mansfield-park-and.html. Accessed 18 Sept. 2026.