Milcote, spelled as Millcote in Jane Eyre, is a village in Warwickshire, England. Prior to 1894, Milcote was included in the Weston-upon Avon civil parish; Milcote became its own civil parish--or county, as is equivalent in America--with a small population of about 50 people with its borders reaching 2 miles in length and a little over 600 acres of land. It runs along the rivers Avon and Stour, just south of their junction. It saw a boom during the mid-1800s when the railway ran through and created a small bustle from the industry. The railway is no longer operating and its old rail lines, from the Great Western Railway, have since been repurposed as a greenway for recreational use. This account varies from the Millcote portrayed in the novel, in which it seems lively and bustling as a town; this is an interesting contrast that separates the fictional from the real.

That still isn't an overabundance of information. At least, it doesn't say anything in neon fluorescence; rather, the information conveyed lies between the lines. I was frustrated with not being able to find a lot of information on Milcote and almost gave up to move on to another topic. After a moment's thought and a leaf through this portion of the novel, however, made me pause. In Chapter 10, Jane receives a response letter to her job advertisement. She is told nothing but how many pupils she would instruct, how much money she would earn a month, and whom to send her information to (82). While that does seem sufficient enough information to begin contemplating things, Jane takes this as her chance to completely change her life and dives in headfirst. To me, that would be terrifying to change your life that drastically in blind faith, especially in light of living in an age with infinite knowledge accessible at the tip of my fingers. Now, Jane does mention how unsure the prospect is but is ultimately willing for some variation and excitement in her life (93). Milcote is significant in my realization because the unknown culminates in her arrival there, in which no one is there to greet her and she doesn't quite know what to do in the interim or what to expect once this moment passes (86-87). Chapter 11 marks the threshold for Jane as she physically moves from comfort to uncertainty, from Lowood to Milcote and Thornfield. This murky world is symbolized on this side of the page from the minimal information I was able to find on the town, but it also helps me put myself in Jane's shoes more through understanding how much courage it would've taken to undergo such a significant move in a time where few details were exchanged.

Works Cited

"Parishes: Weston-upon-Avon with Milcote." A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 5, Kington Hundred. Ed. L F Salzman. London: Victoria County History, 1949. 198-202. British History Online. Web. 17 January 2022. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol5/pp198-202.

Reply 400 m east (not south-east) of the church at Luddington By Kevin Flynn (03/08/2017), et al. “Milcote Manor, Lower Milcote SE of Luddington.” Our Warwickshire, www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/catalogue_her/milcote-manor-lower-mil....

“Milcote.” Our Warwickshire, www.ourwarwickshire.org.uk/content/location/milcote-stratford-on-avon-wa....