Between science and spirit: pseudoscience and parapsychology in Jane Eyre.

When Jane Eyre was published in 1847, Victorian Britain was experiencing an exponential rise in scientific interest and an increasing faith in empirical methods. This enthusiasm for scientific practices existed alongside widespread fascination with pseudoscientific theories, such as physiognomy, phrenology and mesmerism – ideologies which claimed to reveal character, moral dispositions or hidden mental states through a meticulous observation and analysis of an individual. At the same time, interest in the paranormal and the supernatural was exacerbated by the supposed phenomena witnessed during mesmeric treatments. Charlotte Brontë was shaped by this rich intellectual climate and these ideas are present in her literary production. This thesis aims to explore how Jane Eyre contains both direct and indirect references to contemporary pseudosciences and supernatural phenomena. The first chapter is an historical analysis of the pseudosciences in early Victorian Britain and discusses physiognomy, phrenology, mesmerism and initial parapsychological thoughts; the second chapter focuses on Charlotte Brontë, her cultural environment and her relationships with these ideas, while the final part examines Jane Eyre and demonstrates how pseudosciences, the paranormal, and the supernatural shaped the novel, identifying concrete examples within the text.