The Possibility of Taking a Walk: Jane Eyre’s Persistent Mobility

This article discusses the role of physical mobility in Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre. Moving away from the critical trend of viewing Jane’s journey in abstract, metaphorical terms, it focuses instead on her material movement, specifically her travels on foot. These shorter trips function as a powerful source of agency and a structuring device for the narrative. As Brontë repeatedly links self-sufficiency and growth to her protagonist’s mobility, she forges a model for individual development that seeks to elude the constraints of a restrictive gender ideology.