A new Brontë-related thesis:
Junno, Oona
University of Oulu, 2025
Representation by one definition is considered to be a form of mental models that shape our understanding of people both as individuals and as a part of bigger groups. Exposure to specific imagery influences this cognitive processing, meaning the way we represent things and concepts impacts the way they are perceived. This perception, in turn, affects the future representations of said instance. In short, representation does not work in a void, and within studying a minority, connotations and representations are important to scrutinize. In this thesis, the aim is to examine how Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë represent supposed Romani characters. These two novels are considered among the most loved ones in recent history, and they are constantly studied both in academic settings and in media. The images reinforced are analysed in their historical contexts and then further referred through the theory of othering. Findings of the study in the case of both novels see that they reflect the stereotypes and societal attitudes towards the Roma in the 19th century in which the books were written. In Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is described using words like “dark”, “black” and “wicked” to distance him from the other characters, and even though his Romani background is never explicitly confirmed, the attributes and comparisons to the Roma sets the character as the outsider, the Other. In Jane Eyre, Mr Rochester temporarily adopts a Romani disguise as a fortune-teller, the costume of a Romani woman used as a one-off plot device to further the plot and the romance between the main characters. Regarding these findings, the representation in the novels highly depends on stereotypes and stigmatizing the Roma peoples.
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