By degrees, he acquired a certain influence over me that took away my liberty of mind: his praise and notice were more restraining than his indifference.
Chapter 34 · Narrator
Context
Jane reflects on how St. John's teaching gradually changed her behavior and self-expression. She realizes his attention constrains her more than his previous neglect did.
Analysis
The irony that 'praise and notice were more restraining than indifference' inverts normal power dynamics—being ignored left Jane free, while being watched trains her into self-censorship. The phrase 'took away my liberty of mind' names a psychological unfreedom that doesn't require overt force; Jane polices herself to please him. The slow process ('by degrees') makes the loss of autonomy almost imperceptible, creeping control masquerading as intimacy.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Brontë diagnoses a specific kind of gendered oppression: the way approval and attention can be more coercive than punishment, because they make the victim complicit in her own constraint.