The afternoon came on wet and somewhat misty: as it waned into dusk, I began to feel that we were getting very far indeed from Gateshead: we ceased to pass through towns; the country changed; great grey hills heaved up round the horizon: as twilight deepened, we descended a valley, dark with wood, and long after night had overclouded the prospect, I heard a wild wind rushing amongst trees.
Chapter 5 · Narrator
Context
During the long coach journey to Lowood, Jane describes the landscape changing as afternoon turns to evening and the coach moves farther from Gateshead into unfamiliar hill country.
Analysis
The sentence's rhythm mirrors the journey itself: short independent clauses ('the country changed; great grey hills heaved up') give way to a long, winding stretch as twilight deepens and the syntax keeps accumulating without full stops. The verb 'heaved' makes the hills feel alive and almost threatening, while the alliteration in 'wild wind … wood' intensifies the sensory isolation. Jane is moving into a landscape that feels untamed, far from the manicured grounds of Gateshead.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Brontë uses natural imagery not as neutral backdrop but as emotional register—the increasingly wild and dark landscape here mirrors Jane's plunge into an unknown future, building atmosphere through accumulation rather than single striking images.