Why, you see, Miss Eyre, it is not a common mishap: his life has been very wild: these last three years he gave himself up to strange ways, and his death was shocking.
Chapter 21
Context
Robert continues his account of John Reed's death, explaining to Jane that John's life had spiraled into ruin over the past three years and that his death was not an ordinary misfortune.
Analysis
Robert uses euphemism—'gave himself up to strange ways'—to describe what was likely drinking, gambling, and sexual dissipation, a verbal delicacy that both shows his class deference and gestures toward the unspeakable. The word 'shocking' withholds graphic detail but signals something morally and physically disturbing, likely suicide. This reticence builds an atmosphere of Gothic doom around John's end, making the respectable surface of Gateshead conceal violent collapse.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Brontë uses servants' reported speech to reveal what the upper classes try to hide—Robert's careful euphemisms let us infer the sordid reality of John's death while exposing the Reeds' investment in keeping up appearances.