I shut the closet to conceal the strange, wraith-like apparel it contained; which, at this evening hour—nine o'clock—gave out certainly a most ghostly shimmer through the shadow of my apartment. "I will leave you by yourself, white dream," I said. "I am feverish: I hear the wind blowing: I will go out of doors and feel it."
Chapter 25 · Jane Eyre
Context
Jane describes her wedding dress and veil hanging in the closet, which shimmer eerily in the evening light. She addresses the garments directly before leaving the house to walk outside.
Analysis
By apostrophizing the wedding gown as 'white dream' and calling it 'wraith-like,' Jane turns the symbol of her future marriage into something ghostly and insubstantial. The adjective 'strange' signals her alienation from the role of bride, while her need to 'conceal' the garments and then flee outdoors suggests she cannot bear to look at what she is about to become. The phrase 'I am feverish' links her psychological distress to a physical symptom, collapsing the boundary between mind and body.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Jane perceives marriage not as fulfillment but as a threat to her selfhood—she literally flees the sight of her bridal costume, treating it as an uncanny double rather than a desired future.