“. . . for I lay that pleasant unction to my soul. . . “ (305)

This line is a reference Shakespeare’s Hamlet where a similar statement is made in act 3, scene 4 of the play (“lay not that flattering unction to your soul” line 147). Obviously, throughout Hamlet there is conflict and turmoil. When the above statement is made, Hamlet is in his mother’s room confronting her about all the misdeeds he thinks she has committed in marrying/loving the dead king’s brother. In similar fashion, when the statement is made in Jane Eyre, Rochester is proclaiming his love for her. Bronte makes this allusion to mark the similarities between the ways society views the two women’s situations: Queen Gertrude was seen to have been in the wrong because of the incestuous nature of the relationship; Jane is seen to be in the wrong because she and Mr. Rochester come from such different social strata.

Source: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Print.