Setting

Abstract

Setting is the environment in which the action in a novel takes place. It is linked with characterisation, because it is the background against which the characters are placed, and is an important part of the illusion of actuality in Brontë’s novels; it can also be used to support thematic ideas. Setting is much more than the natural world: it includes other aspects of physical environment such as houses and rooms, sea or land, country, and all the associations of these; it also includes the emotional environment — the tone, mood and atmosphere which are generated partly by description of the physical environment.