A good example of hypotaxis, or subordination, would be the following quote from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, written in 1847 :
If all the world hated you and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.
This sentence is so powerful because it defines exactly what Jane feels, and what she struggles with throughout the novel. Love of the self and self-confidence, self-assurance, are fairly prevalent ideas in the novel. This sentence expresses those exact sentiments.
So let’s digest what Brontë does rather than says, let’s see if we can describe how she constructs this important sentence. The sentence is an “if, then” statement. It is a causality form of subordination. Arranging the sentence in a simpler format, it would read “If all the world hated you, while your own conscience approved of you, you would not be without friends.” What I thought of when I read this quote from the Victorian Era novel was another quote by Oscar Wilde: “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” This is also a “if, then” or, more accurately, a “cause, effect” statement, but a less complex sentence. Brontë arranges the actions just so, stating if one thing happens, while this thing is happening, then this other thing will happen. That’s confusing, I know. Let me be clearer. Brontë starts off with a hypothetical situation, laying it all out before you like a possible evening gown. “If all the world hated you and believed you wicked…” Alright, so there is your dress, possibly what you will wear, but maybe the gold one in the wardrobe would look better with your hair. It hasn’t got any bells and whistles yet, though. Just the dress, just a possibility of what you will don for the evening. So let’s try for some accessories. “…while your own conscience approved of you and absolved you from guilt…” The ribbon tied around your waist would look nice, and a matching one for your hair. Maybe this outfit really could work. “…you would not be without friends.” Slipping on the shoes, you find that, yes, this is the perfect dress, this is the one you’ll wear tonight and dazzle everyone with your self-confidence and honed heel-walking abilities. Like the contemplating of an outfit and arranging the elements in a certain manner, Brontë creates her sentence. She follows the cause and effect model, starting off with a hypothetical situation, throwing in some clarifying information, and ends with the conclusion that draws her point to a close.
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