Why is there no relative pronoun in Bronte's sentence?

Question

I have a question for which I hope to get an answer from a professional. My question is: why is there no pronoun in the following sentence in Charolotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Chapter XXIV?

Here is a talisman will remove all difficulties.

I have seen such sentence constructions a few times, and wonder why it omits the relative pronoun "that" (in other words, why does the author not say "Here is a talisman that will remove all difficulties")?

The speaker is quoting a fairy. Sort of like Yoda in Star Wars. — Xanne, Jan 26 '22 at 07:24
The Brontes didn't follow the official grammar rules of our time. They came from areas with distinct dialects (family was Irish, they lived in Yorkshire), and as children they had little interest in grammar or spelling and even as an adult she called punctuation "very puzzling" (Emily likewise was known for solecisms). — Stuart F, Jan 26 '22 at 08:43
There is discussion on omitting "that" here: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/1095/are-there-rules-about-using-that-to-join-two-clauses — Stuart F, Jan 26 '22 at 08:47
@Stuart F: But the 'that' here is the relativiser (cf 'which'); OP in that question asks about the complementiser (introducing a content clause). — Edwin Ashworth, Jan 26 '22 at 15:05
Related question: Shakespearean relative clause: "I have a brother is condemned to die" — herisson, Jan 27 '22 at 00:02

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 26 '22 at 23:49

The construction is vaguely familiar to me living in Scotland. On searching (with some difficulty) I find similar examples in:

Ulsterscotsentertainments

Page 82
Dear mother, here is a sight will make thee well again

The Spartan Dame, 1721
Page 66

This is a sight will make me old indeed

These examples, and others, are quite old, suggesting an archaism that might be based on a simple ellipsis, omitting that. Not unreasonable, as the juxtaposition of noun and future verb makes unambiguously clear the connection of the two.

Why is there no relative pronoun in Bronte's sentence?

1 Answers1