Jane Eyre

1424 Words3 Pages

Jane Eyre coursework

Discuss why Jane’s early life at Lowood is so important in shaping her

character. What does the portrayal of Lowood show about the role of

charity schools at this time? Consider the influence of other on her

life at this important time and the ways in which she deals with her

situation.

Lowood School had a profound influence on Jane’s life. It taught her

many things and helped her to become a governess. However it was an

arduous stage of her life and she had a challenging time during her

eight years there.

Jane’s early life at Lowood would have been hard for her. She had

virtually no contact with her relatives while she was at Lowood School

(although this may have been a bonus as she did not like them very

much. The girls at Lowood were harshly treated. They were

malnourished,

“I perceived I had got in hand a nauseating mess; burnt porridge is

almost as bad as rotten potatoes; famine soon sickens over it.” This

is Jane’s view of the food. It was one of her first encounters with

the food at Lowoods. This shows the extent of the food crisis. A usual

diet for the girls would consist of; porridge for breakfast, lunch,

dinner of meat and potatoes, coffee and ½ slice of brown bread, glass

of milk/water and a piece of oat cake.

The school was very under-funded, due to Mr Brocklehurst (the

headmaster and treasurer of Lowood) and his corrupted ways. He took

money that was donated by benefactors and kept it for himself and his

family. We see evidence of this when Brocklehurst’s family visit

Lowood School. They are dressed very well. They made comments on how

plain the girls of Lowood looked. He was later found to be taking

money from the school and was dealt with. He kept the role o...

... middle of paper ...

... food. Lowood also taught Jane about love. She felt love

for Helen Burns and Miss Temple (to and extent) Jane showed how love

can prevail when she turned down St. John River’s marriage proposal

and went back to Rochester.

Jane’s life was changed dramatically at Lowood School. She learned

many things including kindness, generosity, to believe in God and His

plans and not to be as passionate and opinionated as she used to be.

Also she learned to love, to be disciplined and a sense of morality.

She learned these points from people such as Helen Burns and Miss

Temple. Because of Lowood school, Jane became the young woman and

governess who went away to teach at Thornfield Hall, so Lowood was one

of the most important times of her life and helped to shape her from a

young, loud little girl into an intelligent, mature woman who could

face the world on her own.

More about Jane Eyre

Open Document