Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

1771 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Female roles in early British literature

Charlotte Bronte's, Jane Eyre, a story of an unfortunate you who's morals and self-respect continue to fluctuate as she matures. Jane Eyre begins her life in the wrong place at the wrong time. During the novel, Jane endures love, hate and friendship, though maturity allows her to forgive. Settings surrounding Jane's life alter her own ideas of self-acceptance, her actions taken to release herself from certain settings have effect on her. In the first few chapters, Bronte establishes Jane's character as a young girl who is the object of hatred from her cousins and aunt. In Chapter Five, Jane encounters numerous problems with her cousin John. After a confrontation, Mrs. Reed forces her to the Red-Room for punishment. Though, Jane resists which is unlike her, she is still placed in the Room. Jane recalls contents resting in a drawer in her aunts wardrobe, "[. . .] a miniature of her deceased husband, in those last words lies in the secret of the Red-Room -- the spell which kept it so lonely in spite of its grandeur (Bronte, 3rd Ed. 2001 p.11)." The Red-Room becomes a symbolic part of the novel but also an important setting. The Red-Room is "[. . .] the largest and stateliest chambers in the mansion (p. 11)," the atmosphere of the room lingers an ominous and creepy tone. Jane's inferior position among the Reed family is set by her punishment in the Red-Room. Jane explains her hatred towards the Reed's and shows no remorse for them. Soon after Jane's experiences in the Red-Room, Jane leaves to attend Lowood. As she leaves Gateshead, Jane emotions are overflowing with joy. The Lowood Institute assists in education impoverished and orphaned children, receives majority of its funds through charity. Beginning... ... middle of paper ... ... fire and his mad wife. Jane's feelings and thoughts of a equal life together return. Jane realizes that they both need each other, Rochester is now physically dependent on her. But, Jane is emotionally dependent upon him, thus equality is attained. Receiving the happy ending, Jane realizes that pursuing her needs and her wants remain the only way to be truly happy. As her life progresses her actions to things happening around brought her to the end of her life. Other people and her maturity remain large impacts on her decisions and actions. She learns of ways to accept what she wants to accept and no one can force beliefs upon her, only contribute. Thus Jane's quest for love and her desire to belong are fulfilled.

Show More
Related

  • Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bornte

    924 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jane seems to learn quickly that she is the only one who can help her break free from her entrapment. The first place Jane must learn how to leave is Gateshead. She is not happy at Gateshead because is constantly put down by her cousins and even the servants. Helen tries to teach Jane to forgive her enemies in order for Jane to be able move on and gain confidence in herself:

    Read More

  • Symbols of Fire and Ice in Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    This passage displays how Mrs. Reed loses her control of Jane. The passion born inside Jane by her experience in the red room allows her to burn through Mrs. Reed's coldness and imposed restrictions. Mrs. Reed still views Jane through an "eye of ice" when this passage begins, and seeks to hamper her by using a "tone in which a person might address an opponent of adult age (rather) than such is ordinarily used to a child". This is an attempt to remind Jane which one of them is the adult, and therefore in ...

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre?s Self-Discovery

    619 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jane makes her journey from Gateshead to Lowood at the age of ten, finally freeing her from her restrictive life with her aunt, who hates her. Jane resented her harsh treatment by her aunt. Mrs. Reed’s attitude towards Jane highlights on of the main themes of the novel, the social class. Jane’s aunt sees Jane as inferior, who is less than a servant. Jane is glad to be leaving her cruel aunt and of having the chance of going to school.

    Read More

  • The Search for Happiness in Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mrs Reed keeps Jane only because of a promise she made to her husband on his deathbed. This abuse and neglect from her relatives forces Jane to be resentful and full of hatred. Later on Jane begins to stand up for herself. Once Jane begins to rebel to the abuse done by John and Mrs Reed, it is as if an uncontrollable beast had been unleashed inside of her.

    Read More

  • Jane in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    2324 Words  | 5 Pages

    We learn that Jane is a young girl who is a victim of emotional and

    Read More

  • Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    The situation when Jane in locked in the Red Room occurs because she has retaliated against John Reed hitting her and the fact that she is being punished for doing so. The mere fact that she is being locked in the Red Room can already accumulate sympathy within the reader because she is seemingly being very unfairly punished whereas her cousin John has attacked her already and managed to escape any punishment whatsoever. However in the events leading up to being locked in the room, the reader could not feel sympathy for Jane Eyre as she did in a way bring the punishment upon herself for attacking Mr. Reed in the first place. If she has not retaliated she would have not been locked in the room. Most readers however probably do feel sympathy for her as she was acting more in self-defence. She was also unfairly spoken too as they were dragging her to the room itself as they say things like ‘she's like a mad cat' and do not seem to be letting her give an explanation at all for her actions, and only listening to what John had too say. They make sure that she knows her place by telling her that ‘You are under obligation to Mrs. Reed' and that she is ‘less than a servant'. These are not kind words and the reader will probably feel sympathetic as she is being treated as a worthless object. The room that she is sent too is a dark and unpleasant place with memories of the dead Mr. Reed. For a child of Jane's young age it would seemingly be very distressing for her, and with the added experience of her seemingly seeing a ‘ghost' of some kind, it would be a terrible experience. Even if the reader has not felt sympathy for Jane before this incident they would surely feel so now, as she is in a distressing situation alone. When Jane first screams out for help from someone it does seem as though people are coming too help her as Bessie and Abbot come to open the door and ask her what is wrong and what has made her cry for help.

    Read More

  • How Does Jane's Adolescence Influence Her Adulthood

    1378 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jane’s journey includes her childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. By using a variety of literary techniques such as imagery, word choice, symbolism, mood, and tone Bronte reveals deeper meaning in her words regarding Jane’s journey. Jane’s journey would be nothing without the extensive backstory Bronte gives Jane regarding her ideas about

    Read More

  • Physical & Emotional Abuse in Jane Eyre: How This Affected Jane’s Evolution Into a Dynamic Character

    1183 Words  | 3 Pages

    The three events that mark Jane as an evolving dynamic character are when she is locked in the red room, self reflecting on her time at Gateshead, her friendship with Helen Burns at LoWood, her relationship with Mr. Rochester, and her last moments with a sick Mrs. Reed. Brought up as an orphan by her widowed aunt, Mrs. Reed, Jane is accustomed to her aunts vindictive comments and selfish tendencies. Left out of family gatherings, shoved and hit by her cousin, John Reed, and teased by her other cousins, Georgina and Eliza Reed, the reader almost cringes at the unfairness of it all. But even at the young age of ten, Jane knows the consequences of her actions if she were to speak out against any of them. At one point she wonders why she endures in silence for the pleasure of others. Why she is oppressed. "Always suffering, always browbeaten, always accused, forever condemned" (Bronte, 12). Jane’s life at Gateshead is not far from miserable. Not only is she bullied by her cousins and nagged by her aunt, but help from even Bessie, her nurse and sort of friend, seems out of her reach. In the red room scene Jane is drug by Ms. Ab...

    Read More

  • Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre as a Coming of Age Story

    1678 Words  | 4 Pages

    The story begins as Jane lives with the Reed family in their home at Gateshead Hall. Here, the theme of education vs. containment develops immediately, as Jane is kept confined indoors on a cold winter day. The other children (Eliza, John, and Giorgiana) are "clustered round their mamma in the drawing-room" (Bronte: 39) being educated, as Jane had been excluded from the group. Jane tries to educate herself by reading from Berwick's History of British Birds, but once again, she is held back from her attempt at enlightenment by the abuse of John Reed, who castigates her and throws the heavy book at her. In anger, Jane cries out, "You are like a murderer - you are like a slave-driver - you are like the Roman emperors" (Bronte: 43). In this passage, Jane compares John Reed to a slave-driver because, like a slave-driver, he deprives Jane of her attempt at education and keeps her suppressed. Afterwards, Jane is blamed for the entire incident and...

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre Obstacles and Love

    1468 Words  | 3 Pages

    the red room, and locked me up there, to my dying day; thought I was

    Read More

  • The Challenges Faced In Jane E

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the start of Jane Eyre, Jane is living with her widowed aunt, Mrs. Reed, and her family after being orphaned. Jane is bitterly unhappy there because she is constantly tormented by her cousins, John, Eliza, and Georgiana. After reading the entire book you realize that Jane was perfectly capable of dealing with that issue on her own, but what made it unbearable was that Mrs. Reed always sided with her children, and never admitted to herself that her offspring could ever do such things as they did to Jane. Therefore, Jane was always punished for what the other three children did, and was branded a liar by Mrs. Reed. This point in the book marks the beginning of Jane's primary conflict in the novel. She feels unloved and unaccepted by the world, as her own family betrays her.

    Read More

  • A Critical Evaluation of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    569 Words  | 2 Pages

      Jane grows up distinguishing her personality and voicing her unbiased opinion,  but in McFadden-Gerber's opinion,  Jane remains the same orphaned female in constant discord with elders and supervisors.   Ms.  Eyre is a heroine who refuses to blend into the traditional female position of subservience and who stands up for her beliefs.   In the beginning, Jane at first de...

    Read More

  • Influece of Other´s in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

    973 Words  | 2 Pages

    Starting off with Mrs. Reed, she was the wife of John Eyre who was asked to take care of Jane but of course Mrs. Reed secretly envied Jane and had treated her the complete opposite. The reeds had made Jane feel like and outcast to where it had lead to isolation and loneliness. In the beginning of the book the Reeds were introduced as being the family to verbally, physically and mentally abuse Jane. As Jane was left merely to herself, she was left to imagine ,visualize and wonder what it was like on the outside. This leads off to the introduction of the educational school that she will be attending called the Lowood school.

    Read More

  • Submission or Revolt in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

    1074 Words  | 3 Pages

    Jane's oppression begins at Gateshead Hall while living with her Aunt Reed and cousins. For most  of her time there, she chooses submission to all their cruelties because she has no choice really.   She is a little child with no money and not living relatives that she knows about. John Reed is terrible to her; he teases Jane cruelly and tries to harm her. Jane sees "in him a tyrant: a murderer" in the instance when he yells at her for reading his books and then throws the book at her, drawing  blood (13). This is when Jane decides not to remain passive and submit to these cruelties, but to revolt fully against him. She insults him back and physically fights with him. As a result of this, however, Jane is forced to submit to even greater oppression by Mrs. Reed; she is locked in the red-room like an animal. She tries to revolt, but she is unable to accomplish anything at all while locked in the room, except for becoming ill with fear of the room.

    Read More

  • Jane Eyre

    1059 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the book, Jane was living with her aunt Mrs. Reed and her children. Although Jane is treated cruelly and is abused constantly, she still displays passion and spirit by fighting back at John and finally standing up to Mrs Reed. Even Bessie ‘knew it was always in her’. Mrs. Reed accuses Jane of lying and being a troublesome person when Mr. Brocklehurst of Lowood School visited Gateshead. Jane is hurt, as she knows she was not deceitful so she defends herself as she defended herself to John Reed when he abused her, as she said “Wicked and cruel boy! You are like a murderer – you are like a slave driver – you are like the Roman emperors!” to John Reed instead of staying silent and taking in the abuse, which would damage her self-confidence and self-worth. With the anger she had gotten from being treated cruelly, she was able to gain ...

    Read More

More about Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Open Document