Violence In Jane Eyre

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Author and social activist, Bell hooks once said, “There is no life to be found in violence. Every act of violence brings us closer to death. Whether it's the mundane violence we do to our bodies by overeating toxic food or drink or the extreme violence of child abuse…” Mrs. Hooks, by saying this, implies that child abuse greatly affects the victim lastingly. In Jane Eyre, Jane, while living with the Reeds is constantly abused by John both verbally and physically. This aspect of Jane’s life has a lasting impact on her and affects the occurrences in her future. In Charlotte Bronte’s novel, Jane Eyre, Jane experiences tribulation and terror in her adolescent years, which shaped the meaning of her actions within the whole plot.

While living with the Reeds and being regarded as her uncle's favorite, Jane experienced harsh treatment from both Mrs. Reed and John, her cousin. While …show more content…

Reed was, for the most part, verbal and mental, this mistreatment lead Jane to loathe her aunt who didn’t treat her as one of her own. After Mr. Brocklehurst’s visit to Gateshead, when Jane and Mrs.Reed were left alone, Jane built up the courage to say, “...I declare I do not love you; I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed. I will say that the very thought of you makes me sick, and that you treated me with miserable cruelty” (Bronte 34). Here the reader learns Jane’s honest opinion of her aunt. Later on in the novel, when Mrs. Reed is on the brink of death, she never shows the level of maturity that she needs to finally forget events of the past and forgive and accept Jane Eyre. John Reed is much harsher in his actions and physically abuses Jane. After having been hit in the head

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