Antagonists In Jane Eyre

Jane's childhood trauma results as a product of her times at Gateshed and Lowood. There were a series of irreversible problems that Jane had to deal with. She was born an orphan into a house devoid of love or respect for her. It is not overly emotionally healthy to live with the "ostracism by the Reed family and the unrelenting anxiety over the chidings of the servants, the violence of John Reed, and the punishments and berating of Mrs. Reed." (Ashe 10) Evidently, Jane had this lifestyle since she was little. This can be inferred from Mrs. Reeds loving statement "I hated it the first time I set my eyes on it-a sickly, whining, pining thing" (7)

The novel Jane Eyre is predominantly a bildungsroman, Jane’s development throughout the novel is one of the most important aspects of the narrative. During Jane’s time at Thornfield she makes huge emotional progress through her relationship with Rochester and the discovery of Bertha Mason, eventually resulting in her departure from Thornfield.

Brocklehurst as a person, it would be “cruel”. Well, at least that and “hypocritical.” From the beginning, Bronte makes it clear that Mr. Brocklehurst, the supervisor of Lowood, is simply not a good person; the worst of what he does being the fact that he provides the orphans at the boarding school with the bare minimum of what is needed to survive all the while spoiling his own children. Somehow, however, he still believes that he is a Christian and, in a way - based off of the standards that place men at the top of the hierarchy of the Evangelical pyramid, he actually kind of is (to a point). Society’s morals do not require him to go above and beyond for the children in the orphanage which, unfortunately in their case, would literally mean being given more than just the bare minimum. He is also kind of expected, as a Christian, to ensure that the children he interacts with are put on a path to a relationship with God, which he also does; albeit very harshly. More than that, he does not accept Jane’s tendency to veer toward independence outside of societal standards which, again, is something that was not expected nor accepted of women and girls, even though Bronte argues that it should be. Under all that society’s principles have to offer, Mr. Brocklehurst is technically doing what he’s supposed to do as a Christian, but because of his own methods in achieving it, the question of whether or not he’s actually a good Christian comes into play. As stated previously, Mr. Brocklehurst is, on some level, a hypocrite. When he goes out of his way to let the children know that they are sinning, he does so in a way that shames them and as he does this, he also prides himself in being a better Christian than they are. This literally goes against one of the most important rules of Christianity which Brocklehurst notes himself when he tells Mrs. Reed that “Humility is a Christian grace” (Bronte). Mr.

Violence is the most recurrent gothic convention used in Jane Eyre, which is prominent in Charlotte Brontë's effective development of the novel and the character of Jane Eyre, who, throughout this novel, is searching for a home in which she would have a sense of belonging and love which would ultimately resolve this exact unfulfilled need she had as a child. The neglect she experienced in her childhood is manifested in the way she is treated by her aunt, Mrs. Reed, as in the first page of the novel Jane Eyre admits: ‘Me, she had dispensed from joining the group, saying, 'She regretted to be under the necessity of keeping me at a distance’’. This opening shows how there is a clear line of separation drawn between Jane and her relatives due to her complicated family background which consequently results in their reluctance to accept her into their environment. These complications lead to her maltreatment, which also adds on to the violence she experiences acting as a catalyst for the development of the character and her subconscious quest.

Jane’s view on life as said earlier it is similar but different in a way. It can be stated that Jane and Helen have the same views but different attitudes. Like when Mr Brocklehurst first came back to lowood they held this miy ceremony and jane drops her slate she is immediately branded as deceitful and careless by him. But instead of being like Brocklehurst said. Helen Jane 's friends smile everytime she walks by the stool. Which is very reassuring to Jane, And later that evening ms temple took jane in asked her tears had stopped yet

In the first few opening chapters Jane Eyre is seen as a mentally and physically abused child, during her years at Gateshead Hall. John Reed displays violence towards Jane in the first chapter. He punishes and bullies Jane; it is not known why the Reed family resent her so much. Her situation is seen as desperate within the first few paragraphs. Her cousins and Aunt make her life impossible and unbearable, she is not seen as a member of the family. Jane is simply seen as ‘’less than a servant’’ as she does ‘’nothing for her keep’’.

Jane Eyre’s second home at Lowood spans a period of eight years during the beginning of which she continues to face an inner battle between passion and reason. Still a young girl, Jane is unable to comprehend the lack for insubordination. This perpetuates when Mr. Brocklehurst denounces her in front of the school:

Just as significant as Mrs. Reed, in the influence of Jane, was Helen Burns, Jane’s best friend at Lowood. Helen left only a positive impact on Jane in the short time that they were together and taught her how to forgive her enemies. An example of this is when Helen tells Jane, “‘Would you not be happier if you tried to forget her severity, together with the passionate emotions it excited?’” (71). In saying this, Helen shows Jane how childish it is to hold a grudge against Mrs. Reed when she was free of her. She was also trying to help Jane be rid of any resentment she might have towards her childhood so that in the future she could be free to achieve greatness without any regret. Additionally, Helen affected Jane positively by telling her “Hush Jane, you think too much about the love of human beings [...] why, then should we ever sink overwhelmed with distress, when life is so soon over,’” (66). In saying this Helen had taught Jane not to worry about what other people think of her. Likewise, Helen is also

Jane’s first encounter with betrayal was when she was still a child and her Uncle Reed brought her along to live with him and his family in Gateshead, after Jane’s parents had passed away. Jane’s Uncle Reed had promised to raise her as if she were one of his own children. However, this only lasted until Uncle Reed passed away. After Jane’s uncle had passed, Jane’s aunt and her three children had mistreated her and in some cases physically abused. On one particular day she was minding her own business whilst reading Bewick’s History of British Birds, her obnoxious cousin John Reed was looking for Jane. Once he finds her, he treats her as if she was inferior to him, he wants his cousin to refer to him as Master Reed. This already not being indicative of raising Jane as one of their own, her cousin John continues to undermine her even more and takes the book from her and ends up throwing it at her causing her to get a cut by

The only time that a member of the Reed family speaks to Jane is when they are belittling her, hoping to further assert their elite dominance over the lower class. In one particular quarrel, John Reed, the oppressive “Roman emperor” and “slave driver,” throws a book at Jane’s head to physically proclaim his dominance over her, to which Jane responds by verbally firing back at his elitist oppression. (Brontë 13) The battle between the social classes concludes with Jane being banished to the horrifying red-room as punishment for attempting to overthrow the elite power, John Reed, even though John was the clear instigator of the scuffle. Jane is later condemned by the house servants for her attempt to overthrow her “young master.” Jane and John are both children, but due to the wealth and status of his parents, John is allowed to rule over Jane, making Jane, as the Gateshead servants would describe, “‘less than a servant’” because she does nothing for her keep. (Brontë 15) Jane continuously faces this maltreatment at Gateshead until an outburst directed towards Mrs. Reed causes her to be sent away to Lowood school, a place where Mrs. Reed hopes Jane will perhaps be taught to conform to the societal norm of how a young girl like Jane should act in

I should say I loved you, but I declare I do not love you: I dislike

Jane Eyre is a coming of age story following a young woman and her journey of self-growth. At the start of the novel Jane is living with her aunt and three cousins. They continuously abuse her, treating her like a stranger rather than a family member. At the age of ten Jane leaves her aunt's house and attends boarding school. It is at this school where she learns lessons of forgiveness and hope from a meek young woman named Helen Burns. Subsequently studying and teaching at the school for eight years Jane decides to become a governess at the mysterious Thornfield mansion. She falls in love with the owner of Thornfield and the two make plans to marry. Nonetheless on the day of there wedding Jane discovers that Mr. Rochester is already married and that he keeps his insane wife Bertha trapped away in the attic of Thornfield. Devastated by this information, Jane flees Thornfield and nearly dies from cold and starvation. Soon after she is taken in by the Rivers, two sisters and one brother. The passing of Jane's uncle reveals that she and the Rivers are cousins. It is also revealed that this uncle has left Jane all his fortune. This in turn leaves Jane extremely wealthy. Her cousin St. John Rivers ask Jane for his hand in marriage. However Jane comes to the conclusion that she still loves Mr. Rochester. After declining St. John's proposal Jane journeys back to Thornfield. When she arrives at Thornfield Jane discovers the mysterious mansion in burnt ruins. It is revealed that the

Eight years later, when Jane travels from Lowood to Thornfield, she is much more contented. She has come to be respected by the teachers and pupils at Lowood, largely due to the influence of her teacher, Miss Temple, to whose instruction she "owed the best part of her acquirements" and who had stood her "in the stead of mother, governess, and latterly, companion". Jane has found in Miss Temple what Mrs Reed always

In the novel Jane Eyre, the author Charlotte Bronte displays the main character Jane as someone who goes against the grain in societal values, roles, and constructions. In Terry Eagleton's essay "Jane Eyre's Power Struggles", he sees internal conflict within the book as she attempts to sort out social class barriers and gender role conflicts. As Jane goes through life she has many challenges starting at a young age with both her parents being dead and raised in a house where she is not loved or wanted, Jane is sent away to a school for poor orphan girls. The book was written in a the Victorian time period where one's status in society was determined by what class they were born into. Going astray from the norm, Jane opposes the caste system

When Jane is sent to Lowood (an all girl's school), she finds the first true love shown by an adult. Miss Temple, the school's superintendent) treats all of the girls with extreme kindness and gentleness. When the girl's breakfast is burned, she arranges for them to have the luxury of white bread and cheese to make up for it. Also, even while some of the other teachers like Miss Scatcherd and even the school's headmaster, Mr. Brocklehurst, are mean to the girls, she is always there for them with a hug and a smile. When Helen falls deathly ill, Jane sees how motherly and unfaltering Miss Temple is towards Helen. Another character who shows Jane love at Lowood is Helen herself. She is the first person Jane's age who is nice to her. Jane grew up with the Reed children's spiteful actions and attitudes toward her and never experienced a peer's kindness until she met Helen.