Brains before Beauty in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Essay

exposes her in front of the school, she tries to accept it and go on.

Having found a new strength in rebellion, Jane is placed in another oppressive situation: Lowood School. In this situation, there is little opportunity for her to resist; she has a different lesson to learn. Shortly after her arrival at Lowood, Jane meets Helen Burns, who teaches her patience and rationality. Helen is in many ways a Christ figure, accepting what happens to her as God's will and speaking often of heavenly rewards. When Jane is falsely accused and humiliated by Mr. Brocklehurst, her instinct is to lash out in anger, and she finds it difficult to deal with her emotions. When Miss Temple asks her to explain why the accusations are false, it is Helen Burns' words that allow Jane to present her side of the story fairly. "...mindful of Helen's warnings

  The Victorian era in England marked a period of unprecedented technological, scientific, political, and economic advancement.  By the 1840s, the English had witnessed remarkable industrial achievements including the advent of the railways and the photographic negative.  They had witnessed the expansion of the Empire, and, as a result, were living in a time of great economic stability.  Yet they had also seen thousands of people starving-and dying-due to the Irish potato famine and poor conditions and benefits in British factories and witnessed the entire order of society questioned as the working classes began to demand representation in Parliament.    The English also experienced biological

Chapter seven sees Jane slightly more experienced to the ways of Lowood School. She has come to accept the poor conditions laid down by Mr. Brocklehurst, however has not yet learnt to ignore them and Bronte describes Jane suffering a lot in this chapter. This lack of food and appalling living conditions are down to the head of the school, Mr. Brocklehurst. This man uses his apparent strong beliefs in Christianity as an excuse to provide the children of Lowood with the absolute bare minimum. Brocklehurst claims his “mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh”, presenting the idea that perhaps Brocklehurst is simply a man that has a immensely firm grasp of his

The character Jane starts off as an orphaned young girl. Jane was born into the poor class, she lives with her aunt and cousins that torture her. Jane is then sent away to a school called Lowood where she is taught how to become a woman. Jane remains as a student at Lowood until she is sixteen years old. When Jane reaches the age of Eighteen she then moves up to the working class and becomes a teacher at Lowood. Jane works as a teacher for a good amount of time and teach girls that were just like her. When a disease outbreaks, everything at Lowood falls apart. When an Mrs. Temple, a teacher who has helped Jane, leaves lowood to get married Jane realizes that she should leave and search for a new job. When Jane come across a job at a place called Thornfield she leaves Lowood for good and sets off to her new journey.

has a soft spot for Helen Burns and appears to be one of the strongest

As a child, Jane encountered hypocrisy under the label of Christianity with Mr. Brocklehurst. Her first meeting with him consisted of him condemning her for not ‘liking the Psalms.” Mr. Brocklehurst specifically tells her in response to her comment, “That proves you have a wicked heart; and you must pray to God to change it…” (Bronte, 21). At this point, it could be inferred that Mr. Brocklehurst is simply a devout Christian and has a harsh view of immature faith. However, as their relationship progresses at Lowood, his true motives become prevalent. He is not interested in the well-being of any of the girls’ souls, but, he is truly interested in his own personal wealth. Instead of using the school’s money to provide

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

At Lowood Jane is repulsed by Mr. Brocklehurst and his “two-faced” character. Even so, Jane fines her first true friend. Helen Burns, another student at the school. By instruction, Helen is able to prove her messages. When Jane is punished in front of the whole school, she tries to accept it. But Jane still dreams of human affection and is deeply hurt when she is scolded. Jane goes as far to say, “If others don’t love me, I would rather die than live.” Helen’s response, “You think to much of the love of human beings,” (69). Through example Helen teaches Jane too. Helen is punished by, Miss Scatcherd because her finger nails were not clean. Jane wonders why she just took it and did not fight back. Jane says, “When we are struck without a reason, we should strike back again very hard; I am sure we should . . .” Helen replies, “Love you enemies; bless them that curse you . . .” (56). When Helen is dying of Typhus she reminds Jane, “I believe: I have faith: I am going to God,” (82). Jane is able to draw strength from Helen’s faith, making her stronger. Helen’s messages guide Jane through her turbulent life. This is how Jane learns not to worry so much how other think of her.

The Importance of Jane's Early Life at Lowood to Shaping Her Character in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

The purpose of Bronte's novel is to demonstrate that women could go beyond the oppressive limitations of their environment and find fulfillment.  Jane's cries for love are mistaken as evil outburst by those who wish to keep women repressed.  Oppression of women was so great that women even in the home were expected to be nonproductive.  The ideal or perfect Victorian women were ones who adopted an image of repose or idleness, basically to show the world they could.  Nervousness and fainting were expected in women, and certain disagreeable topics or bad news could cause such traits to erupt.  By trusting in her passion, by trusting in her own abilities, and by making her own decisions, Jane is able to overcome the agony all around her.  Homeless, starving, and misjudged, Jane is

    Charlotte Bronte wrote the novel Jane Eyre in the mid-eighteen hundreds. In her novel she expresses her views on many important factors present during this time including social problems such as race, class, gender, and the role of religion. Each of these factors affects the way that the protagonist, Jane Eyre, grows as a person. Throughout the novel Charlotte Bronte uses images and symbols that either influence or represent Jane's growth. Bronte uses a common imagery throughout the novel reflecting images of "fire and ice." She also uses symbols in Jane's life such as the red-room, from her childhood, and the character Bertha Mason Rochester, during her time at Thornfield. Other characters who

She learns through this that inner resolve is her best weapon in life and that she must not be afraid to voice her opinion or to stand up for what she feels is right. In Lowood, a boarding school for orphans, Jane meets Helen Burns, a fellow student is to have a more lasting effect on Jane than anyone else that she will ever meet in her life. Helen, more than anything else, instills in Jane religious faith and spirituality. Jane learns from Helen to bear the harshness and rigidness of Lowood and to accept the many injustices of life, whatever they may be, traits that Helen embodies to the full. Helen, who is even willing to die and bear torture for her religious convictions, teaches Jane to put religion first in her life. The combination of courage to stand up for what you believe in and religious faith enables Jane to do battle against injustice in the future. When Jane meets Edward Rochester, her employer at Thornfield whose age and status are well above Jane's own, she manages to keep her cool in the face of his surly and obnoxious questions. In fact, Jane shows confidence in front of her employer and answers his inquiries truthfully and openly, a trait which Rochester admires and eventually comes to love in Jane. At Thornfield, Jane displays strength of character by caring for Adele as a mother would, and by trying to bring Rochester to appreciate Adele, a feeling which Adele needs and wants in him, her only father figure. Jane, in addition, comes to

Both females are depicted as confined identities, paying little attention to the diverse community and the distinctive standards of living. Both characters experience comparative depression and misery. Jane is somewhat a vagrant character seen brutally dealt with by her close relatives and she is disengaged from whatever is left from the family unit. At the point where Jane is admitted into a boarding school called Lowood Institution, she finds her seclusion bothering and changes into a genuine female with a low esteem and absence of trusts. Antoinette's disengagement begins in her family and proceeds in the religious home, impacting her personality. Jane invests much of her energy in the bedroom and those close and around her have the impressions that she is distraught despite the fact that she’s shown in a somewhat ordinary manner. Despite of Jane, such drawn out detachment behaviour results thinking boggling mental annihilation and further franticness of Antoinette. As she claims toward the portrayal's and states “no one came near us, I got used to a solitary life” (Rhys 2.18). No one sees Antoinette and her relatives; rather individuals deceive her honesty. Her seclusion at a young age seclusion resulted in her identity crisis, impacting her adult and relationship life. This defenceless character has created a utopian world she lives in. Rochester is the male character whom

Without having to spend much time in Lowood, the audience sees the abuse in Jane’s childhood through the setting duplicated by the film. Her childhood isn’t as prevalent in the film as it is in the novel, which I was not happy about. I believe her childhood to be one of the most important parts of her character development, because Jane overcomes the Nature vs. Nurture stigma that was relied heavily on by The Ingram’s in the novel, and by the society of this era. Jane proves that even in an abusive home and a poor school, she is completely capable of becoming a functioning and educated woman in her society. The accuracy in this film provides a sense of ease in the audience. Because of the extreme attention to detail, the film is easy to understand and enjoy if you have or have not read the novel.