How Does Charlotte Bronte Use Figurative Language In Jane Eyre

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

Jane is a strong emotional character who we experience in first person narrative. In Jane’s early childhood, she is isolated and treated with cruelty while in the care of her aunt. Her emotional nature is expressed in the novel through the use of imagery and Jane’s conscious thoughts. Whereas, in the film emotions are expressed through close-ups, facial expressions and landscapes.

Readers learn early in the story that Jane Eyre does not fit contemporary society's idea of a proper woman.  As a child, Jane stands up to her aunt, Mrs. Reed, on more than one recorded occasion when Jane feels she has been treated unjustly (Brontë 28, 37).  At one point, Jane bluntly tells her aunt, "I declare, I do not love you: I dislike you the worst of anybody in the world except John Reed [Jane's cousin]" (37).  This was at best improper behavior for a child in Victorian society, and it was most definitely seen as improper by Mrs. Reed who grows to hate Jane, calling her "tiresome, ill-conditioned" and "scheming" (26).  But her aunt's reprimands and hatred do not deter Jane from speaking up in the face of injustice.

As a feminist, Jane is able to protect herself when she is in a situation where she needs to be defended. For instance, when her brutish older cousin John hurls a hardcover book at her head, she pounces back by attacking him in defense. She also faces no difficulty in successfully defeating her cold-hearted aunt in a verbal fight, just at the tender age of ten. Jane is surely unafraid of the consequences that she has to face on actions that she believes as rightfully done. This amazing trait remains even as she proceeds into adulthood and meets the love of her life. She is able to deal with, and even stand up to Mr. Rochester’s unreasonable verbal attacks directed at her. She clearly shows her dauntless side of her personality, by speaking her own mind when Mr. Rochester demands for the money that he had given her. Jane refuses clear cut, and Mr. Rochester asks to then at least let him see the cash. Jane refuses again by retorting that he is “not to be trusted.” Jane has an honest and truthful soul who knows how to speak for herself, unlike many women during this period of time. Jane is never concerned about what other people would think of her if she tells them the exact truth about everything. She is able to inform her departure by cancelling off the wedding between herself and Mr. Rochester after what she had witnessed and experienced. Jane cries out “you are a married man-or as good as a married man, and wed to one inferior to you- to one with whom you have no sympathy- whom I do not believe you truly love; for I have seen and heard you sneer at her. I would scorn such a union: therefore I am better than you- let me go!” Jane is able to truthfully utter her thoughts, her true opinion without being afraid; even if it was to someone she dearly loved. When Mr. Rochester angrily cries out, “Jane, be still; don’t struggle so, like a wild frantic bird that is rending its own plumage in its

Furthermore, this demeaning and negative attitude Jane is exposed to is further instigated when her cousin, John Reed, expresses her situation by saying: "You have no business to take our books; you are a dependent, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us". The truth of Jane's unfortunate situation is expressed against her which results in her feeling no true support from this family and confides only in her childhood nursemaid- Bessie, who although behaves inconsistently and has “a capricious and hasty temper”, is the closest mother figure to her. Furthermore, the friction between Jane and John is further emphasised when the first physical aspect of violence is introduced to the reader through a graphic portrayal, further showing the ultimate rejection Jane experienced

From her troubles with the abusive Reed family, her friendships at Lowood, her love of Mr Rochester and her time with the Rivers family, Jane 's character remains strong and vigilant despite the hardships she endures. Through the course of the novel, Jane 's character changes slightly but moreover reinforces itself as Jane uses people, situations and her personal experiences to gain knowledge, and assist her gaining her full character.

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

She feels Jane was forced upon her family after the death of her parents.  Against her husband’s request, Mrs. Reed does not treat Jane like a human being and is constantly criticizing and punishing her.  In one example, Jane was keeping to herself and reading a book when her cousin John Reed decided to annoy her. John grabbed the book and threw it at her,  knocking her down and cutting her on the head. This caused her to bleed and was very painful.  Mrs. Reed then punished Jane by sending her into the red room, the room that her uncle died in, for the entire night.  While in the red room, Jane became terrified and thought she saw or heard the flapping of wings.  The treatment Jane received caused her to become bitter and to truly dislike Mrs. Reed.

Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre embraces many feminist views in opposition to the Victorian feminine ideal. Charlotte Bronte herself was among the first feminist writers of her time, and wrote this book in order to send the message of feminism to a Victorian-Age Society in which women were looked upon as inferior and repressed by the society in which they lived. This novel embodies the ideology of equality between a man and woman in marriage, as well as in society at large. As a feminist writer, Charlotte Bronte created this novel to support and spread the idea of an independent woman who works for herself, thinks for herself, and acts of her own accord.

Brocklehurst was about to leave, he gave Jane a book called Child’s Guide and told her that a girl named Martha died a sudden death because she was “a naughty child addicted to falsehood and deceit” (Brontë 31). This further reveals the harshness of the real world to Jane. Some people, such as Mr. Brocklehurst, do not hold back their words, even against those who are much younger than them. Mr. Brocklehurst basically implies that Jane would die an early death by comparing Jane and her deceitfulness to Martha. Therefore, Jane learns she is unable to really stand up for herself even if she may be able to stand up against Mrs. Reed and her children. Essentially, she learns that sometimes obedience may be necessary to get on with life instead of constantly bashing heads with others, which reflects how she acted when she went to

Throughout the novel, Jane is of a flexible social class; with each move to a new location throughout the plot, she experiences a different position in the social hierarchy. At the first location in the novel, Gateshead Hall, she is at an in-between point in the class system. She lives with the wealthy Reed family and gets to stay in their extravagant home, but she does not feel she belongs there because of her dependence on them. Her dependence is shown especially when Bessie, the nursemaid, tells her, “you ought to be aware, Miss, that you are under obligations to Mrs. Reed: she keeps you: if she were to turn you off, you would have to go to the poor-house” (Brontë 17). This illustrates Jane’s uncertain social class; she would have to go to the “poor-house” if Mrs. Reed decided to kick her out. However, she lives in the “rich-house” of Gateshead.

Throughout Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë uses the character Jane as a tool to comment on the oppression that women were forced to endure at the time. Jane can be seen as representative of the women who suffered from repression during the Victorian period, a time when patriarchy was commonplace. Brontë herself was affected by the time period, because according to Wolfe, she was deprived “experience and intercourse and travel.” (70) Thus Jane offers a unique perspective as a woman who is both keenly aware of her position and yet trapped by it despite repeated attempts to elevate herself and escape the burden placed on by her different suitors. Although superficially it seems that Jane wants to break away from the relationships that further

Emphasising her physical lack of security -such as money- and resources – such as clothes- where she has nothing that is ‘hers’ and that she ‘ought to beg’, implies that Jane in the Gateshead household is lower than that of servants, for even they would have possessions and earn money. Furthermore, through the words ‘mama says’ shows that Mrs. Reed is very forward with constantly belittling and oppressive towards Jane, inviting her children to do so as well, thus depriving of her of the love and respect she deserves. All of this verbal, physical and mental abuse that the Reed family impart in her childhood, builds her strong character and allows her ‘true’ self to not be tainted by the conformity women in her time were subject to. Instilling core characteristics that Jane is most well-known for, such as her strive to become an independent person etc etc . , wanting equal standing with Mr Rochester ETC ETC. Likewise to the Reed’s instilling core values with Jane, see this happen in Great Expectations with Estella’s effect on Pip.

Jane Eyre was born an orphan and raised under the hands of a heartless Aunt. Aunt Reed stressed to Jane that she was privileged to live so well without any

Bronte’s feminist ideas radiated throughout her novel Jane Eyre. There were many strong and clear examples of these ideas in Bronte’s protagonist, Jane, her personality, actions, thoughts and beliefs. From the beginning of the book, Jane’s strong personality and her lack of following social expectations were quiet clear. “Women of the Victorian era were not part of a man’s world, as they were considered below them.”(VanTassel-Baska, 4) The class divisions between a man and a woman were very distinctive. Jane however ignored this. When Jane first met Rochester, the whole scene presented a feminist portrait of Jane. A women walking alone in that era should never address a man, but Jane went out of her way to help Rochester stating that “if you are hurt, I can help” (Bronte, 98), Jane even let him place a hand on her shoulder. Jane believed that “women were supposed to be very calm generally, but women felt just as men felt” (Bronte, 116), which showed her perseverance and persistence in being independent and proving that men should be equal to that of women. This was of