Importance of Setting in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre Essay

We first see Jane; vulnerable and lonely at Gateshead, where the orphaned little girl resides with her bitter widowed aunt and her children. Jane is sent to the ‘Red Room’ for retaliating when her

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

Throughout Jane Eyre, as Jane herself moves from one physical location to another, the settings in which she finds herself vary considerably. Bronte makes the most of this necessity by carefully arranging those settings to match the differing circumstances Jane finds herself in at each. As Jane grows older and her hopes and dreams change, the settings she finds herself in are perfectly attuned to her state of mind, but her circumstances are always defined by the walls, real and figurative, around her.

During the scenes at Lowood Academy, Brontë compares Jane's strong personality to the reserved and submissive Helen Burns.  The teachers often punish Helen excessively, yet she never once objects or even questions their discipline.  When Jane asks her about this self-discipline, Helen simply explains that it is her "duty" to bear the punishment submissively (58).  Although Helen's "proper" female behavior does not entirely

Despite the blood relation between Jane and her aunt and cousins, they treat Jane with sincere disrespect and animosity. " Then Mrs. Reed subjoined: 'Take her away to the red-room, and lock her in there'. Four hands were immediately laid upon me, and I was borne upstairs". Jane's Aunt is a selfish woman and despite knowing the fact that Jane has no other relative, she still lacks any sympathetic feeling towards her.

The addition of Helen Burns in Jane’s life leaves a permanent mark as Helen becomes a role model for Jane, by being a patient, forgiving, and wise individual. Helen was sent out of history class and told to stand in the middle of the schoolroom, Jane was shocked at how patiently she accepted the punishment, ‘’I expected she would show sign of great distress and shame; but to my surprise she neither wept or blushed.’’ Helen demonstrates her patience by remaining calm during her punishment, and not wavering during any of her hardships. She has the propensity to face any difficult situation in a peaceful and patient manner. Being at the young age of around thirteen, one would expect her to be fearful or intolerant of her punishments, but she maintains

With this new information, Jane has a new-found confidence, leading her to stand up against her wicked aunt and displays that she is not afraid of them anymore. With this incident occurring between her and her Aunt Reed, she is sent to school to receive an education. This school, titled the Lowood Institution, was an all-girls charity school that was ran by Mr. Bokorhurst, the one who paid for all the food, clothes, and servants and teachers. After early scrutiny by her peers, Jane was soon accepted and made friends with Helen Burns, one of the outcasts at Lowood. Along with her new companion, Jane discovers that Mr. Bokorhurt was turning the schoolgirls into zombies, which lead Jane to take action. While trying to thwart Mr. Bokorhurt’s plan, one of Jane’s teachers, the kind Miss Temple discovers Mr. Bokorhurst’s wrongdoings and aides Jane in her quest. While Jane and Miss Temple are trying to cease Mr. Bokorhurst’s plan, Helen becomes ill, leading her to become one of the zombies, causing Jane to behead her, and end her misery. Along with Miss Temple, her only friend, Jane slays all the

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

Mrs. Reed displays that she does not think that Jane deserves to be treated as a real child; this teaches Jane the effect that people’s perception can have on an individual. While Jane could say that her aunt is right and she is inferior to other children, instead she learns how painful it is to be treated unfairly and later becomes passionate about treating others in a different, more positive way. In another part of the novel, Jane is blamed for something that her cousin, John Reed, did to her. As John Reed, “grasp[ed] [Jane’s] hair…[Jane] felt a drop or two of blood from [her] [head]” (20). Jane, in self-defense, hits him.

In the novel Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte, the heroine is portrayed as a neglected individual who desperately wishes to learn the skill of escaping the imprisonment of the troubled mind. Literary critic Nina Baym claims that Jane’s goal is to assert her dominance rather than to gain independence. However, in several parts of the novel, Jane is vocal about her desire to make it on her own without the assistance of money, love, or affection. She would rather be freed of any restraints that may hold her hostage than dominate the life of another.

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

Reed received a letter from Jane's Uncle John stating that he wished to make Jane his heir. Mrs. Reed tells him that Jane

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.

"red room" she is told by Miss Abbot: "No; you are less than a servant

The Gothic Features of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte A Gothic novel is a type of literature, which became very popular in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In this time, society was governed by strict moral codes. The "Gothics" would escape into a world of dark, supernatural and wild passions. The word 'Gothic' meant barbarous and wild and many writers liked to involve these elements in their novels.