Isolation In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Their time at Lowood was one of harsh treatment and unfair conditions. While Helen was treated very poorly and often abused Jane became very close to her.  Jane and Helen had many similarities which allowed them to open up to each other about their beliefs. From Helen, Jane learns the traits of open-mindedness and accord, but she does not fully accept Helen's denunciation of materialistic items in the world. Helen's teaches Jane to work hard at school in order to better herself for the future. Helen Burns told Jane that, "If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends" (Brontë 84). This is very ironic because by the end of the story Jane epitomizes this quote. From her time at Lowood Jane learned that if being alone was the right thing, that is what she would do. It can be seen throughout the book that Jane is a very honest person and Helen helps to advance her in seeking the truth. Helen was a very positive influence on Jane as she challenged her to seek only the best on stand for what she believed in. Despite the social perception of women in the period Jane learned that she indeed could break those laws and make her life however she hoped.  In the literary analysis article titled, “Jane Eyre’s Quest for Truth and Identity”, it discusses the very fact that Jane did not recognize her own social

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.

Throughout the first section of the novel, we are constantly reminded of the barriers in which Jane is suppressed by. Through this figurative element we can come to terms with the development of the character of Jane Eyre.

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 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:

To begin, the opening scene shows Jane in a desperate flight from Thornfield Hall, dashing frantically across the stormy landscape. For the viewers who have not read Jane Eyre, the cinematic dark tone of the opening scene raises many questions: Why is Jane running? Why is she crying? What happened to her? As she continues to run, the scenery of 19th century-England emerges on the screen, showcased by the precise selections from the film’s cinematographer. The film presents Jane’s world as dark,

Near the novel’s conclusion, St. John attempts to persuade Jane to join his mission to India, but she responds, “If I go to St. John, I abandon half myself: if I go to India, I go to premature death.” The repetition used in this line conveys how, if Jane accepted St. John’s plea to travel to India, she would suffer becoming socially isolated from Rochester. This resolves her conviction to decline St. John and return to marry Rochester within the finale. Chris Bossche comments on Jane’s feeling of exclusion, stating, “[Jane Eyre]’s heroine rebels against social exclusion yet ultimately does not seek to overturn the existing social order.” This interpretation of Jane’s motivations aligns with my own personal understanding of the character who, while not wishing herself to be excluded from Rochester, accepts Bertha’s isolation in the attic of Thornfield. This is demonstrated when Jane describes Bertha through the hyperbole, “I found her nature wholly alien to mine, her tastes obnoxious to me.” This exaggeration of Bertha details how Jane believes that she possesses an eccentric and dangerous nature, providing reason for why Jane does not protest her imprisonment. Yet, since Bertha remains estranged from society, she ultimately burns down Thornfield at the end of the novel. As a result of their perpetual fear of exclusion and social isolation, the actions of characters within the novel are dictated, transpiring in the text’s

Despite John Reed’s cruel, brutish behaviour towards Jane; ‘you are a dependant… you ought to beg’, Jane’s innately fierce nature is not crushed, it merely lies in wait, cloaked by her ‘habitual obedience’, until it is gradually revealed as she fights back against Mrs Reed’s tyranny. When being forced into the Red Room, as punishment for a crime she did not commit, Jane tells the reader that ‘I resisted all the way: a new thing for me’, it is arguably the first break in the traditional mould for a female heroine, as he does not, and increasingly will not, fit the female roles conventionally assigned to a woman in her position in society. When Mrs Reed cruelly asserts to John Reed that Jane is “not worthy of notice… neither you or your sister should associate with her”, Jane’s reaction is not orthodoxly submissive, but instinctively and immediately reactive. To defend herself she vehemently states “I cried out suddenly and without at all deliberating on my words ‘they are not fit to associate with me!’”. Jane’s confidence and quick wit, moves her further away from conventionality and submission, and fuels her independent, morally virtuous personality. Later, when Mrs Reed denounces Jane’s character to her future headmaster ‘the cold marble pillar’, Mr Brocklehurst, Jane again, passionately discards the expectations placed upon her, and informs the reader, “speak I must: I had been

In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte, builds up a sense of isolation and a sense of constraint through Bronte’s diction. Bronte as well invokes us to feel what the main character, Jane, feels by giving us the feeling Jane is imprisoned by everyone at the orphanage, through imagery. Although the emotions are not clearly stated in the excerpt, they are felt as the reader reads the excerpt. The felling of isolation is manifested as Jane speaks of how “mamma” would not let Jane join the rest of the group.

Reed did not want to take care of her anymore. However, Jane was happy that she could leave her aunt and hoped that she would start a better life from now on. Jane hoped that maybe she would able to find freedom in Lowood. Little did she know, she would not have a good time there because Lowood is just like another prison under the control of Mr. Brocklehurst. Jane was destined to be misjudged at Lowood. Mr. Brocklehurst told everyone that, “for it becomes my duty to warn you, that this girl, who might be one of God's own lambs, is a little castaway: not a member of the true flock, but evidently an interloper and an alien. You must be on your guard against her; you must shun her example; if necessary, avoid her company, exclude her from your sports, and shut her out from your converse” (64). Lowood Institute was just as dark and gloomy as Gateshead. After eight years in Lowood, six years as a student and two years as a teacher, Jane built defense for the inequality around her. Jane is constrained throughout this experience through the way she has to act, look, and speak. Lowood helped intensify Jane's yearning for the ability to control her own life, and not to be restricted by the rules of society. Jane does not let Mr. Brocklehurst take her desire of learning and pursuing a new life for herself, which makes Jane successful on pushing out of the imprisonment of

Throughout the novel of ‘Jane Eyre’ a colonialism and isolation are reflected throughout the novel, mainly through the treatment of Bertha Mason in Jane Eyre as she is cruelly locked in the attic due to her husband, Mr Rochester deeming her as insane. Bertha is described in a demon like manner whereas Jane represents a rebellious young woman who can be closely linked to a modern woman with the values and independence the contemporary readers possess. Jane does not represent any of the desired values by Victorians as Jane stands up to Rochester and acts as his equal rather than his lesser half. The presentation of Bertha being demonic was also highlighted by Solomon as she ‘represent[s] the flames of hell fire’¹ showing the devilish manner Bertha is presented in and the mistreatment of her as an individual, however, it also shows the historical views towards the mentally ill as Bertha isn’t seen to have a sickness but rather she is possessed. Fire is also associated with heat like Bertha as she is aligned with the ‘hot’ West Indies. Bertha is seen as villain as she constantly jeopardises Jane and Rochester’s future, however she can be seem to catalyse Janes personal development and self-awareness due to the positions Jane is left in due to Berthas presence.

    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

Jane’s restlessness shapes her character to the extent of her voice being suppressed by society and her desire of change, an empty void then filled once her voice is found. While living with the Reeds and after throwing a book at John Reed, Jane gets locked up in the red-room, serving as a punishment for standing up for herself. The room derives her from being expressive and creates an image of imprisonment for being radically passionate when she should not be according to the consensus of Gateshead, the head or fount of all her problems.

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

Jane’s incarceration in the red room is a prime example here, which also has multiple symbolic meanings. Firstly, the metaphorical use of the opposing elements fire, and ice, ‘red carpet, crimson cloth,’ against the, ‘white pillows, chilli room, (14). All images that reflect the theories of a woman having either restraint, or passion. EXPAND DVD