Jane Eyre By Charlotte Bronte

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

Jane stays inside the walls of Lowood for eight years. She has learned a great deal but all she finds for herself, when she does finally decide to leave, is "a new servitude." The idea that she might be free in an unbounded world is not yet part of her experience -- in a sense, it never will be.

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

Brocklehurst, Helen Burns, and St. John Rivers, and Edward Rochester, who try to coax her into each of their respective religious entities. Although Jane does not fully accept any of the religions of her suitors, she does acknowledge Christianity and credit a god for her existence. The first character Jane meets out of these Mr. Brocklehurst. This takes place during her final days in Gateshead Hall. Jane first describes Brocklehurst as a “black pillar” because of his grim appearance and personality. His interactions with Jane could almost be described as standoffish. Mr. Brocklehurst stands on one side with his firm and unbending religious opinions and Jane stands on the other with an almost polar opposite of emotion and energy. The next character from those listed above is Helen Burns. Helen is introduced at the Lowood Institute and offers Jane her devoutly religious views, which she of course does not accept. Jane does, however, befriend Helen, who preaches to “bless them that curse you” and she lives by this saying. The fact that she never takes offense to anything people say to her further proves this

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.

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’’.

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

Brocklehurst humiliates Jane by stating that she is an ungrateful liar. He tells the pupils that they must “be on your guard against her, and if necessary, avoid her company” while he tells the teachers to “scrutinize her actions and punish her body to save her soul” (Brontë 75, 76). Jane finds herself in a horrible situation as her bad reputation has followed her, as she is publicly branded as an immoral child at Lowood. Jane is determined to clear her name, and with the help of the Miss Temple, she eventually does so. Thus not allowing Mr. Brocklehurst the slightest power over her, proving again how much her independence and power mean to her.

In the novel Jane Eyre written by Charlotte Bronte, the main character often rebels against that time period’s societal ideas of women and what they should do. With Jane’s independent nature, Bronte wants us to take the lesson that, yes, Jane’s struggles and life choices are worth it for the life she has at the end of the novel. One example of Jane’s rebellion is from her stay at Gateshead, where she spent the beginning of her childhood. At Gateshead, she lived under the control of her aunt, Mrs. Reed. All through Jane’s childhood, Mrs. Reed constantly ridiculed and abused her because she is very plain and not like her own children, who are also extremely rude to Jane.

Jane Erye's next home emerges as the Lowood Institution where she spends six years of her life learning to become intelligent and morally stringent, while remaining visibly plain. Her lesson of physical and mental humility comes at the hands of Mr. Brocklehurst, the institution's main benefactor. Upon seeing a girl with natural curls in her hair, he proclaims: "My mission is to mortify in these girls the lusts of the flesh, to teach them to clothe themselves with shamefacedness and sobriety" (pg. 96). Such a strong influence on Jane, at such an early age, greatly persuades her opinion of her own physical image. She feels her status in life always remains as a humble and inconspicuous servant with a sharp mind and strict morals. In spending six years of her most impressionable years of her life at such a repressive institution, she learns a great deal of humility.

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.

Brocklehurst gives Jane a book entitled “Child’s Guide” to Aunt Reed’s warning of Jane being a deceitful child, Jane rebels against her aunt, “this book about [correcting the faults of a] liar…give it to your girl, Georgiana, for it is she who tells lies, not I” (58) . What is more, Jane lacks love in her life when she finally attends Lowood school too, for Helen Burns and Miss Temple eventually leave the institute. Helen Burns dies in Jane’s arms at the institute because of an epidemic that wipes half of the children at the school (104), and Miss Temple marries a seminarian and sends her farewells to the school (125). Jane suffers very much after Helen Burns and Miss Temple’s departure from her life because the two characters were among the few people who directed kindness toward Jane-- besides Uncle Reed and the servant Bessie. Once Jane grows older, Jane meets Mr. Rochester, who she admires considerably, but when Mr. Rochester flaunts his attraction of Miss Ingram in front of Jane, and Jane feels jealous (267). Later, Jane sprints away from Thornfield with little money and clothes until she discovers a house inhabited by her cousin St. John Rivers, a man of goodness and virtue. After a couple of years, he proposes to her, but Jane observes that he only wants to marry her because he requests a missionary wife; he does not really love her (625). Finally, Mr. Rochester seeks Jane again, while Jane resides at St. John’s

The school is run by Mr. Brocklehurst, a man who believes cutting the girl’s hair and starving them will keep them from being vain and worldly. The only people who seem kind and loving to Jane was her friend Helen Burns and her teacher Miss Temple. Sadly, typhus breaks out at Lowood and Jane’s only friend Helen dies. On the brightside, the conditions at Lowood were improved because outsiders realized how bad they were and Mr. Brocklehurst was no longer the headmaster. Jane’s quality of life improves and she spends eight years total at Lowood, two teaching and six as a student. However, Jane soon becomes

The eponymous character in Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane Eyre faces many struggles during her life, the largest being the struggle against the John and Mrs. Reed that defines her early years. At the beginning of the novel, John Reed torments Jane, causing her to struggle against him and ultimately be punished. John physically abuses Jane, hitting her and flinging a book at her for no reason (10). When Jane fights back, John yells, causing Jane to be punished and initiating another struggle, one against Mrs. Reed. After years of being forced to raise Jane, Mrs. Reed is resentful of her and frequently excludes her from the family. Finally, Jane has had enough and before the she leaves for the Lowood School, she has one final struggle against