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At the age of only ten years old Jane Eyre is brutally treated by her Aunt when locked in the red room. This inhumane treatment not only affects the reader’s opinions of Jane and her aunt, but also Jane’s character and the rest of her life. From the opening lines of Charlotte Brontë’s novel Jane proves to be a highly intelligent and passionate character. It is due to her independence and passions that Jane is originally sent to the red room. Even at such a young age Jane is able to form strong opinions on the world around her and sees her treatment as unjust. However mature and knowledgeable Jane is, she is still a child at heart and possess an active imagination, making the room her uncle died in a foreboding place. ... I think it affects her negatively as I believe that Jane never really trusts anyone completely again until she returns to Mr. ... But it also affects Jane positively as it helps Jane grow to be a stronger person, allowing her to deal with the harsh treatment at Lowood and the loss of Helen Burns. Jane’s youth and fear make her vulnerable and the injustice of the situation immediately means that the readers are sympathetic towards her. Jane’s time in the red room is very realistic due to the fact that it is written in the first person, the readers feel that they are there with Jane, increasing the sympathy towards her.
This sympathy increases yet further as we learn more of Jane’s character in the second chapter. The injustice of her treatment brings out one of Jane’s strongest characteristics, her independence:
‘I felt resolved, in my desperation, to go all lengths.’
Jane realises she is going to suffer for her fury but is still independent and determined to do what she believes is right and not what is expected of a young women in her place in the nineteenth century. This characteristic stays with Jane throughout her life, a clear example of this is when Jane advertises for a job in a newspaper, an unusual act for a young women in the Victorian age. As well as her independence Jane is extremely strong willed. ... ’
This quote shows that Jane is not only strong willed, but also physically strong, as she has enough strength to lash out at her oppressors, ‘she’s like a mad cat. ... However when she realises that she can’t possibly win we see a new characteristic in Jane, dignity:
‘“Don’t take them off,” I cried, “I will not stir.”’
This dignity once more shows Jane’s psychological strength. ... ’
Jane can not possibly see John as her master partly because she does not owe him anything as she does his mother, but also partly because she sees his many faults when everyone else does not. All these characteristics strengthen our good opinion of Jane because as well as sympathising with her, we also like her, as she is interesting, passionate and clever. This quote also emphasises the social boundaries of the time, the fact that Jane has to except John as her master is due to the fact that she is a dependant. ... Jane suffers from two main types of oppression, due to her class and lack of money and also religious oppression. The former type of oppression was used to keep the lower classes in place in the nineteenth century, Jane herself also suffers from this type of oppression at both Gateshead and Lowood. Jane is dependent on the Reeds, as she has no money. ... ’
This statement is meant to put Jane in her place and make her realise that she has no right to strike out on her benefactress or her family. However, all it does is infuriate Jane further.
Approximate Word count = 3160
Approximate Pages = 12.6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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