Jane suffers a monotonous life at Lowood, ‘the day’s Collect was repeated’, this shows that Jane has become use to this mundane life. This could also be presumed that the day is the exact same as it was the day before that. This tedious routine would make the girl more submissive to the indoctrination. The girls are collectively resentful of their care, ‘universal manifestation of discontent’. The hyperbolic language, implies illness - foreshadowing the typhus outbreak in later chapters. The implication of ‘universal’ is that all the girls feel the same way and that it is not just individual to Jane. To show the extent of this routine, the bible reading lasted, ‘an hour’. This can depict that their religious teachings were inculcated. However, this could also be hyperbole as Jane would not see it as quick due to her being bored. At the end of the extract we are reminded of the time, ‘a clock in the schoolroom struck nine’. This reinstates how early they had to be up for all of this to have occurred. There is a use of language techniques to depict the way Jane’s morning has been. The use of, ‘a long grace was said, and a hymn sung’, has repetitive long vowels which extends the sentence, mirroring the effect of the grace and hymn. This also introduces strong religious imagery which is carried on through the extract. The children are presented with bible verses, ‘reading of chapters in the Bible’, religion is prominently shown throughout this extract and the rest of the
Faith and religion rests in the core of Jane’s character and actions, but also causes tension with her independence. At Lowood, she struggles to reconcile her desire to rebel against oppression and injustice with the words of Helen saying to submit like Christ. She chooses to submit, experiencing an “extraordinary sensation”, feeling “as if she was a martyr” (67). Through her submissions, she learns to be virtuous. This virtue is challenged when she must choose either to be Rochester’s mistress, or to forsake the man she loves, jeopardizing her happiness. Abiding by God’s law, she leaves, believing that “God directed [her] to a correct choice” (366). Jane faces her fiercest tension when she faces St. John’s proposal to marry him and become a missionary’s wife. She desires to continue in God’s will, telling St. John that “I will give my heart to God”, but knows that marrying him goes against her every desire. She wishes to be free from St. John; she desires her independence. She nearly submits, were she “but convinced that it is God’s will” that she marry St. John (426). She prays for Heaven to “show [her] the path” (426). Jane truly seeks God’s will, and in return, “seemed to penetrate very near a Mighty Spirit” (427). Her devotion to God is rewarded as she prays in her “different way to St. John’s” (427). God releases Jane from a life married to St. John and allows her to return to Rochester and become his wife. Jane’s faith in God allows her to make virtuous
This starts from the ending of the end of the 3rd paragraph on page 214 “We settled into the family carriage”. I used the author’s questions, but shaped Charlotte's answers and personality to resemble a true teenager in that century.
Throughout Charlotte Brontë’s novel, Jane Eyre is afflicted with the feud between her moral values, and the way society perceives these notions. Jane ultimately obtains her happy ending, and Brontë’s shrewd denouement of St. John’s fate juxtaposes Jane’s blissful future with St. John’s tragic course of action. When Jane ends up at the Moor House, she is able to discover a nexus of love and family, and by doing so, she no longer feels fettered to Rochester. Moreover, Rochester is no longer Jane’s only form of psychological escape, and thus Jane is in a position to return to him without an aura of discontent. At the end of the novel, Jane is finally able to be irrevocably “blest beyond what language can express” (Brontë 459) because she is “absolutely bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh” (459).
The way she is treated is denounced. Jane is not from the working class, nor is she a servant. Being an orphan who has been given a roof from her aunt and late uncle, the little girl whom we meet in the beginning of the novel is furious at the idea of being treated less than the others around her.
The next chapter of Jane’s life starts at Lowood School, her main foundation. She meets some very important people such as Miss Temple and Helen Burns who have a great impact on her success. Jane becomes better educated: book smart and world smart. She takes courses in French, drawing, history, literature, and much more. Jane is very eager and excited to learn. She discusses her academic achievements, “I toiled hard, and my success was proportionate to my efforts; my memory, not naturally tenacious, improved with practice; exercise sharpened my wits; in a few weeks I was promoted to a high class; in less than two months I was allowed to commence French and drawing” (Charlotte Brontë 107). Eventually, Jane graduates at the top of her class. This achievement raises Jane’s self esteem because in the eyes of her peers, she has finally done something right and id being properly honored for it. Helen’s impact in Jane’s live allows for Jane to become a better person overall. Helen helps Jane become a better person overall, by teaching worldly and Godly matter, and
Helen Burns is Jane’s best friend at Lowood Institute. Helen is extremely patient, forgiving and wise, but her most important aspect is her devout religious faith. Even when Helen is being chastised and physically beaten in school, Helen accepts her punishment with the grace of a martyr. At Lowood when Mr. Brocklehurst orders Jane to stand on a stool while he tells the school that she is a liar, Jane was there ashamed, embarrassed and in massive anger. Five o’clock stuck; school was dismissed and all were gone into the refectory to drink tea.
It became to be known as “the little Bible” because religious instruction was integrated into the grammar lessons. The eighty-page book taught the alphabet as well as moral and spiritual principles. After graduating from high school, you could go to college. However, in order to be accepted, there were strict requirements that one had to follow. Every student should be “able to read, construe, and parse Tully, Virgil, and the Greek NT; and to write true Latin in prose and to understand common arithmetic.” Nevertheless, not only will they have to accomplish all these, but they also have to live a religious, blameless life in God. Every student was forced to constantly pray in the school hallways every morning and evening; as well as read a passage of scripture. The professors were to take turns preaching from God’s Word in the halls. Additionally, if any student were to act rudely or profane the Sabbath, they would be harshly disciplined. Unfortunately, the government governed even their schools strictly.
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
It instead shows Jane’s inner struggle to do what is “right” versus what she desires. The separation between the voice of herself and her thoughts exhibits her helplessness to change her path from what her mind has already decided. This displays the heavy influence society has on Jane, which is further proven by the personification of Jane’s two strongest rivaling emotions. The heavy influence of a patriarchal dominated society is evident in her “Conscience” being a strong male figure, whereas her “Passion” is a weaker, feminine figure. Similarly, the strongest reasoning for Jane to leave Thornfield is driven by the patriarchal demand for a female to remain “pure” until holy marriage, rather than Jane’s own desire to leave, further solidifying the idea that the voice given to her mind is not just her own internal thoughts, but also the demands and expectations of
Jane’s foster family, the Reeds, restrict her rights, refusing to treat her as an equal to the other members of the family. Jane, at a mere eight years old, is chastised by Mrs. Abbott, the nanny, who asserts, “you are less than a servant, for you do nothing for your keep” (Bronte 11). When Rochester imprisons Antoinette in England, he deprives her of any sense of humanity. The people in their lives who yielded power over them unjustly repressed both women.
Jane's growth throughout the novel will reflect back to her childhood. B.F. Skinner, the psychologist, explains that "a person's history of environmental interactions controls his of her behavior." A person's behavior is followed by a consequence. The nature of the consequence modifies the person's tendency to change or repeat the actions in the future (Stanford Encyclopedia). Jane is nurtured by the people around her and the problems she encounters. Jane has lived a secluded life: isolated from family, isolated from luxury, and isolated from love. When Jane enters a new world of unexpected scenarios, she does not yet know how to react.
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
In Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Bronte manipulates literary devices, such as imagery and diction, to convey a tone of constraint to her audience. Bronte’s usage of imagery helps the audience creates a picture of the situation or setting the main character finds herself. Bonte details, “ … the cold winter wind… further outdoor excise was out of the question.” By using dark phrases, like “cold winter wind”, Bronte illustrates the harsh weather that prevents the protagonist from learning the house: thus, the audience receives a sense of imprisonment. Even though, it is later stated that the character was grateful for the status of the weather, the character continues to feel out of place, which contributes to the melancholy tone.
The major criticisms of the novel in question to be the melodrama used by the author and the wickedness of character shown in Jane and Mr. Rochester. While most critics admired the style of writing and truth of character portrayal, they did not admire the improbability of circumstances or the characters portrayed.
Helen Burns’s memorable, albeit short-lived role in Jane Eyre proves to be incredibly influential on young Jane during the rest of the novel. Helen serves as Jane’s first direct interaction with strong faith in someone her own age. Helen embodies an incredibly passive faith, believing that she will be rewarded in heaven for her suffering on Earth. She goes as far to say, “...do good to them that hate you and despitefully use you” (Bronte 70). And being a student at Lowood, the boarding school where Jane first makes her acquaintance, she is quite familiar with suffering. All of the students, in fact, are familiar with the sacrifice and self-deprivation present in many aspects of their life, such as their diet of “burned porridge” and “strange