How Does Charlotte Bronte Use Food In Jane Eyre

Throughout volume one of Jane Eyre, Jane finds an outlet to a difficult childhood in Gateshead, Lowood, and her recent move to Thornfield through reading and painting. The books she reads represents her desires, and emotions that would otherwise be difficult to express. She also finds sanctity from her difficult life though painting landscapes with watercolors. Charlotte Bronte uses art and literature to show the readers Jane’s subconscious desires that on occasion even she might not understand.

Jane leaves Lowood for Thornfield, she is both older and wiser but she still is unfulfilled. Pursuing a new position as a governess, Jane hopes her new life will make her whole. At first she is bored by her work. Then Rochester totally transforms

Throughout the novel, Jane narrates and looks back on her story as an adult. In this sense she has a better understanding of how she was affected by her changing place in the class system and is able to provide a clearer picture of how she has since shaped her beliefs from childhood. When Jane recalls finding out that she had possible relatives in the lower class, her immediate response was to denounce their existence and to stay with her abusive guardian, Mrs. Reed. Jane explains her reaction by noting that “poverty looks grim to grown people; still more so to children” (29). While she admits that as an adult, poverty appears dreadful, she claims that this reaction is exaggerated in children. Firstly, Jane’s comment reflects the fact that she has since grown from her childhood disdain for impoverishment and this growth is hers alone; no other adult in the novel has exhibited maturation in thought such as this because they are stuck in their rigid class structures. Secondly, Jane’s comment on the difference between child and adult views on poverty

In Charlotte Bronte’s novel Jane Eyre, Brontë depicts the life of a young Jane, who meets a number of influential people, essential to her development into a civilized governess. Along her journey she struggles to conceal her emotion and passion for life, as it is improper for 19th century Victorian women. Louis James effectively analyzes the moral and religious hearth of the Victorian era through the socio-historic lens, which allows him to anatomize the content of Brontë’s novel and correlate it with history of this era. However, in his Victorian Novel, James fails to acknowledge the emotional significance that the colorful and religious hearth of the 19th century had on Jane Eyre. It is important to look at how the novel would have developed

Jane in her younger years was practically shunned by everyone and was shown very little love and compassion, from this throughout her life she searches for these qualities through those around her. Due to Jane’s mother’s disinheritance she was disowned by Mrs. Reed and her children, and was treated like a servant consistently reminded that she lacked position and wealth.

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 is difficult to argue with this interpretation as perhaps the fear experienced by Jane evoked her defiant nature. Furthermore, this perhaps foreshadows her future residences, one being Thornfield as she later portrays the moors as ‘barriers of separation from the living world’ confirming her ever-growing struggle within hostile environments and

In Jane Eyre the food and drinks featured in the novel are slim. This is due to Jane’s low social status. Jane Eyre does not receive or eat a lot of food, but when she does, she cherishes it. For example, while at Lowood, Jane repeatedly receives a measly slice of bread as dinner. This only goes to show how horrible and somber life at Lowood actually is. The bread symbolizes the baleful treatment that she endures while at Lowood. She never truly escapes from this mistreatment, not even at Thornfield Hall with Mr. Rochester as she rarely receives more than bread from the rich man.

While Jane’s time at Gateshead demonstrated her immense sadness, Jane’s time at Thornfield reveals her sadness through depression, as it begins to evolve into anger and an internal struggle. Her correlation with madness and anger begins to appear when she goes into the attic. She states “I climbed the three staircases, raised the trapdoor of the attic, and having reached the leads looked out afar over sequestered field and hill, and along the dim skyline- that then I longed” (Bronte 114). Jane is trapped inside herself. She longs to escape from her emotions and internal struggles, yet cannot. The attic, the abode of Mr. Rochester’s insane wife, houses Jane’s emotions. She climbs up to the attic and views the world beyond it. She

Throughout the novel, the person who physically serves Jane a plate of food is seen as a character that she (Jane) looks up to. In Gateshead, Bessie is the one person who sympathises with Jane, sings her songs and tells her stories. Bessie takes on the role of the mother/god like figure to the neglected child that had not felt acceptance from her blood relations. While food provides comfort to the body and soul, the provider of the food becomes the mother-like/god-like figure of the situation. Food and those associated with serving food to the physically starved become the ‘saviours’; the figures that most religious people aspire to be. Thus, food and the nourishment that it provides is connected to several other religious concepts like god’s grace, spiritual kindness and happiness. This indicates that the nourishment of the body is needed for the enlightenment of the

Perhaps as a result of her upbringing, which was full of cruelty and abuse, Jane developed a strong sense of what was right and what was wrong. As a child, these traits translated to insolence as she disobeyed and spoke out against the wrongdoing of adults that were so used to children being seen and not heard, resulting in Mr Brocklehurst warning her that “wicked” children go to hell . However, her moral compass develops and as an adult Jane begins to relish her own freedom and independence. She has been under other people’s care for so long – for example Mrs Reed, Miss Abbot and Mr Brocklehurst – that when she is able to start anew at Thornfield she values her ability to control her own life and does not wish to become a possession of Mr Rochester. This can be seen when Mr Rochester takes her to Millcote to buy new dresses following their engagement and her cheek “burned with a sense of annoyance and degradation” as she “never [could] bear being dressed like a doll by Mr Rochester” , and would value the money from her uncle in Madeira as it would give her a sense of independence from Mr Rochester. Her desire for independence and freedom is further stressed when she leaves Thornfield following the

The class of Jane also reflects how people who are considered lower are treated worse than the rich. Those who tend to be rich see themselves as much better and deserving of greater things. A character in the story named John Reed would always treat the protagonist, Jane Eyre, like she was garbage because of the fact that she was orphaned and had no wealth to her name. “You have no business to take our books; you are a dependant, mama says; you have no money; your father left you none; you ought to beg, and not to live here with gentlemen's children like us”. John had a part in his family’s wealth and saw himself as above attempting to assure everyone knew how important he was. Meanwhile, Jane being of lower class is much more humble and appreciative of the good things in life. Learning to live happily and patiently as a humble citizen making sure to never be snobby like her relatives. Jane makes sure to see the beauty inside of people rather than superficial, beautiful appearances. “The refreshing meal, the brilliant fire, the presence and kindness of her beloved instructress, or, perhaps, more than all these, something in her own unique mind, had roused her powers within her. They woke, they kindled: first, they glowed in the bright tint of her cheek, which till this hour I had never seen but pale and bloodless; then they

Outpost is a local business that prides itself on providing natural, organic food for the community. As part of its mission, it made the decisions to build the pop up store in the Lindsay Heights neighborhood to help create a stronger community while providing to viable source to buy fresh, affordable food. Part of Outpost’s vision is to make sure a “community has access to organically and locally produced foods (Mission & Values).” They also vow to work towards providing products that promote personal and environmental health. An Outpost pop up store would be an excellent fit in downtown Racine as it was successful in Milwaukee which faces similar problems to that of Racine. Outpost is a community oriented business and this would be a great opportunity for them to expand that model and help strengthen a community a quick drive south. Building a grocery store in Racine would show how much they care for the community that is Wisconsin, and how they want their community member’s to live healthy lives, which starts by being able to purchase healthy food. The possible expansions for Outpost, along with the need for grocery stores and the chance to attract and retain residents are the main reason this would be an excellent opportunity to pursue.

Domestic violence, also labeled as family violence and intimate-partner violence, is psychological, physical and sexual violence that takes place within home environment. Adults and children can both be victims. Domestic violence is a major human rights issue across the world, and one of New Zealand’s most serious social issues. One in three women in Aotearoa will experience an abusive relationship, with many more coming dangerously close.

In the novel, Jane Eyre, the author Charlotte Brontë’s real life experiences influence the novel heavily throughout. Some of Brontë’s life events are paralleled through the novel and are morphed to fit the main character, Jane Eyre, with a similar but better life compared to Brontë’s. There are three major experiences that Jane encounters through her life in the novel that have a few correlations with Charlotte Brontë’s which are their childhood life and her experience in an impoverished school, and her work as a governess.