Look carefully at the opening chapters of 'Jane Eyre' and explore some of the ways in which Bront is preparing the reader to follow the fortunes of her heroine
Look carefully at the opening chapters of 'Jane Eyre' and explore some of the ways in which Brontë is preparing the reader to follow the fortunes of her heroine.
'Jane Eyre' still remains one of the greatest novels today. First published by Charlotte Brontë in 1984, during her early thirties. In the 19th century there was a strong stage of stereotypes, as it was thought that men were far more intellectual and superior than women, with this act, Brontë published her book under the false male name, Currer Bell. The novel is about a young girl, Miss Eyre, falling in love with the Lord and Master of Thornfield Manor, Mr. Rochester. Their love is tied to their tiresome troubles and each of their own personal hidden secrets, making a moving novel to read. Different styles of language are modified to make the opening chapters entertaining for the reader, catching their attention and compelling him/her to read on. The writer achieves this by applying emphasis on many issues including the way Jane Eyre is treated and punished; this also makes the reader begin to feel sympathetic towards the character.
The author is able to establish an atmosphere in which Jane Eyre is revealed as an unusual child, where she is subject to loathsome abuse by the servants and relatives:
"That is for your impudence in answering mama awhile since, and for your sneaking way of getting behind curtains, and for the look you had in your eyes two minutes since, you rat!"
This type of language gains additional sympathy for Jane from the reader, the modern person wouldn't like to see a young child be called vile horrid names or looked down on. An element of language which Charlotte Brontë uses is comprehensive descriptions leading to vivid lifelike images that the reader creates in their mind:
"My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings; something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down; I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort."
Other descriptive words are used to express different thoughts and feelings:
"Four hands were immediately laid upon me."
The author uses the word 'immediately' to express how swift and effortlessly Jane Eyre is punished as promptly as Mrs. Reed (Mistress at Gateshead Hall) orders.
Brontë cleverly uses another tool to ...
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"My heart beat thick, my head grew hot; a sound filled my ears, which I deemed the rushing of wings; something seemed near me; I was oppressed, suffocated: endurance broke down; I rushed to the door and shook the lock in desperate effort."
Other descriptive words are used to express different thoughts and feelings:
"Four hands were immediately laid upon me."
The author uses the word 'immediately' to express how swift and effortlessly Jane Eyre is punished as promptly as Mrs. Reed (Mistress at Gateshead Hall) orders.
Brontë cleverly uses another tool to generate more sympathy, the weather. This is used to emulate Jane's thoughts and feelings so if Jane Eyre is unhappy or depressed the weather would be raining, bitter or snowing but if Jane is content or cheerful the weather would likely to be warm, sunny with a cloudless blue sky.
Charlotte Brontë continues to apply and adapt language to create a feeling of suspense and awe. The reader, who is absorbed by Jane Eyre's life, anxiously waits to discover further happenings in the novel, what would happen to Jane Eyre next? Charlotte Brontë, furthermore, switches between narrators revealing the life of Jane. Mostly the narrator is the young innocent Jane Eyre with some rare remarks from the older, wiser Jane, either commenting or divulging facts she now knows from reflecting back:
"I can now conjecture readily that this streak of light was, in all likelihood, a gleam from a lantern carried by some one across the lawn."
Maintaining the reader's interests is another task which the novelist, Brontë achieves by allowing the older Jane's remarks sound as though she is also reading the novel at the same time, with the reader. This lets the reader feel more relaxed, this style is somewhat special and different since not many other novels include this. In some remarks the older Jane explains or apologises for her feelings. One time Jane says,
"Yes, Mrs. Reed, to you I owe some fearful pangs of mental suffering. But I ought to forgive you, for you know not what you did."
"I ought to forgive you." This shows Jane feels she should forgive Mrs. Reed for the deeds she has already done yet Jane does not apologise or excuse her due to the scars of her childhood, from Mrs. Reed, which are etched too deep.
Jane Eyre is set out as a deep thinker, Brontë having made her character a smart girl, reading and studying other well known Novels:
"I returned to my book - Bewick's History of British Birds"
Her thoughts suggest her analysing the novel:
"Each picture told a story; mysterious often to my undeveloped understanding and imperfect feelings, yet ever profoundly interesting."
The Novels provide Jane with an escape from her unhappy situation where she is bullied by the other children. She is bullied because she is thought of, by John Reed and his sister's, as a lowlife troublemaker and not worthy of living with them at Gateshead Hall or indeed in their presence:
"You ought to beg, and not live here with gentlemen's children like us."
The book "Jane Eyre" contrasts with the present era. If you compared most of the situations, in 'Jane Eyre', with the present day the outcome would be quite different from the results produced in the age in which Charlotte Brontë had written her novel. If the way Jane Eyre is relentlessly punished, some times too dreadfully, was done now in the present time it wouldn't be allowed, yet back then it was a common occurrence for naughty children:
"Take her away to the red-room and, lock her in there."
The world today may not like to see these ideas dissevered, so the punishment is more sympathetic back then, 2 centuries ago, than now.
The role of women has also changed dramatically since the time when the book was first published, in that generation women had a lot of prejudice and prejudgment against them by stereotypes, as most of the important or highly paid jobs were done by men though nowadays there are many women doing more important careers. Although there are a few things that were believed in that time period that is still believed today. Such as the belief in God, "Say your prayer's, Miss Eyre." This belief, even now, is still strong to this day.
So in conclusion, I believe Charlotte Brontë used and involved many ways to invite, grab and keep the reader's attention, preparing them to follow the fortunes of her heroine, in the first opening chapters and onwards. Brontë prepares the reader by giving them and insight into Jane Eyre's existence and the life she is leading; even how she is treated hence creating sympathy for Jane Eyre.
Using language to create a specific atmosphere is quite hard yet this author finds it simple, adding to the attention of the reader, by using detailed description and letting the reader add, with his/her own imagination, to the built up of an image to show what is happening.
Lastly the modern reader would react almost utterly different to a reader from the 19th century as religion, social class and gender relations have all changed since then. Most people from the 19th century would find it ordinary to punish a child as thoughtlessly as they did and have the child endure it:
"Mrs. Reed, impatient of my now frantic anguish and wild sobs, abruptly thrust me back and locked me in, without farther parley. I heard her sweeping away; and soon after she was gone, I suppose I had a species of fit: unconsciousness closed the scene."
Yet if this happened in the 21st Century help would be given to the child and either the parent or career taken away or placed in jail.
Brontë slowly reveals Jane's life and seeds thoughtful twists into the novel intriguing the reader but at the same time making the reader's curiosity grow, yearning to find out how Jane Eyre's life carries on.
Gary Chew
